GO YESWECAST: Conservation and recovery of the ancestral genome of chestnut for fruit production, improving its resilience to climate change and phytosanitary threats

Type Grupo operativo
Status In progress
Execution 2024 -2027
Scope Supraautonómico
Autonomous community Asturias, Principado de; Castilla y León; Cataluña
Main source of financing PEPAC 2023-2027

Abstract

This project will create a catalogue of plant material from century-old chestnut trees in different regions of Spain with an associated characterisation of their tolerance to different stresses, and a network of conservation and development plots will be established with said materials, as a measure for the conservation of genetic resources. These plots will allow in the future the cultivation and propagation of different varieties and/or genotypes with greater resistance to biotic and abiotic factors, which can be made available for various research and development programmes, in addition to being able to be used in fields of mother trees to provide any interested chestnut grower with proven plant material to use in grafting their farm or carrying out new plantations.

Innovative adaptive measures will be developed in chestnut management in the face of climate change (CC), in addition to digitalisation measures for the sector to manage the resource, as well as pests and diseases in the face of this. In this sense, the main variables that affect the production and optimal development of chestnut in the face of CC and its main biotic disturbances will also be determined through continuous monitoring. This will allow obtaining an analysis of the spectrum-phenology of chestnut in conditions of maximum phytosanitary status and without significant alterations, a scheme with the most relevant dates for monitoring, as well as a selection of indices and values that will allow identifying changes for the different pathologies. Regarding the latter, descriptive predictive models of the conditions, values and thresholds for the identification of risk levels that allow varying the management conditions for the chestnut grower will be obtained, and all the information obtained can be easily updated in the future, by increasing the data obtained by the analysed sensors.

A transfer line will be developed through cooperation between the sector and the R&D&I ecosystem, in order to promote the transfer of knowledge, the dissemination of results and the participation of the different agents of the chestnut value chain in this process, with the support of digital platforms, guaranteeing its durability and cooperation between agents. In this sense, an application will be obtained that will provide information on the risk levels for each identified disturbance, based on the data that is obtained in real time. This application will help to collect production data and different phenological variables, presence of in situ conditions, through a development that allows the generation of information without data coverage, and that sends this information to a server automatically when it is retrieved. Thus, different technicians will work simultaneously feeding a common database, which will be available to the cooperation network and those public organizations responsible for plant health.

Description

The different activities of the project will be replicated in different regions of the country, specifically in Galicia, Andalusia, Asturias, Catalonia, Castile and Leon and Extremadura. The specific areas of action will be defined during the first months after the start of the project. However, there are common activities that will be developed jointly by all the project partners, which seek to reach the entire country and, based on the results obtained, provide knowledge applicable internationally.

Description of activities

Identification and conservation of the genetic resources of century-old Castanea sativa trees through inventory of these specimens, sampling, genotyping and vegetative propagation of the same.
Analysis of susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses of selected genotypes. Implementation and maintenance of test/demonstration plots, and establishment of an ex situ ancestral germplasm bank to provide a genetic reservoir for possible future improvement programs.
Determination through continuous monitoring (remote sensors) of the main variables that affect the production and optimal development of chestnut trees in the face of climate change and its main biotic disturbances.
Innovative adaptive measures in the management of chestnut diseases in the face of climate change (CC). Sustainable biocontrol strategies for GNOMONIOPSIS SMITHOGILVYI, including optimization of the pathogen detection and identification method, the influence linked to CC and genotype, and in vivo and in vitro evaluation of control methods using BCA.
Technological measures and digitalisation of the sector for resource management, as well as pest and disease management in the face of climate change. Development of an interactive warning app for the production sector: nurserymen and producers and establishment of a network of collaborating base users between producers and R&D&I centres.
Knowledge transfer through cooperation between the sector and the R&D&I ecosystem, and the dissemination of results.

Contextual description

The economic activity surrounding chestnuts and their fruits is of vital importance as a source of new economic resources. Although it is a forest species due to its multifunctional nature as a supplier of goods (chestnuts, wood, etc.) and ecosystem services, it is a crop aligned with the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), especially with regard to social demands related to quality food, food safety and environmental sustainability.

In this sense, one of the main reasons for the proposal of this project has been the existence of a strong market for the product at an international level, as it is a potentially valued and high-quality product, especially given the growing demand for organic products and among the population with food intolerances.

However, the demand for quality food is increasing, so it is necessary to apply research and innovation to the service of production. In this sense, the main problem is that today Spanish production is affected by various factors, where climate change and environmental incidents increase the effect of biotic threats and decrease production, in addition to accelerating the vulnerability of the species and promoting the disappearance of the chestnut in the rural economy and the loss of population. This means that the product does not have the desired competition and positioning in the market, not only because of the entry of products from other origins below the national cost, but also because the rest of the production areas are much more organized and have growth potential.

Despite this, there is a great deal of structuring of the sector at a national level, in addition to reference sectoral events, but with room for potential improvement in the short term, partly thanks to the existence of support from the administration, the existence of a Forestry Plan (2002-2032) with measures to structure the actions necessary for the development of a Spanish forestry policy, and adequate EU financing mechanisms, which make it necessary to take advantage of these opportunities, taking into account the weaknesses and threats that plague the sector.

Objectives

Improving the resilience and conservation of chestnut trees in the face of climate change and its impact on the development of pests and diseases, through innovation applied to their sustainable management, through new advances in technological development, applied research and continuous monitoring to identify variables and conditions, which allow the development of innovative detection and quantification strategies, and control proposals to reduce losses in fruit production, making the sector more competitive and farms more profitable.

Results

A catalogue of plant material from century-old chestnut trees in different regions of Spain will be created with an associated characterisation of their tolerance to different stresses, and a network of conservation and development plots will be established with said materials, as a measure for the conservation of genetic resources.
In addition, innovative adaptive measures will be developed in chestnut management in the face of climate change, as well as measures to digitalise the sector for resource management, as well as pest and disease management in the face of CC. In this sense, the main variables that affect the production and optimal development of chestnut trees in the face of climate change (CC) and its main biotic disturbances will also be determined through continuous monitoring.
Finally, a line of knowledge transfer will be developed through cooperation between the sector and the R&D&I ecosystem, and the dissemination of results.

Contact information

Coordinator name: CASTILLA Y LEÓN FORESTRY AND INDUSTRY SERVICES AND PROMOTION CENTER FOUNDATION
Postal address: POL.IND. LAS CASAS, CALLE C, PARK. 4, 42005 SORIA
Coordinator email: roberto.rubio@cesefor.com
Telephone: 975 21 24 53

Coordinators