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GOODBERRY
The Institute of Horticulture (INHORT) is participating in a new European Union research project aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of berry production in Europe.
- On March 1, 2016, multidisciplinary research began within the “GoodBerry” project, carried out by 19 partner institutions.
- The project includes three model berry species (strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant) and is funded by the European Commission with 4.870.000 million euros. The project coordinator is the University of Malaga.
Fresh berries are very popular in Europe all year round. Especially in recent years, the demand for these fruits outside the main production season has increased significantly. This applies in particular to fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. European production of these berries, which are extremely important on the EU market, is not able to meet the growing demand, so the market also relies on imports from developing countries. In order to strengthen the competitiveness of European berry production and to ensure high quality fruit, despite the different local growing conditions throughout Europe, new tools and cultivation techniques are needed. Solving these issues is the main objective of a new EU research project with the acronym "GoodBerry".
Coordinated by the University of Malaga, the GoodBerry project aims to increase our knowledge of procedures that will facilitate and accelerate the development of high-quality berry production, even in conditions that are not favorable to plant development processes, such as high temperatures. Focusing on strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants as model crops, the project, with a total budget of €4.870.000 million, will be dedicated to studying the mechanisms and new factors that improve fruit production efficiency, allowing the design of strategies for a better adaptation of berry plants to unfavorable environmental conditions. This will help to make berry production more flexible and more dynamic in the future. “The innovative aspect of GoodBerry is that it takes into account, in an unprecedented way, all developmental processes affecting yield, including flower initiation and dormancy, in order to provide new technical solutions for profitable, sustainable and efficient berry production in Europe,” says GoodBerry coordinator Dr Sonia Osorio from the University of Malaga.
The project is based on the development of a multidisciplinary strategy to identify new molecular factors (metabolites / genes / alleles / loci) responsible for maintaining high fruit yield and quality under extreme environmental conditions. Although novel methods for genetic improvement of berry plants in different environments are not yet applied in current breeding programs, "GoodBerry" will be implemented based on new molecular tools (genomics and metabolomics) to provide comprehensive solutions to the challenges of increasing production efficiency, plant resistance and food quality in the light of climate change.
As part of the project, a team of scientists from the Institute of Horticulture (INHORT), coordinated by Dr. Agnieszka Masny, is carrying out research within several working groups. They include: 1. Multi-trait phenotypic assessment of strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant cultivars in diverse soil and climatic conditions to determine genotype-environment interactions. 2. Analysis of gene transcripts related to flowering initiation, plant dormancy and blackcurrant fruit quality. 3. Regulation of physiological processes in strawberry plants (flowering induction, growth inhibition, dormancy break, bud burst) using temperature, light and fertilizers. 4. Phenotypic assessment of 120 hybrids of the F population1 in different climatic and soil conditions to determine genotype-environment interaction. 5. Sensory evaluation and determination of the chemical composition of strawberry fruits and basic metabolites (varieties and hybrids F1).
The GoodBerry project involves 19 Partners from Europe, China and Chile. The consortium consists of teams of scientists with extensive experience in plant breeding, genomics and metabolomics, as well as innovative small and medium-sized technology companies operating in the berry plant breeding sector. In addition, the GoodBerry project, focused on the development of innovation, involves various groups of recipients at all stages of implementation (from idea to implementation), such as associations and organizations of berry producers or breeders.
Partners participating in the project GoodBerry:
Belgium
Hoogstraten Test Centre
Chile
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
China
Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science
France
National Institute of Agricultural Research
Ciref Création Variétale Fraises Fruits Rouges
Germany
European Research and Project Office GmbH
Hansabred GmbH & Co. KG
Hochschule Geisenheim University
Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Technical University of Munich
Włochy
Sant´Orsola Società Cooperativa Agricola
Marche Polytechnic University
Norway
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research
Poland
Institute of Horticulture
Spain
Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera
Genomics Systems SL
Malaga University
Viveros California, SL
Great Britain
James Hutton Institute
| Contact: Coordinator Malaga University Dr. Sonia Osorio Email: sosorio@uma.es Tel: + 34-952134271 | Project management European Research and Project Office GmbH Dr. Birte Kretschmer Email: b.kretschmer@eurice.eu Phone: +49 30 374415-833 |
Research Institute of Horticulture participates in new EU project to improve quality and efficiency of berry fruit production in Europe
- Launch of large-scale research initiative “GoodBerry” uniting 19 partnering institutions on March 1, 2016
- University of Málaga coordinates €4.87 million project focusing on strawberry, raspberry and black currant as model crops
Fresh berries are highly popular in Europe all year around: In recent years, consumer demand for fresh berries outside the main production season has increased significantly. Strategically important berries for the EU market, such as strawberries, raspberries or black currant, are grown in Europe itself, but demand is much higher than European production capacity and the market relies on imports from developing countries to fill the gap. In order to strengthen the competitiveness of European berry production, and to ensure high fruit quality – despite varying local cultivation conditions across Europe – new tools and cultivation techniques are needed. This is where the new EU research project “GoodBerry” comes into play.
