Fast-tracking ROOTStock breeding in olive

Adaptation to environmental conditions is key to maximise crop productivity under limited water and other stresses related to climate impacts.

Combining stress resistance with desired agronomic characteristics through regular plant breeding in fruit trees such as olive requires a huge amount of time and resources and might not be feasible by just using the current available genetic pool.

However, the use of rootstocks could overcome some of these stresses that are challenging tree crops worldwide and allow to unlock the genetic potential of wild relatives of olive.

The objective of FROlive is to speed up the rootstock breeding process in olive trees by developing accurate, fast phenotyping and grafting methodologies for the early selection of new olive rootstocks, in first instance for drought resistance.

This will be done by using techniques that are known to the applicant due to his background in plant breeding and disease resistance screening and analysis techniques, in collaboration with the hosting group, which has a strong track record in the study of olive germplasm resources, genetics and breeding, as well as proven ability to train students and scientists.

The approach and techniques used in FROlive will allow a faster development of rootstocks resilient to new challenging environments and pests, therefore reducing the environmental impact and future proofing our olive orchards.

The training will allow the applicant to be trained as a fruit tree breeder, increasing the capability in this research area.

The project presents a multidisciplinary approach as it brings together plant propagation, germplasm resources, genetics and statistics.

It also represents a collaboration of five different partners, the University of Córdoba, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Málaga, the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and the company Plantas Continental, S.A., opening the possibility for further collaboration between the institutions.