A serious problem that many horticultural crops in Valencia have been suffering for a long time is the negative impact of heatstroke, which usually causes widespread collapses in plantations. Tomatoes, peppers or watermelons that were developing very well during the spring and early in the summer start decaying as soon as the temperatures jump to higher values. Therefore, one of the lines of research at the experimental facilities of the Cajamar Foundation in Paiporta aims to develop strategies to improve the resistance of horticultural plants against intense heat, thereby extending their productive capacity and making the activity more profitable for their producers.
Roberto García Torrente, director of Agro-food Innovation at Fundación Cajamar, and Carlos Baixauli, head of the Paiporta centre, explained that one of the first achievements in this field is being obtained with tomatoes, where good results have already been reached by selecting resistant varieties. Now the project will continue with a genetic improvement program. The goal is to try to get heat resistance genes to manifest in the most appreciated and commercially valuable varieties. They have also identified a tomato variety that is resistant to a disease that is known popularly as 'the peseta', which causes brown spots that look like coins to appear in the lower part of the fruits.
Baixauli and García Torrente presented a wide range of horticultural innovations during the open day which Fundación Cajamar organises every year in Paiporta. The event was attended by some 250 producers, technicians and managers of cooperatives and other agricultural companies, who were welcomed by the president of the foundation in the Region of Valencia, Santos Fernández.
The research and experimental work carried out by this centre is resulting in the launch of a wide range of practical solutions with a great potential for the future. Worthy of note is that the attendees to the open day are increasingly specialised and professionalised, because there is a growing interest in learning about and applying what is done there.
The research work carried out in Paiporta is also complemented by the one done in the 'Las Palmerillas' centre of Cajamar, in El Ejido, Almeria. The two have managed to offer a wide range of specific solutions for the biological control of pests without the use of chemical insecticides. Great progress has also been made in determining what type of mesh is the most suitable to cover different crops and what kind of (biodegradable) plastic film is the most ideal to cover the soil.
Source: lasprovincias.es