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Innovative Organic Fruit Breeding and uses

Project description

Sowing seeds for organic farming of the future

The vulnerability of organic fruit production along with rising market demand imposes a continuous pursuit of measures to ensure its quality and sustainability. The EU-funded InnOBreed project will promote and aggregate innovative solutions focused on the participative development of fruit varieties dedicated to the organic farming system. The project is a joint initiative by 21 organisations, including universities, technological centres, associations of producers, from 10 countries. The project’s emphasis is given to social innovations, new ideotypes and new methods for screening resilient cultivars and genitors with larger genetic bases for fostering organic fruit breeding and to their application for the improvement of the whole Organic Fruit Chain.

Objective

The Organic fruit sector is highly dependent on inputs, particularly in terms of plant protection. Climate change is increasing impacts and risks to organic fruit production. Large market demand is expanding for organic fruits but the current commercial cultivars (cvs) range previously selected in high input paradigm are, for most of them, not adapted to organic production. InnOBreed proposes to mobilise Innovative Solutions (ISs): social innovations, new ideotypes, new methods for screening robust cvs and genitors with larger genetic bases for fostering organic fruit breeding. These ISs will be targeted and developed on participative, multi-actor and multi-trait based approaches and then applied for evaluating underutilized Fruit Tree Genetic Resources (FTGR), pre-breeding and advanced material. InnOBreed’s scope encompasses many Rosaceous species but also citrus and grape. InnOBreed aims to improve the whole Fruit chain through the implementation of an Organic Variety Testing Network of actors. It deals with (i)identification and definition of current lock-in in organic fruit farming systems (OFS),(ii) co-designing new ideotypes fitting with local OFS,(iii)identification of performant IS already available, (iv)development of new climate change ISs but also for fruit quality, pests and diseases tolerance, low input fitness and robustness, and their application by FTGR curators,(v) IS’s validation process and implementation by several public-private case-studies in different regions for evaluating their efficiency , and (vi)checking sustainability and consistency with actual regulations before being disseminated for maximizing IS impacts on the value chain.InnOBreed is deeply connected with running initiatives, programmes and resources involved in OFS, organic fruit participative and classical breeding, fostering FTGR uses by fruit-chain, scientists and stakeholders. Particular attention will be paid to embed the relevant stakeholders at national and European levels.

Coordinator

CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE DI ALTISTUDI AGRONOMICI MEDITERRANEI
Net EU contribution
€ 633 750,00
Address
VIA CEGLIE 9
70010 Valenzano
Italy

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Region
Sud Puglia Bari
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 633 750,00

Participants (17)

Partners (3)