Research in the Department of Molecular Plant Sciences

Project start: 01.02.2019
Project end: 31.01.2022
Sponsor: Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts

Project start: 01.06.2018
Project end: 31.05.2020
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Project start: 01.03.2016
Project end: 29.02.2020
Sponsor: European Commission

Coordinated by the University of Málaga, GoodBerry is focusing on strawberry, raspberry and black currant as model crop species and will study among others the adaptability of cultivars to different climatic conditions and the impact of these conditions on fruit quality. Global warming influences induction and initiation of flowers and the fulfillment of chilling requirement of the plants. First impairments were already observed in strawberries and currants under German growing conditions in the last decade. By cultivating well established cultivars of the three species with varying adaption to diverse environments at different locations within Europe the project design simulates the influence of climate change on berry cultivation. GoodBerry will build on novel molecular tools to apply cutting-edge genomic and metabolomics based approaches to deliver holistic solutions addressing the challenges of increasing productivity efficiency, crop resilience and food quality in the light of climate changes.

Project start: 01.11.2016
Project end: 31.10.2019
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

The aim of the planned project is to accomplish an early and reliable selection of growth types of the columnar apple, that are best suited for commercial growing systems, on very young plants from crossings. To achieve this, a combination of a few molecular markers will be identified. In combination with other already known markers such as the one for the typical apple aroma (Rowan et al., 2009; Souleyre et al., 2014) an early selection system for the combination of valuable traits including the growth habit of the future trees will be established. To further develop the early selection system, a fast breeding approach will be adopted to allow for a very efficient development of new varieties for the growers. This will allow for a fast introduction of an effective and economically sound production system for a regional production of cider apples for the fruit juice industry. The very effective production system will allow for a production where both, grower and juice industry, work on an economically feasible basis providing income opportunities for both sides.