**4.3 Vegetables and fruits**

Commercially important vegetables and fruits are potato, tomato, eggplant, common bean, squash, apple, papaya, plum and pineapple. Primary potato trait that was focused for GM potatoes is modified product quality, such as, Starch potato, Amflora™, for reduced amylose and increased amylopectin content; Innate®, Cultivate, Innate® Generate, Innate® Accelerate, and Innate® Invigorate for lower reducing sugar. Several modified product quality GM potatoes are stacked with disease resistance capacity against blight (Innate® Acclimate, Simplot Innate) and potato virus Y (Hi-Lite NewLeaf™ Y potato). Commercially available coleopteran insect resistant GM potatoes are Superior NewLeaf™ potato, Elizaveta plus, Lugovskoi plus, Atlantic NewLeaf™ potato, etc.

According to ISAAA, 11 GM tomatoes have been developed so far for commercial purposes and 9 of them are for a single trait, that is, delayed fruit ripening or delayed fruit softening for longer shelf life. FLAVR SAVR™ by Monsanto Company and three others developed by Zeneca Plant Science and Petoseed Company followed the same strategy for delayed fruit softening. These four are only cultivated in the USA, however, Canada and Mexico have approved these for food purposes around 1995–1996. Some other GM varieties were developed by targeting the genes that are responsible for ethylene production, the fruit ripening hormone. This one was adopted and approved as food and feed in the USA in 1996. China approved 2 GM tomato varieties for cultivation and domestic uses with delayed ripening in 1997 and 1999 that was developed by the Huazhong Agricultural University (China) and Institute of Microbiology, CAS (China), respectively. The DNA Plant Technology Corporation (USA) developed another GM tomato by reducing the expression of *ACC synthase* gene resulting in reduced ethylene production, thus, delayed fruit ripening. Monsanto Company developed another one with resistance capacity against lepidopteran insects using *cry1Ac* gene and was approved in 1998 and in 2000 for Canada.

The only available GM eggplant is BARI bt Begun developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (MAHYCO). It mainly contains *cry1Ac* gene from *Bacillus thuringiensis* subsp. Kurstaki strain HD73 that confers resistance against lepidopteran insects by selectively damaging their midgut lining. Bangladesh is the only country that approved the cultivation of this GM eggplant in 2013. Recently, Philippines approved it for food and feed uses but did not adopt for cultivation. In Bangladesh it is only approved for direct use or processing as food only.

BRS FC401 RMD is the only commercially available GM common bean (*Phaseolus vulgaris*). It was developed by EMBRAPA (Brazil) and is resistant against Bean Golden Mosaic Virus (BGMV). It inhibits the replication of viral protein. Brazil is the only country to cultivate and use this GM crop as food and feed. Seminis Vegetable Seeds (Canada) and Monsanto Company (Asgrow) developed the GM squash that is stacked with resistance capacity against three plant viruses, e.g*., Cucumber mosaic cucumovirus* (CMV), *Zucchini yellow mosaic* Potyvirus (ZYMV) and *Watermelon mosaic potyvirus 2* (WMV2). Cultivation of this variety was stared in 1996 in the USA and

approved for food and feed usage in 1997. No other country has approved this one yet. Canada approved it food use in 1998.

Fruits.

Apple: Arctic™, Arctic™ "Golden Delicious" Apple, and Arctic™ Fuji Apple, all these 3 GM apple varieties has been developed for non-browning phenotype by Okanagan Specialty Fruits Incorporated. Arctic™ Fuji Apple was first adopted in Canada in 2018 and then in the USA in 2019. The other 2 are also approved only in these 2 countries and their cultivation started in 2015.

*Papaya ringspot virus* is the greatest concern of papaya cultivation. Therefore, all the GM papayas are aimed to disease resistance trait. Pathogen derived resistance mechanism is used in these GM papayas to check the viral infection. The USA and Japan started cultivation in 1996 and 2011, respectively. Canada only approved its use for food purposes in 2003. Another commercially available one is Huanong No. 1 developed by South China Agricultural University for the same disease resistance purpose. China is the only country that started its cultivation in 2006.

The only GM pineapple is Rosé, developed by Del Monte Fresh Produce Company. It has traits of delayed ripening, modified fruit color, and increased level of lycopene and beta-carotene. It is approved only in the USA (2016) and Canada (2021).
