BIOVEGEN has recently joined the Stakeholder Platform of the VEG-ADAPT Project. This project, funded by the PRIMA Program, began in late 2019 and is dedicated to improving the tolerance of three vegetable crops to stress conditions in combination with climate change. The project is supported by the national funding agencies of the 8 participating countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, Turkey).
Vegetable crops in the Mediterranean area are increasingly exposed to stress factors induced by climate change. Among them are drought, heat, and salinity. For this reason, planning in crop management is a key point to improve these plants’ resilience to stress and thus achieve their adaptation to climate change.
Tomatoes, peppers, and melons are the main fruit and vegetable crops in the Mediterranean, and these are the focus of this project. Together, these crops are the primary suppliers of fruit for Mediterranean countries, with a total yield reaching 45 million tons in 2016.
The project’s objectives are therefore:
- Characterize the genetic and physiological traits that provide tolerance and resistance to drought, heat, and salinity.
- Adapt crop management systems to tolerant/resistant varieties.
- Profile and/or develop new genotypes adapted to stress by exploiting local genetic diversity, as well as new genotypes and hybrids.
BIOVEGEN, as part of the Stakeholder Platform, will be able to participate in project meetings by contributing its experience and making proposals regarding the project’s activities. These contributions will be aimed at steering the project in the direction of the actual needs of the professionals working in these crops.