Chile: Research seeks to develop variety of cranberry capable of cultivation with little cold
The professor of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Chile, María Loreto Prat del Río is one of the main investigators of the project called "Genetic improvement in blueberries for low or no cold requirement".
The work, which was awarded by Corfo to the company Biofrutales, in its Innova program, is carried out in conjunction with the Department of Agricultural Production of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Chile.
According to Prat, the main purpose of the experiment is to obtain new varieties of blue berries, which can be grown with little or no cold requirement in the orchards where they are planted.
"In genetic improvement programs, a very important element is to have a specific objective of what you want to achieve. One can choose millions of characters on which to intervene, such as productivity, fruit size, resistance to cold, or others, "adds the researcher.
The professor emphasizes that the research is aimed at producing an adequate variety of blueberries to be introduced in the so-called "early" areas, which he points out are located in northern Chile. "The objective of the project is to place this variety specifically in the Fourth Region, where it is estimated that there are 200 to 300 annual cold hours," says Prat.
To detail
The professor from the University of Chile explains that different varieties of blueberries were searched worldwide to set up a germplasm bank and start the project. "We already have this germplasm bank installed in our Faculty, where we have around 30 varieties, and they started doing the crosses and then selecting the area where we want to place these plants, these segregates," says Prat.
On the germplasm bank, Prat affirms that it is a collection of varieties that are planted in a sector where all the varieties with which they are working are replicated, with repetitions, in order to make evaluations , of the behavior of these varieties in a place that has certain soil qualities and climate.
"There you see the real potential of these varieties without making any kind of modifications. It should be noted that we have been in this program for three years and this is the second year in which we will have seeds, "emphasizes Prat.
The specific researcher that of these varieties is observing its behavior and evaluating when the plant blooms, when and how much it produces, etc. "This information is very important because from that data you can choose the parents that will serve to produce the segregants that we are going to obtain," says Prat.
He maintains that directed and planned crosses are carried out in the germplasm bank, but underlines that it is also possible to work with open pollination to obtain useful variables for the project.
“We develop genetics for the world, not just for ourselves. Although this program was born from the need to have our own varieties for an area with less cold. We are also interested in obtaining an evergreen blueberry, which does not have a winter break and which allows us to control the harvest season by means of crop management techniques, ”says Prat.
He relates that in this first stage of the project the varieties available in the central zone are evaluated, but that the idea of creating a new variety garden in the Coquimbo region is in perspective. "The main objective in that region is to test the behavior of the available varieties," says the researcher.
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