Tomatoes and cucurbits are among the major vegetables grown in the Mediterranean, ranking 2nd and 3rd after potatoes. Their intensive production, with year round crops and a limited number of cultivars expose them permanently to the emergence and invasions of pathogens including viruses. Geminiviruses are among the most worrying viruses of these crops due to their economic impact, the frequent introduction of new exotic species into the Mediterranean and the continuous emergence of potentially invasive and resistance breaking strains generated by recombination. Prevention and control of these viruses is the major objective of GeMed project. It will be tackled by virologists, entomologists, geneticists, breeders, biologists and computer scientists. The specific objectives are within the major challenges of topic 1.2.2, (i) broadening the knowledge of the ecology of new and potentially invasive geminiviruses with the involvement of partners located at the four cardinal points of the Mediterranean, (ii) understanding outbreak phenomena of invasive recombinant geminiviruses with field observations and analysis of plant-virus interaction using resistance-breaking viral clones and deep small RNA-ome and transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics (iii) diversifying integrated pest management solutions against insect vectors with plant derived metabolites and against viruses with RNA vaccination of crop plants. The innovation potential of GeMed is in the exploration of molecular mechanisms underpinning an outbreak phenomenon, the search of new resistance genes, and validation of exogenous RNAi based plant protection approaches. Stakeholder knowledge and the potential of exploitation and dissemination of the result is embedded in the consortium with full participation of two seed companies and the association with various professional organisations interested in GeMed. Larger dissemination will be done via International plant protection organisations (EPPO, ProMED).

A collaborative interdisciplinary initiative is proposed to promote grain legume cultivation in Mediterranean countries. It includes biotechnologists, agronomists, plant breeders, crop physiologists, organic chemists and phytopathologists from Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia with the aim to evaluate currently and previously grown grain legume varieties for characteristics of importance to sustainable agriculture and to apply novel tools to integrate genetic resistance with other control practises in a concerted manner. Priority is given to the combination of increased yield and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, epidemiology and integrated management thus allowing for the production of leguminous crops of high value in crop rotations of low input and stable yields. The general objective of the work is to combine the application of marker-assisted selection and conventional breeding methods to develop enhanced grain legume genotypes with characteristics of importance to sustainable agriculture across Mediterranean. This will be achieved by: (i) Evaluation of current and historic chickpea, common bean, faba bean, lentil and pea germplasm for characteristics of importance to sustainable agriculture in order to define the desired phenotypes suitable for each Mediterranean area (ii) Development of new and reliable screening methods for the most relevant biotic and abiotic stresses in order to identify new sources of resistance and characterise the resistance mechanisms. The resulting germplasm will be of great interest in future breeding programmes (iii) Identification of new QTLs for yield and resistance/tolerance to stresses in pea. Studies on field stability of QTLs across diverse locations and genetic backgrounds will allow the development of specific markers for pyramiding and rapid screening. (iv) Identification of primary inoculum sources explaining the recurrence of the disease, and evaluation of new combinations of control methods (architectural features, cultural practices, resistance, etc) for the management of the major legume diseases. (v) Development of integrated management of the fungal diseases and broomrapes using fungal and plant metabolites.

The objective of ADAPT-HERD is to develop management simulation tools to implement innovative strategies for resilience and efficiency (R&E) in small ruminants herds, based on harnessing animal adaptive capacities. These tools will address a wide range of current feed resource constraints in the Mediterranean area (Egypt, France, Spain and Tunisia) and the future perturbations induced by climate change. The locally tailored management solutions will improve the ability of livestock systems to adapt to climate change by: i) managing early-life nutrition to safeguard adult adaptive capacities; ii) managing reproduction to find the best match between feed supply and herd demand; iii) tailoring group feeding strategies depending on animals’ adaptive capacities and iv) managing herd demography with replacement and culling to adjust feed demand. To achieve this, ADAPT-HERD brings together information from animal and herd levels with: i) a fine-grained experimental approach (adaptive mechanisms and trade-offs); ii) field phenotyping of local breeds (adaptation to local conditions) and iii) local production environment characterization. These multi-level information will be used to develop computer models and test scenarios. Interfacing and disseminating project’s deliverables as a user-friendly toolbox will be achieved with a participatory modelling framework. The toolbox will help to adapt agricultural practices to change in resource availability by proposing different technical solutions of herd management aimed at facing feed resource perturbations induced by climate change. The challenge is not to find an optimal strategy for R&E, but to explore how management strategies impact the relationship between R&E. These strategies will be grounded in a deep understanding of how local breeds adapt to feed resource constraints. They will be complementary to on-going projects that focus on genetic selection and breeding solutions to improve R&E in small ruminants.

