UTalca experts develop crops that adapt to climate change

Varieties of pears and apples resistant to changing agroclimatic conditions, created within the framework of an international program, was one of the novelties presented at the tenth version of PomaExpo organized by Centro de Pomáceas.

Carlos Martínez, Journalist.- Climate change is a phenomenon that is happening now and the agricultural sector is one of those that has been severely affected.

To face the new challenges that the climate crisis imposes on agriculture, the Centro de Pomáceas UTalca, presented within the framework of the tenth version of Pomaexpo, an international program, unprecedented in the continent, that seeks to create new varieties of pears and apples that are capable of resisting these new agroclimatic conditions.

In this way, Chile becomes the first country in Latin America to be part of the Hot Climate program, which will allow the creation of new varieties of apples and pears, capable of resisting the wings in the temperatures that have been experienced with climate change.

“What is expected is that these new varieties can replace and help those that already exist and that varieties can continue to be created, with the same color and the same flavor, despite the extreme conditions that exist in Chile,” he said. , during his participation in Pomaexpo 2023, the manager of development of new varieties of Venture Fruit and member of the Hot Climate program, Gary Wellwood.

During the event, the advances of the Apple Tree Genetic Improvement Program were also presented, a project supported by CORFO through the Biofrutales Consortium, and developed by ANA Chile and the Pomáceas Center of the University of Talca.

This program is led by the academic and director of the Center, José Antonio Yuri, who indicated that it seeks to “accompany the industry in this process because genetic improvement is so complex, long-term and so expensive, that it is not a theme that the center can absorb on its own. Therefore, the program is our accompaniment towards the company that is carrying it out.”

Andes New Varieties Administration (ANA) is the company that, for more than 10 years, has been part of this genetic improvement program carried out by UTalca and that allows sustained work on the creation of new varieties of apples and pears.

This was explained by Luis Fernández, general manager of ANA, who stressed that “the current climatic conditions register increasingly higher temperatures and the varieties we are using are required to be adapted to these new conditions and the program we carry out together with the University de Talca, has been oriented towards that objective”.

For her part, Lorena Pinto, head of pome and cherry product at ANA Chile, explained that “although the seeds are imported from abroad, it is foreign genetics, but the crosses are focused on the needs of Chile.”

Heat resistant varieties

Rising temperatures globally is one of the most complex challenges to overcome when it comes to growing pears and apples.

It is at this point where the Pomáceas Center and ANA have placed special interest in working on the creation of new varieties of these crops.

“More than the lack of water, the idea is to have varieties that are tolerant to high temperatures, capable of coloring under very cold conditions and that do not burn from intense radiation. Those are the objectives and we are already evaluating these varieties, under semi-commercial conditions. We have even sent them abroad to be tested in other industries,” explained Luis Fernández from ANA.