AlmondProtect: Diagnosis, epidemiology, monitoring and forecasting of the main diseases affecting almond trees

BACKGROUND

The almond tree (Prunus dulcis), The Alentejo almond, typical of Mediterranean regions, is of great economic, environmental, cultural and social importance in Portugal, even becoming a feature of the landscape and one of the main sources of income in some of the country's regions. The Alentejo is currently responsible for around 70% of national almond production, and the trend is expected to increase in the future.

The almond crop is affected by numerous pathogens and many have traditionally been associated with it. However, more recently, new agents have been detected that cause as yet unknown diseases in this crop, which are thought to have the potential to cause high yield losses and early plant death.

It is therefore essential to study these new diseases that affect the almond tree, especially since large areas of almond trees have sprung up in recent years, especially in the Alentejo, where other crops used to predominate.

In addition, it is expected that there will be growing social and political pressure for agricultural production to become increasingly sustainable, with a reduction in the quantities and types of phytopharmaceuticals that can be used, which is already present in the European Union's “farm-to-fork” strategy, which calls for a 50% reduction in pesticide application by 2030.

SYNOPSIS

O AlmondProtect project - Diagnosis, epidemiology, monitoring and forecasting of the main diseases affecting the almond tree: A sustainable and integrated proposal led by MED - Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, in partnership with InnovPlantProtect (InPP), Agromillora Iberia, Duck River Agriculture and Portugal Nuts - Dried Fruit Promotion Association, is one of the winners of the 5th edition of the “la Caixa” Foundation's Promove Program, in collaboration with Banco BPI and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), in the category of Mobilizing R&D projects.

The project AlmondProtect aims to help reduce the level of disease incidence and losses at the various stages of production, from the nursery through commercial orchards to the post-harvest stage.

To this end, the project aims to increase knowledge of the pathogens associated with the crop, especially in the Alentejo region, design models for monitoring, forecasting and early detection of the main diseases of the almond tree, helping to avoid production losses and unnecessary interventions with plant protection products, for greater production and income and a more competitive and sustainable agriculture.

The main beneficiaries of the project will be all the stakeholders, agricultural companies and private farmers, including producers and nurserymen. The project aims to help ensure that plants arriving in the field are healthy and of high quality, avoiding production losses at the beginning of the crop cycle due to early plant death, which will be crucial for nurseries and growers. In addition, growers will be better prepared for new threats, as they will have early detection of diseases. In this way, it will be possible to improve the management of the application of phytopharmaceuticals and implement practices that minimize the risks of infection.

At AlmondProtect, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) will be responsible for using genomic surveillance for the early detection of diseases through the capture and analysis of fungal spores in the field and for developing a protocol for installing biopesticides on almond trees.

In synergy with other projects taking place at InPP, AlmondProtect will allow the collaborative laboratory to continue developing innovative solutions for the targeted protection of crops such as almonds, with researchers specializing in various areas (e.g. microbiology, plant physiology, bioinformatics and statistics).

OBJECTIVES

1. identify and characterize the causative agents of diseases in symptomatic almond plants and fruit (i.e. those that show symptoms) and their origin.

2. Develop methods for diagnosing and monitoring, at all stages of production, the spatial distribution and progression of diseases, through the early detection of symptoms, using innovative technologies.

3. Create disease prediction models using monitoring data and the capture and analysis of spores in the field at key times of disease occurrence, as well as the assessment of inoculum load from the previous year.

4. Obtain a protocol to install biopesticides on almond trees.

ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED

FINANCING