Coordinated by the University of Málaga, “GoodBerry” aims to further improve our knowledge of the procedures that facilitate and accelerate the development of well-accepted, desirable and high-quality berry fruits – even under non-favourable growth conditions such as high temperatures. Focusing on strawberry, raspberry and black currant as model crop species, the project with a total budget of €4.87 million will investigate mechanisms and new factors impacting on yield, thus allowing the design of strategies for improved adaptability of fruit production to non-optimal environmental conditions. This will help making production more controllable and more robust in the future. “The innovative aspect of “GoodBerry” is that it takes into consideration, in an unprecedented way, all developmental processes impacting on yield, including flower initiation and dormancy, to deliver new technical solutions for economic, sustainable and effective berry production in Europe”, says Dr. Sonia Osorio from the University of Málaga and coordinator of “GoodBerry”.
The project is based on the development of an integrative, multi-scale strategy to identify new molecular factors (metabolites/genes/alleles/loci) conferring the capacity to maintain high yield performance and high fruit quality in extreme environmental conditions. While the use of novel methodologies for genetic improvement of berries in different environments is still absent in current breeding programs, “GoodBerry” will build on novel molecular tools to apply cutting-edge genomic and metabolomics based approaches to deliver holistic solutions addressing the challenges of increasing productivity efficiency, crop resilience and food quality in the light of climate changes.
Within the frame of the overall work program the research team of INHORT, coordinated by Dr. Agnieszka Masny, carries out research in frame of several working groups. It includes: 1. Phenotyping of established strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant cultivars In different environments for estimate G x E interactions. 2. Transcriptome analyzes related to blackcurrant flower initiation, dormancy and fruit quality. 3. Regulation of strawberry physiological processes (flower induction, growth cessation, dormancy release and bud break) by temperature, light and fertilizer. 4. Phenotyping plant performance of 120 strawberry F1 hybrids grown AT different and contrasted geographical regions for estimation G x E interactions. 5. Sensory analysis and bulk parameters quantification related to fruit quality and primary metabolites of established cultivars and F1 breeding progenies.
“GoodBerry” brings together 19 partnering institutions from Europe, China and Chile. The consortium comprises internationally renowned academic groups with extensive experience in plant breeding, plant genomics, and plant metabolite profiling, as well as innovative small and medium-sized technology companies active in the berry-breeding sector. Moreover, pursuing a demand-driven innovation approach “GoodBerry” involves various stakeholder groups such as berry farmer associations and breeders at all stages of the project – from idea to application.
The partners in GoodBerry at a glance:
Belgium
Hoogstraten Test Centre
Chile
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
China
Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science
France
National Institute of Agricultural Research
Ciref Création Variétale Fraises Fruits Rouges
Germany
European Research and Project Office GmbH
Hansabred GmbH & Co. KG
Hochschule Geisenheim University
Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Technical University of Munich
Italy
Sant´Orsola Società Cooperativa Agricola
Marche Polytechnic University
norway
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research
poland
Institute of Horticulture
Spain
Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera
Genomics Systems SL
Malaga University
Viveros California, SL
UK
James Hutton Institute
| Contact: Coordinator Malaga University Dr. Sonia Osorio Email: sosorio@uma.es Phone: + 34-952134271 | Project Management European Research and Project Office GmbH Dr. Birte Kretschmer Email: b.kretschmer@eurice.eu Phone: + 49 30 374415 833 |
