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Vandals Destroy Experimental Vineyard in Verona First NGT Vines in a Field Trial
Unknown individuals have destroyed the first NGT vines planted in a field trial.By Wein‑Plus GmbH
Unknown perpetrators destroyed ten Chardonnay vines on the campus grounds of the University of Verona in San Floriano in Valpolicella during the night of February 12 to 13. Among them were five experimental NGT vines and five control plants that had only been planted last fall. These are the first NGT vines in a field trial in Europe.
The trial field belongs to the Vitea research project of the Agricultural Genetics working group at the Biotechnology Institute of the University of Verona, led by Mario Pezzotti and the university spin-off Edivite.
A possible motive could be the resistance to genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as the trial field was marked with a corresponding sign. However, the scientists emphasize that these are not GMOs, but plants that have been deliberately mutated using Assisted Evolution techniques (TEA). This method mimics natural mutations and enhances them purposefully. The goal is to develop resilient grape varieties and thus reduce the use of pesticides.
“TEA vines are not GMO plants,” explained Professor Mario Pezzotti, coordinator of the agricultural genetics research group. “Mutations occur as they do in nature, only purposefully. In addition to laboratory tests, we also need field tests.”
The destruction of the vines met with widespread condemnation. Eugenio Tassinari, president of the Italian seed association Assosementi, described the incident as “an attack on decades of research work and the entire Italian agricultural and food sector.” Garlich von Essen, secretary-general of the European seed association Euroseeds, criticized the attack as “unacceptable” and emphasized that scientific innovation should not be blocked by fear or ideology.
