A House bill that would severely limit the development or growing of genetically engineered taro in Hawai'i is scheduled for discussion by the state Senate today as lawmakers again try to determine how best to preserve the ancient plant.

Native Hawaiians believe taro should not be altered because of its cultural significance and because the first taro or kalo plant, Haloana-kalaukapalili, is considered the elder brother of Native Hawaiians.

Many botanists say the only way to protect taro from modern plant diseases is to weave resistant genes from wheat and rice into the plant's basic genetic structure.

Lawmakers have tried over at least three legislative sessions to pass legislation that would ban the genetic modification of taro.

The hot-button topic sparks protests among taro farmers and Native Hawaiians, but bills banning modification died in 2007 and 2008.

This session, House and Senate bills that would prohibit the testing, propagation, release, importation, planting or development of genetically modified taro unless done in enclosed laboratories where access is denied to the general public are still alive.

Outdoor field testing of any genetically modified taro would be banned under the bill.

"Sometimes it takes many years to pass this kind of legislation. This is a Hawaiian issue," said state Rep. Mele Carroll, D-13th (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), chairwoman of the House Hawaiian Affairs Committee and the Legislature's Hawaiian caucus. "We want to protect our cultural integrity, especially when it comes to our kalo. The point here is that Hawaiians want their taro grown a certain way and that is the cultural integrity part, the respect (part)."

The state administration feels that a balance needs to be struck between protecting agriculture and recognizing the cultural sensitivity of the ancient plant.

The state Department of Agriculture, in written testimony, "acknowledges and respects the testimony of the Kauai Taro Growers Association, that in deference to the Hawaiian culture, no genetically engineered research should be done on stated Hawaiian cultivars and that research on non-Hawaiian cultivars shall be limited to approved facilities only with no outdoor field testing or release of genetically engineered taro within ... Hawaii."

Researchers at the University of Hawai'i oppose the bill, claiming that the taro plant, like many other native species, is at the mercy of invasive species, disease and other natural predators. Without genetic modification, the plant may be lost much the way native papaya crops were threatened by the ringspot virus.

"We understand that the most significant issues affecting taro in Hawai'i, invasive species and diseases associated with imported taro and issues related to agriculture such as access to land, reduced numbers of farmers, water quality and lo'i health, are not being addressed by this legislation," said James R. Gaines, vice president for research at UH, in Senate testimony.