| What: | Development of the first genetically engineered tomato plant that thrives in salty irrigation water will be announced by a UC Davis plant biologist. As the first truly salt-tolerant crop, these tomato plants offer hope that other crops can also be genetically modified for planting in many areas of the world that have salty irrigation water and salt-damaged soils. |
| When: | 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, July 31 |
| Where: | Orchard Park greenhouse complex, UC Davis |
| Visuals | Shots in greenhouse of researcher explaining how salty irrigation water damages plants and why the genetically engineered tomato plants are not vulnerable to such damage. Reporters who choose to may then follow the researcher back to his laboratory for shots of how such plants are genetically engineered. |
| Background: | Worldwide an estimated 24.7 million acres -- about one-fifth the area of California -- of once agriculturally productive land are being lost annually because of irrigation-induced salinity. Crop production is limited by salinity on 40 percent of the world's irrigated land and on 25 percent of irrigated land in the United States. This progressive loss of farmable land is on a collision course with the expanding global population, which over the next 30 years is expected to require an increase in food production of 20 percent in developed countries and 60 percent in developing nations. Although scientists have been trying to develop salt-tolerant crop varieties using selective breeding techniques throughout the past century, none of those efforts has proven successful. |
| Directions and Parking: |
From Interstate 80, take Highway 113 north toward Woodland. Exit at the first opportunity onto Hutchison Drive and continue to the right toward the main campus. At the stoplight, turn left onto La Rue Road. At the next stoplight, turn left onto Orchard Park Drive. As you approach the first street to your left, park along Orchard Park Drive. To park free, place a media business card on the dashboard of your vehicle. The greenhouses are to your left. |
Media Resources
Pat Bailey, Research news (emphasis: agricultural and nutritional sciences, and veterinary medicine), 530-219-9640, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu