Sensor-based evaluation of drought stress tolerance in apple (Malus × domestica)
Background: The increasing frequency of hot and dry weather conditions, coupled with water shortages, poses significant challenges for fruit production. Perennial crops such as apples are particularly vulnerable to drought stress, including...
Term: 2025-06-01 bis 2027-12-31Establishment and evaluation of a biological control of woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum Hausm.) in apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) through the introduction of earwigs (Forficula auricularia L.)
Woolly apple aphids are major pests in apple cultivation. They cause cracks and galls on shoots and roots, weaken tree growth, and promote diseases. Climate change exacerbates these problems by increasing drought stress. At the same time, chemical...
Term: 2025-06-01 bis 2027-12-31Development of a Digital Phenotyping Method for Assessing Fruit Load in Apple Genetic Resources
This project aims to develop a digital method for automatically assessing the fruit load in apple trees. This technology is intended to help predict apple tree yields more accurately and detect fluctuations in biennial bearing, to breed more...
Term: 2023-08-01 bis 2026-12-31Enlargement of the genetic resources of Malus for apple breeding
In the first 12-month phase of the collaboration, a joint collection expedition will be carried out in Vietnam to the Quang Nam province collecting Malus doumeri. Malus doumeri is one of the Asian species missing in the Fruit genebank in JKI,...
Term: 2024-07-01 bis 2025-12-31Development of a procedure for establishing an in vitro culture in Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna)
The testing of the starting material for the Apple Mosaic Virus represents a crucial step in ensuring quality. In this process, the inoculation of dormant buds from potted cultures is examined using established protocols, as described by Kosenko et...
Term: 2024-03-06 bis 2026-03-06Improvement of Fruit Tree Data Inclusion in EURISCO
Central crop databases exist for Malus, Prunus and Pyrus, but are no longer sustainable. Since 2015, the European database EURISCO has created the possibility to store characterisation & evaluation data. Unique genotype codes (MUNQ/PUNQ for...
Term: 2024-01-15 bis 2025-09-30Molecular basis of water soaking of strawberry
The project aims at the elucidation of the genetic mechanisms for the susceptibility of strawberries to rainwater-induced "water soaking". For this purpose, a segregating F1 population will be used for genetic and QTL mapping. Subsequently,...
Term: 2023-10-01 bis 2026-09-30Crop Wild Relatives for a sustainable fruit production in Europe
FRUITDIV will tackle all issues listed in the call HORIZON-CL6-2023-BIODIV-01-13 for wild, undomesticated species related to crops essential for human health and diet: apple, pear and stone fruit species (apricot, peach, plum, almond, cherry). It...
Term: 2024-01-01 bis 2028-01-31Development of molecular markers for breeding of climate-adapted pome and stone fruit cultivars with late flowering time
The project is divided into two subprojects, each to be performed by a research scientist. In subproject 1, the genetic mechanisms of bud dormancy in apple will be further elucidated. In parallel, subproject 2 focuses on the genetic mechanisms of...
Term: 2024-02-01 bis 2029-01-31Development and evaluation of interspecific hybrids - sweet cherry x apricot
The partly low genetic diversity in cherry cultivars has led to a reduced adaptability to changing cultivation and climatic conditions in recent decades. In individual fruit breeding programmes, interspecific hybridisations have therefore been used...
Term: 2022-11-01 bis 2025-11-30