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Harris Moran and Agritope Announce Advance Trials of Bio-Transformed Melon Varieties

Modesto, California
June 22, 1998

Harris Moran Seed Company and Agritope, Inc. report that field trials of proprietary Harris Moran cantaloupe enhanced with Agritope's patented ethylene control technology are now being harvested. Trials are located in key growing regions throughout the western U.S. where information will be gathered and analyzed during the summer and early fall. This work is a continuation of the field-testing begun in 1997 and is designed to evaluate the suitability of Agritope's SAMase ethylene control gene and Harris Moran's enhanced melon varieties for extending post-harvest shelf life and quality, significant economic factors in the $2.8 billion U.S. fresh melon industry.

"The trials now underway are being conducted on a larger scale than last year's first-stage melon trials," said Adolph J. Ferro, Ph.D., Agritope's president and chief executive officer. Trial in 1997 demonstrated the ability of Harris Moran cantaloupe enhanced with Agritope's SAMase technology to maintain post-harvest shelf life and consumer quality beyond standard varieties. The 1998 trials are being conducted with a broader range of material and in much greater depth. "Our plan is based on the information from our 1997 work and designed to answer a very specific set of questions. This year, we have a much broader array of material to screen and more seed of last years top performers," according to Bill Copes, Senior Melon Breeder and Project Leader for Harris Moran.

Field trials in 1998 are designed to study the performance of Harris Moran varieties modified with Agritope's SAMase technology. Evaluations will include yield, field holding ability, fruit quality, harvest maturity and distribution, fruit response to wounding and other qualities of scientific and commercial interest. Test results and individual variety performance will be used to select unique hybrids that will be advanced to commercial-scale trials in 1999. In addition, Agritope will produce data for USDA and FDA submission.

Agritope, Inc. is an Oregon-based agricultural biotechnology company specializing in fruit and vegetable crops and the majority owner of Vinifera, Inc. Based in Petaluma, California, Vinifera offers advanced technology for plant propagation, disease screening and plant disease elimination programs to the grape industry.

Harris Moran Seed Company is a breeder, producer and distributor of value-added vegetable seed products worldwide and a member of Groupe Limagrain, a farmer-owned cooperative based in France. Groupe Limagrain is the largest breeder-producer of horticultural seed for home and professional markets. Ferry-Morse Seed Company and Harris Moran were merged into Harris Moran Seed Company in July of 1997.

For more information, please contact:
Agritope, Inc.
info@agritope.com
or
Harris Moran Seed Company
1 (800) 320 4672

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