Totipotent Regeneration
So what we really want is the technology that could take the cloned resistance gene from the plant which is resistant, but none of its other genes, and put that into the sensitive plant which has already been engineered to have the genes for high productivity. That way we can avoid the worry of bringing in errant genes that will mess up thousands of years of careful genetics.
But, how to do it? If we want to make a whole field, thousands of acres of this plant, we somehow have to get the resistance gene into the germ line of the plant, that is, into the pollen or the egg so that we can create a new variety with the resistance gene firmly ensconced in the chromosome. Now, the key to all of this is something that is uniquely part of the plant phenomenology -- totipotent regeneration. Basically, this means that it is possible to take plant cells, just single cells in culture and by addition of the correct hormone get a whole plant from a single cell.
How do you do it? Well, the amazing thing is, you can take cells from almost any part of the plant. A plant is what we would call totipotent, in other words, even though it's a leaf, those cells can go back to their primitive state and then regenerate not just leaf cells but also root cells, stem and finally flowers and seeds. So, you can take a hole punch and use the cells from these leaf circles to regrow a new plant.
  
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