Por Communication January 25, 2021
This is the objective of the European research project HARNESSTOM, in which CTAEX participates.
A consortium of plant breeding companies, scientists, and farmers is working to increase the resistance and quality of tomato varieties through a European Union-backed research initiative. This is the HARNESSTOM project, which is made up of 22 institutions and coordinated by the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC).
It's important to note that the tomato is a widely cultivated and consumed vegetable, but with limited genetic diversity, making it vulnerable to emerging diseases and climate change. In this context, this multidisciplinary group is responsible for gathering existing information and standardizing it in order to later carry out genetic modifications that will improve the tomato.
Specifically, the project has four planned areas of action to address the most important challenges facing the production sector: introducing resistance to emerging diseases; improving tomato tolerance to climate change; improving tomato quality; and increasing the resistance of traditional European tomatoes. Furthermore, it will also seek to increase the speed and efficiency of breeding programs.
Furthermore, all the progress achieved will be integrated into a unified management platform, with Information and tools on tomato germplasm This is to promote dissemination and protect the interests of all involved. In this way, materials, knowledge, and techniques from the academic and industrial worlds can be transferred to the productive sector, addressing its commercial needs.
The National Agri-Food Technology Centre will actively participate in various lines of research. At its experimental farm, the stress response, as well as the stability and robustness of the selected varieties under different conditions, will be evaluated. Work will also be done on disseminating and exploiting the results.
Ultimately, HARNESSTOM is expected to generate value for genetic resources and intellectual property, which will be exploited primarily within CTAEX and eventually by the rest of the community. growers of the tomato.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 101000716, exceeding €8 million, and will run for the next four years. The partners in Harnesstom come from seven countries: Bulgaria, France, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Spain.
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Source of the news: observatoriotomate.com
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