Row over GM crop trials

Syngenta has already carried out 18 trials at the site

Campaigners are opposing plans to carry out more genetically-modified crop trials in Berkshire.

Bracknell-based company Syngenta has asked the government for permission to run a trial of wheat plants at its research site at Jealotts Hill.

Friends of the Earth object to the plans, saying a lack of public demand means there is simply no need for the trials.

But a spokesman for the company said that examples from abroad suggest that the market is continuing to grow.

He said: "The growth in plantings in countries such as China, India, Argentina and North America is quite substantial every year and has been for the last five years."

If the government approves the proposals, the trial would be the 19th at the Jealott's Hill International Research Centre since 1989.

A spokesman for the Berkshire branch of the Friends of the Earth said they would protest at the site if the trial takes place.