- An APP will contain all the updated varietal and agronomic information to help the citrus grower find the best variety-rootstock combination
- The project has established a genomic database of citrus fruits and a technology that is unique in the world, which could lay the groundwork for creating a national varietal identification service at IVIA in the future
The differentiation between a specific mandarin or orange and another of the same group is still a challenge that hampers the development of the Spanish breeding industry, which is dedicated to researching and exploiting new varieties that are more adapted and more profitable for the citrus grower. The authentication of a variety, until recently and still in most cases today, is based on an assessment of the known agronomic characteristics of the fruit in question (Brix degrees, acidity, leaf shape, fruit morphology, etc.). This is therefore a non-arbitrary system, based on clearly objective criteria, but it is expensive, slow, and certainly not unequivocal, as it leaves considerable room for interpretation by the expert. The GOCITURS project—a operational group that brings together the main Spanish entities dedicated to variety development, research centers, and large exporters—will address this serious problem by applying new varietal identification techniques based on genomics, which are inexpensive, quick to execute, and 100% reliable. The project, which is expected to conclude in 2021 and is the most advanced in this field globally, will provide a second solution to another delicate matter: the selection of the best variety. Today there are more than 324 registered, but only a few in each case meet the producer’s needs. GOCITRUS is working on an APP that can be downloaded from any mobile or tablet, which will contain and process all the necessary agronomic and some commercial data to assist the farmer in identifying the best varietal option and its best combination with a specific rootstock (the 3 or 4 best combinations, to be understood).
As outlined in a public webinar held this week, which connected nearly 200 producers, exporting entrepreneurs, and researchers and was initiated by Isabel Bombal, the general director of Rural Development, Innovation, and Agro-food Training at the Ministry of Agriculture. “Spain was the country with the most scheduled and effectively granted initiatives in the previous call – there are 67 projects with European funding of 42.4 million euros – and Gocitrus is a good example of how companies in this sector can provide innovative solutions to complex problems,” said Bombal, who also wanted to highlight the “integrative” role of the biotechnological platform that has managed to connect all members of this consortium, Biovegen, and the role of Anecoop, which coordinates it.
The project, which started in January 2020, represents to some extent the natural development of the largest varietal genomic research ever conducted on citrus – the Citruseq-Citrusgenn project, which involved a public-private investment of 7.5 million euros. In fact, its current members are almost the same as those from then. By virtue of such a mega-study, the sequencing of more than 250 citrus species was achieved – some of them ‘ancestral’ – including patterns and varieties. Today, this vast work, along with contributions from other centers, allows GOCITRUS to have a genomic database that will encompass, by the end of this year, a third of the existing commercial citrus varieties (83 varieties have already been sequenced, and another 24 are in process, from a total of 324 registered). With this material, the project will obtain, by mid-2021, molecular markers to accurately identify 25% of the existing commercial varieties in the mandarin group and 10% in the orange group, which will include most of the protected and commercially most demanded. “The basic research developed in Citruseq-Citrusgenn will now allow us to create key tools to boost the Spanish citrus production sector, differently from the rest of the world – which does not have this technology – enabling us to undertake an intelligent varietal revolution for the benefit of the citrus grower and the Spanish export sector,” explained the project leader, currently the director of the Genomics Center of the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA), Manuel Talón.
The doctor in biotechnology, current Production and Development technician at Anecoop, Victoria Ibáñez, intervened later to provide more details regarding this technique. She clarified that molecular markers—which are nothing more than the location of a fragment of DNA specific and exclusive to the variety—have already been implemented and successfully practiced in the case of the Tango mandarin (registered in the EU as Tang Gold), which is exploited by the company Eurosemillas, also part of Gocitrus. By virtue of this unequivocal identification, as in the cited case, a whole certification system can be constructed that not only allows distinguishing this variety from any other to avoid varietal fraud but also “ensures the traceability of the fruit from field to table.” Ibáñez also clarified that this technology is “affordable, applicable to any plant species, and samples to verify the marker can be extracted at any time during the plant’s development (seedling, tree).” She ventured to specify more data: the time required to obtain such a marker would be only 5 or 6 months; the cost could range between 10,000 and 25,000 euros per variety, and, once achieved, the costs for analyzing the authenticity of the citrus in question would only be between 50 and 100 euros for an individual (much less for a company that conducts large-scale testing to certify the variety being exploited).
Hence, in response to questions from the public, the scientist Manuel Talón later confessed that this project “not only consolidates action protocols for obtaining markers but could lay the groundwork for the future creation of a varietal identification service that could perfectly be located at IVIA (Moncada, Valencia), where the technicians who have developed them are located.”
From the mobile
“Today, to make the right choice of variety, one must be up to date, attend events where new varieties are presented and their behavior or management is described, and consult numerous sources to confirm that it agronomically adapts to the relevant farm…” began explaining Carlos Baixauli, director of the Cajamar Experimental Center. “With our application, from the mobile or tablet, it will only be necessary to input the parameters of our farm, and the program will process all the stored information to select or guide the user on the variety of mandarin/s or orange/s and the combination of rootstock that interests them the most,” clarified Baixauli immediately.
The app will process information from a significant plurality of sources and will be updated each campaign. It will contain information from the varietal profiles of IVIA and the collection calendar that groups them according to whether they are ultra-early, early, mid-season, late, and ultra-late. It will also integrate the average climatic data from recent years of the closest season and allow the interested party to specify if, based on their experience, the plot is particularly prone to frost. It will issue an alert to the user if, due to the location of their land, there is a nearby presence of hybrid mandarin varieties that could encourage cross-pollination and the presence of seeds in the fruit. And, as important or more than the choice of variety, the application will assist the user in selecting the rootstock that best adapts to the climatic conditions of the plot, the characteristics of the land (water salinity, limestone, water stress), or will suggest updated alternatives if it is necessary to seek rootstocks that are resistant or tolerant to certain viruses—such as tristeza—or fungal diseases. There is even consideration to integrate commercial data, such as the historical quotations from the Citrus Exchange or a list of certified nurseries where the selected material can be purchased.
The breeding and exporting industry, behind
Alongside the reference center for varietal research on citrus fruits, which is IVIA, the linking role played by the Biovegen Biotechnological Platform and the financial partner represented by Cajamar, Gocitrus integrates important operators from the export sector and the Spanish breeding industry. In the first area, the second-degree cooperative Anecoop stands out – it is the largest marketer in Europe by volume of citrus fruits and also acts as the project coordinator. Indirectly, private trade is also particularly linked, as the social capital of the main Spanish consortia dedicated to the breeding and exploitation of varieties is also present – except in the case of Eurosemillas: GCM integrates the exporters Giner, Cañamás, and Martinavarro; the Castellón Citrus Research (ICCSA) is made up of a group of companies and cooperatives integrated into the Professional Association of Exporters of Fruits from the Province of Castellón (ASOCIEX), and Citrus Génesis is a subsidiary of the Murcia-based AMC Group.