COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology

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ESF provides the COST Office through a European Commission contract COST is supported

by the EU Framework Programme

COST

European Cooperation in Science

and Technology

Introduction to the

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2

Added value and impact of

participating in

a COST Action

Katja Žani

ć

,

COST Action FA 1204,

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COST Action FA 1204 - Outline

3

Name:

Vegetable Grafting to Improve Yield and Fruit

Quality under Biotic and Abiotic Stress Conditions

Start date

: 01/10/2012

End date

: 30/09/2016

Chair:

Prof. Giuseppe Colla

University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy

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1. COST FA 1204 – Action presentation



Scientific concept (background)

•

Cucurbits and solanaceous crops are frequently cultivated under

unfavorable environmental conditions.

•

Grafting represents a practical tool to reduce the losses in production

caused by adverse conditions.



Main objective

• The Action promotes advanced knowledge gathering and exchanging

through a multidisciplinary network of partners in order to understand

how rootstock-mediated traits can improve vegetable crop yield and

quality under (a)biotic adverse conditions.

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

Specific objectives:

•

Identify germplasm available and ongoing breeding programs

• Define root-shoot signaling and grafting compatibility

• Determine root-shoot interaction under (a)biotic stresses

• Identify effects of rootstocks on fruit quality

• Create an international database

• Transfer available knowledge into the practice

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

Foreseen scientific, technological, and/or socio-economic impacts

• Establishment of collaborations between scientists, public research institutions and

private sector (seed companies, nurseries, vegetable grower associations) through the

organization of meetings, STSMs, training schools, research projects, and website. Impact: Scientific/ technological; Achieved within 2 years.

• Identification of the utility of grafted plants in different European vegetable production areas with particular emphasis on how grafted plants can ameliorate the efficiency of

resource use, yield stability under changing environmental conditions, the quality of rural life reducing the needs of chemical. Impact: Scientific/ technological, Economic, Societal; Timing: foreseen 5-10 years.

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Action Parties

1.

COST FA 1204 – Action presentation

2016

0 5 10 15 20 25

COST countries COST Near Neighbour Countries (NNC) COST International Partner Countries (IPC) 22 2 2

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

Management structure

Management Committee

http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/fa/FA1204?management

MC Chair: Prof. Giuseppe Colla (IT)

MC Vice Chair: Dr. Francisco Perez Alfocea (ES)

1.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

MC Members MC Substitute MC Observer NNC MC Observer IPC 40 14 2 4

Structure 2016.

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Working groups

1.



Management structure

WG1 - Genetic resources and rootstock breeding

Leader: Andrew J. Thompson, Cranfield University, UK

WG2 - Rootstock-scion interactions and graft compatibility

Leader: Jan Henk Venema, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

WG3 - Rootstock-mediated resistance to (a)biotic stresses

Leader: Dietmar Schwarz, Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops,

Germany

WG4 - Rootstock-mediated improvement of fruit quality

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STSM Coordinator

Prof. Dimitrios Savvas

Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Email:

dsavvas@aua.gr

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STSM postions were realized till 31 July 2015

http://www.vegetablegrafting.unitus.it/index.php/projects.html

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

Management structure

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

Other COST Instruments

Activity 2013

-2016

MC/WG Meetings

1. 1st _{Meeting (MC-WGs), 11-12 March 2013, Agricultural University of}

Athens (AUA), Greece

2. 1st _{Annual Conference - 1}st _{Rootopower Workshop, 12-14 November}

2013 Murcia, Spain

3. Steering Committee + WGs Meeting, 10-12 February 2014, Jerusalem, Israel

4. 2nd _{COST Action FA1204 Annual Conference, 20 -22 October 2014,}

Carcavelos, Portugal

5. Steering Committee + WGs Meeting, 2-4 March 2015, Antalya, Turkey 6. 3rd _{Annual Conference – Vegetable Grafting and the Rhizosphere, 14-17}

September 2015, Berlin, Germany

7. Core Working Groups Meeting and Steering Committee Meeting, 18-19 April 2016, Bleiswijk, The Netherlands

8. COST FA-1204 Final Conference, 19-21 September 2016, Pula, Croatia Workshops or Conferences 5

Training

Schools

• 1st _{Training school on Vegetable grafting}_{, 23 – 26 September 2014,}

Catania, Italy

• 2nd _{Training school on Vegetable grafting}_{, 19-21 April 2016, Wageningen}

UR Greenhouse Horticulture, Bleiswijk, The Netherlands

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2. COST FA1204 networking activities



Added value of networking

Two „Action” proposals on vegetable grafting were submitted:

 Horizon 2020 Topic: SFS-05-2015; Proposal no. 678910-2; After 2nd _{step of evaluation}

-not funded.

