What is "field release"?

Context:

From the Laboratory to the Field
Over the last century, private research and development (R&D) expenditures in the seed industry have increased rapidly both in absolute terms and relative to public expenditures, altering the focus of R&D and of the crops studied (Fernandez-Cornejo, 2004). Over the past two decades, techno-
logical innovation in the form of modern biotechnology and changes in property rights have enabled private-sector irms to capture more value from the seeds that they develop, and seed remains the most research-intensive of the agricultural input sectors to date (Heisey and Fuglie, 2012).
While the rapid commercial success of GE varieties is the fulillment of R&D efforts, earlier benchmarks include the number of releases for ield testing of GE plant varieties approved by APHIS as 4 Field testing is
well as the determination of nonregulated status (see box, !°Regulatory Oversigh!±. a critical part of seed development (Fernandez-Cornejo and Caswell, 2006).
Field Releases
The number of field release permits and notiications issued by APHIS for GE organisms (mostly plant varieties) grew from 4 in 1985 to 1,194 in 2002 and then averaged around 800 per year (ig.
1). The cumulative number (beginning in 1985 and ending in September 2013) of releases for ield
testing increased from 10,700 in 2005 to more than 17,000 in 2013. Field releases approved for corn
increased from close to 5,000 in 2005 to 7,800 in 2013. Approved releases for GE varieties with
herbicide tolerance traits increased from 3,587 in 2005 to 6,772 in 2013, insect resistance from 3,141
to 4,909, and product quality such as lavor or nutrition from 2,314 to 4,896.