In order to present a vaccine that prevents cherries from splitting due to the action of unexpected rains, the INIA Quilamapu researcher, Cristián Balbontín, will speak at the International Cherry Conference, organized by the Portuguese University of Trás-os-Montes and Upper Douro. The agricultural engineer will be one of the seven speakers on a panel of experts that will also include researchers from the Czech Republic, Croatia and Portugal.
The virtual conference responds to an initiative of the European Association for Agricultural Innovation (EIP-AGRI) that promotes the practice of competitive and sustainable agriculture and forestry that “achieve more and better with less,” Balbontín said.
The professional will refer to the “Effect of the hormones abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate on the prevention of cracking in cherries”, a topic of great interest among the producing countries of this fruit, such as Portugal, given the impediment generated by the commercialization of fruits games.
INIA Quilamapu researcher, Cristián Balbontín.
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The participation of the Chilean specialist occurs within the framework of a research project that he led from Chillán on this subject, thanks to the financing of Fondecyt projects.
The researcher mentioned that cherries are very sensitive to damage to their skin, particularly due to the effects of rain, a phenomenon known as splitting or cracking. “The eventual damages usually affect up to 80% of the fruits when rainfall occurs during the ripening stage, which is increasingly recurrent in conditions of climate change.” He added that although there are varieties of cherries that have greater tolerance, “the main varieties grown in Chile are susceptible to this problem, which generates the interest of other producing countries.”
Balbontín explained that after investigating the genes that confer tolerance to the most resistant varieties, “we discovered that these are closely related to the pathways for the synthesis of waxy compounds that cover the fruit and give it impermeability conditions.” He added that these genes respond to the action of plant hormones, such as abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate. “Over several seasons we tested different combinations of these hormones at different stages of fruit development. We found that the early application of these hormones, in specific doses, can reduce up to 80% of the damage suffered by the fruits when they are in contact with water.”
The INIA Quilamapu researcher stressed that the importance of the work carried out lies in the fact that “we have found a vaccine against cherry fruit splitting” and that this will be what he will show at the international conference.
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