 FACCE-ERA-NET ‘Exploring novel Cucurbit germplasm for rational rootstock breeding under a changing climate’ - did not pass the 1st _{step of evaluation.}

The members of the COST action cover different disciplines: breeding, genetics,

physiology, molecular biology, biotechnology, plant pathology, agronomy, and food

science.

The different expertise

are fundamental for realising added values in the field

of vegetable grafting.

The collaborations among scientists with exchange of germplasm for studding scion-rootstock interaction and for developing new scion-rootstocks has been allowed.

STSMs have allowed establishment of cooperation among COST Action participants fostering the achievement of WG goals.

Many results arising from cooperation among COST participants have been published in scientific journals (8 in WoS till 2015).

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The COST Action network permitted the establishment of a team of skilled trainers

and the organization of a training schools.



Added value of networking & Good practice examples

Two Schools use the triangle of experience: breeding companies, nurseries and

university researchers to transfer the knowledge and skills to participants.

 1st _{Training school on Vegetable grafting, 23 – 26 September 2014, Catania, Italy}

- Research: University of Catania; Italy

- Seed companies: Rijk Zwaan (NL) & Enza Zaden (NL) - Nursery: Centro Seia, Italy

 2nd _{Training school on Vegetable grafting, 19 – 21 April 2016, NL}

- Research: University of Groningen & Wageningen UR (NL) - Seed companies: Enza Zaden (NL)

- Nursery: International nursery Grow Group

Additionaly, interactions between breeding companies/nurseries and academic

researchers have increased and permitted the understanding of the commercially

most important trait to target in rootstock breeding programs.

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MC & WG – 5 meetings (2013 – 2016)

1. 1st_{Meeting (MC-WGs), 11-12 March 2013, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Greece}

2. 1st_{Annual Conference - 1}st_{Rootopower Workshop, 12-14 November 2013 Murcia, Spain}

3. 2nd_{COST Action FA1204 Annual Conference, 20 -22 October 2014, Carcavelos, Portugal}

4. 3rd _{Annual Conference – Vegetable Grafting and the Rhizosphere, 14-17 September 2015,}

Berlin, Germany

5. Core Working Groups Meeting and Steering Committee Meeting, 18-19 April 2016, Bleiswijk, The Netherlands

Research presentations



Personal experience as participant in the Action

Lecture as speeker 2 Lecture as coauthor 1

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Collaboration with COST FA 1204 members:

• Leader of WG3 Dr. Dietmar Schwarz (Leibniz Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Großbeeren, Germany) is engaged as konsultant on national scientific project „Tomato grafting mitigates biotic stress caused by whiteflies” - in compliance with the COST Action; funded by Croatian Science foundation (2015 –

2018), PI: K. Žanić.

STSM – used by IAC members

• Dr. Gabriela Vuletin Selak completed the STSM-a (FA1204-230315-055367) titled „Assessing the properties of the photosynthetic apparatus in grafted plants under abiotic stress by chlorophyll fluorescence imaging“ (2015).

o Host institution:Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Departamento de Horticultura, Valencia, Spain.

o Supervizor: Dr. Angeles Calatayud. Training school - used by IAC members

• Dr. Branimir Urlić finished the training 1st _{Training school on Vegetable grafting}_{, 23}

- 26 September 2014, Catania, Italy and become the member of COST FA 1204 WG3 member

2. COST FA1204 networking activities

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

Personal (IAC) experience as participant in the Action



COST FA-1204 Final Conference

19

th

-21

st

September 2016, Pula, Croatia

Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, smilja@iptpo.hr

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Thank you for your attention!