The current changes in climatic conditions including recurrent droughts in Mediterranean countries become a huge threat to the sustainability of grape production, food security and farmers’ incomes in this region. In addition, the majority of the grown grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) is susceptible to fungal diseases requiring use of chemical pesticides that are harmful to human health and the environment. A true challenge is currently the evolution towards production systems combining sustainability, economic viability, and more eco-friendly practices. Using and managing functional microbial diversity (FMD) with beneficial viticultural practices is among the most promising and innovative levers in farming system. Manipulation of plant microbiome has great potential in reducing disease incidences, promoting plant growth and fitness and increasing productivity even under stress conditions. MiDiVine project aimed at developing knowledge, tools and integrated approaches based on grapevine genetic resources and agricultural practices promoting functional microbial diversity (FMD) to better improve grapevine production and resistance against the main foliar and trunk diseases (grey mold, downy mildew and esca) under drought stress conditions, thereby reducing pesticide use in vineyards. The project will focus on the characterization of FMD and the identification of beneficial microbes from traditional cultivated/elite cultivars with different practices and indigenous vines for improving grapevine health and productivity in open vineyards under water shortage conditions. MiDiVine project will analyze the impact of plant genotype, soil type and agricultural practices including the use of covers and service plants, on FMD and the efficiency of beneficial microbes against diseases under stress conditions. The proposal will therefore provide innovative and sustainable solution to improve agroecosystem services by managing soil microbiome and intercropping in Mediterranean countries in order to reduce dependency on agro-chemical pesticides in vineyards, These objectives might be achieved through the development of instruments, such as innovation partnerships, to promote innovation in viticulture by bridging the existing gap between research and farming practices and facilitating communication and cooperation among stakeholders. The project will especially focus on (i) the valorization of local/elite grapevine genotypes and indigenous varieties to characterize FMD to increase sustainability and resilience of farming systems; (ii) understanding the genetic and physiological bases of grapevine adaptation to abiotic stress and resistance to pathogenic oomycete and fungi and development of new protection strategies through multi-factorial approaches, based mainly on the promotion of beneficial FMD; (iii) identifying beneficial microbes and managing FMD in vineyard systems as an innovative strategy for restoring soil functionality, avoiding water scarcity, ensuring sustainable grapevine protection against diseases, and thus improving profitability and (iv) disseminating practical experiences within Mediterranean regions with local cultural practices in which the actors will develop, test and validate the new tools and strategies integrating FMD for effective resilience to drought as well as integrated disease management in new farming systems.

The overall objective of the project is to increase the efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness of the post-farming processing chain of organic citrus fruit, by intervening points of weakness and the unresolved problems of this supply chain. Consistently with the scope, specific objectives include: i) Reduction (from 30 to 0.5%) of losses caused by post-harvest rots during storage and transportation, by treating the fruits with non-toxic, eco-friendly substances and bio-products compatible with organic food as an alternative option to synthetic fungicides (innovative green technology) ii) raising of the quality standards of fresh fruits and juice by using molecular diagnostics (innovative biotechnology) for the detection of pathogenic quarantine fungi (zero tolerance) and mycotoxins (under detectable levels) and excluding fruits that do not comply with EU and EPPO phytopathological and toxicological standards; iii) extension of the shelf-life (from 40 to 45-50 days for oranges; from 60 to 70 days for lemons) of fresh fruit using biodegradable active biocoating and smart packaging; iv) application of smart technologies (ICT-based technologies and machine learning techniques) to reduce shipping times and optimize the delivery of fruits to the targeted markets (20% increase in shipment efficiency and exclusion of complaints or cuts by GDO; v) minimizing the waste (reduction up to 80%) of the industrial fruit transformation by recycling and exploiting the most of citrus pulp, the major by-product of juice and essence industry, by utilizing it as a raw material to produce a biodegradable and natural biocoating of fruit packaging, in accordance with the principles of circular economy and the standards of organic food.