Research Ring Project awarded
Applied science to the management of abiotic stress in fruit trees
Contribution to the future of agriculture
We create solutions and knowledge to address climate change
The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences is conducting multidisciplinary research that is funded by the National Research and Development Agency (ANID).
Project awarded
The initiative has an allocated amount of $660 million for its implementation.
Species studied
The research includes three fruit trees: cherry trees, European hazelnut trees, and wine grapes.
Damage reduction
Biostimulants and phytohormones allow for more effective rehydration and reduce foliar damage.
Impact on the territory
The study will have a potential impact on more than 100.000 hectares of plantations.
Adverse weather conditions
Natural solutions to maintain productivity in the face of climate change
Various challenges such as heat and drought will need to be addressed by academics in Agricultural Sciences who study the resilience of fruit trees.
Heat waves and water scarcity cause losses of up to 30% in cherries and vines.
Biostimulants and sunscreens can improve photosynthetic efficiency by up to 15%.
uta research
Fruit trees under stress: science to address climate change
«UTalca is leading a project awarded by the Research Rings (ANID) to address abiotic stress using biostimulants and phytohormones in various fruit tree species, seeking to improve the resilience and competitiveness of these plantations.».
The Maule Region is one of the territories that sustains the country's agricultural production. Here, obtaining high-quality fruit is more than just a production goal; it's a strategic necessity to face an increasingly challenging climate scenario.
In the central region of our country, agriculture defines identity, employment, and development, and it is from this territory that the University of Talca is once again positioning itself as a national leader in applied science, promoting cutting-edge research that seeks to protect and enhance the country's fruit trees against abiotic stress.
This is how a Research Rings 2025 project from the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) was awarded, which opens a new stage for the generation of advanced knowledge aimed at ensuring the quality, competitiveness and resilience of Chilean fruit production.
The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the university will carry out the project “Fruit trees and vines under abiotic stress: physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic characterization to propose mitigation and adaptation strategies in a context of climate change”.
The research proposes the use of biostimulants, phytohormones and sunscreens, as exogenous elements of biological solutions to mitigate stress, as a natural strategy to favor the physiological response of cherry trees, European hazelnut trees and grapevines to extreme conditions of heat, radiation, water scarcity among other adverse scenarios.
The team of academics who are part of the initiative is led by Professor César Acevedo; who, along with Fernando Guerra, Laurens Klerkx, Yerko Moreno and Francisco Zamudio, make up a team with an interdisciplinary approach that combines plant physiology, genetics, agricultural economics and technology transfer.
The project director explained that, “in cherry trees, post-harvest heat stress can reduce the following season's exportable production by up to 30%. In grapevines, sun-damaged fruit can result in losses of up to 25%.”
“With biological solutions, we aim to improve photosynthesis and plant recovery. We want to identify the genes that are expressed under heat and water stress and study metabolic pathways that can be strengthened through biostimulants,” Acevedo explained.
For his part, the Director of Research at UTalca, Roberto Jara, emphasized that this award “reaffirms the university’s position as a key player in generating knowledge and solutions to the challenges of climate change and sustainability. The Anillos projects constitute highly complex research that strengthens our institutional strategy of promoting applied science with a territorial focus and impact on key productive sectors.”
Phases
The tests will be carried out in controlled environment chambers located at the university itself, where abiotic stress scenarios will be simulated to analyze variables such as water potential, stomatal conductance, normalized difference vegetation index, which is an indicator of the health and vigor of the vegetation, as well as leaf temperature.
In these scenarios, the plants will be subjected to various stress conditions, including high temperature, radiation, and lack of irrigation. Some preliminary results studied by the team show that the application of phytohormones and plant sunscreens improves post-stress recovery and significantly reduces losses of exportable fruit.
The projections are encouraging: natural treatments with phytohormones and sunscreens have shown significant improvements in plant recovery and a reduction in production losses.
The project also integrates the social and economic perspective of agriculture, through the work of researcher Laurens Klerkx, who studies how the results can be transferred to agricultural producers and cooperatives, promoting a transition towards a more resilient and sustainable agriculture.
The research includes a technology dissemination and extension strategy, with workshops, seminars, and field days, to train farmers, students, and technicians in new biotechnological tools. “The ultimate goal,” Acevedo states, “is for scientific knowledge to reach the orchards and help sustain the competitiveness of the Chilean fruit sector in the face of climate change.”
Fruit trees and vines under abiotic stress
Data that contributes to decision-making
Researching for a sustainable future
The UTalca team from the Research Ring project is studying how high temperatures, solar radiation and lack of water, among other stressors, affect cherry trees, European hazelnut trees and wine grapes, proposing biological solutions to improve their resilience.
Applied research
Resilient fruit trees
Controlled trials in cherry trees, European hazelnut trees and wine grapes allow the development of biological solutions for sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change.
Scientific development
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