"Of course, you hope the Greens can tell you something of the biologically altered plant."

The altered plants would allow groundskeepers to spray the herbicide on their greens and fairways to kill weeds while leaving the grass unscathed.

Kor, tests run on both the altered plants here and the materials in the Narr ships show a biological match.

Genetically altered plants, once introduced, cannot simply be recalled.

The altered plant would be able to pass on its new color to future generations and could be grown by commercial producers or home gardeners.

They worry that once production begins, the altered plants might find their way into the food supply or cross-pollinate with conventional, non-GM crops.

The treaty would have required that exporters of genetically altered plants, seeds or other organisms obtain approval in advance from the importing nation.

One of the reasons this has come under criticism is because the corn used to produce corn syrup often comes from genetically altered plants.

Many say this approach is less likely to arouse the objections that have been raised by the development of genetically altered plants and animals.

But genetically altered plants can produce much more of these useful proteins at far less cost, scientists say.