Operational Group: New procedures for the early detection of precursors of 2,4,6 trichloroanisole or TCA at the forest farm level, a sensory defect that affects cork stoppers.

The overall objective of the project is to identify the factors responsible for the formation of TCA at the farm level (e.g., humidity, orientation, temperature, light, specific composition, etc.), applied forest management (e.g., brush clearing), and tree level (e.g., tree health, micro-purple). The specific objectives are:

• At the farm and forest management level, identify the factors that may contribute to TCA contamination of cork.
• At the tree level, determine which indicators related to the health status and micro-habitat of the tree promote cork contamination by TCA.
• Identify the filamentous fungi that are associated with cork with TCA and understand which variables at the tree level are related to the presence of these fungi, and therefore to the presence of TCA.
• To study whether tree genetics is a factor to be taken into account in the synthesis of TCA.

The achievement of these objectives will allow:

• Locate areas affected by TCA in the cork oak forests of Catalonia.
• Establish silvicultural treatments that can help minimize TCA contamination of cork in the forest.
• Develop rapid detection methods for trees with a high probability of being contaminated by TCA.