Researchers from the Department of Plant Science of the Agricultural Research and Technology Center of Aragon (CITA) will attend from August 23 to 28 the XXXII International Horticulture Congress (IHC2026), which will take place in Kyoto (Japan), where they will present their most recent work.
Under the motto "Exploring the diversity of horticulture," the meeting will bring together specialists from numerous countries to share the latest advancements, exchange experiences, and discuss the challenges and opportunities that the sector will face in the coming years, according to the Government of Aragon.
The CITA team, in coordination with various universities and research centers both Spanish and foreign, will participate with six oral presentations and nine contributions in poster format.
Researcher Patricia Irisarri will present the oral communication "Phenotyping of characters related to vegetative propagation in wild relatives of the genus Prunus," focused on the evaluation of rooting ability and graft compatibility of wild apricot trees, with the aim of locating genotypes of interest for genetic improvement programs and enhancing the use of these resources in the development of new rootstocks and varieties better adapted to climate change.
In addition, she will present in poster format the results of the study "Early histological markers correlated with graft compatibility in wild Prunus."
Both investigations are part of the European project FRUITDIV and have involved researchers Pilar Errea and Ana Pina, along with research technician Pierre Henri Mignard.
MORE RESEARCH
These scientists, along with Francisco Javier Bielsa, will show the poster "Histological and histochemical characterization of enzymatic browning in apple."
The same group, which includes researcher Miguel Ferrer, will also present the oral communication "Classification of traditional Spanish apple germplasm for fresh consumption and cider production," defended by Ana Pina.
This work focuses on the characterization of traditional apple varieties according to their suitability for direct consumption or cider production, contributing to the conservation and enhancement of these phytogenetic resources. Both contributions are part of the APPLEDIV project.
Likewise, the researchers Pina, Errea, and Irisarri, along with María Teresa Espiau, participate in the study "Diversity of germplasm, long-term phenotyping, and GWAS studies to boost predictive improvement in apple and pear," which will be presented through an oral communication.
The WAMEDISS project, focused on advances in multidisciplinary and sustainable control of diseases in melon and watermelon and water deficit, will be represented at the congress with two posters: "Morphological characterization of local entries of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.]" and "Evaluation of the resistance of a collection of cucurbits to Fusarium keratoplasticum," signed by Ana Garcés-Claver, Imen Mtar, Oreto Fayos, and Carmen Julián.
These works show results on the detection of materials with greater tolerance to diseases and the characterization of the diversity of local cultivars of gourd relevant to plant breeding programs.
ROOTSTOCKS IN ALMOND
Within the framework of the project "Genomic approaches for a holistic selection of characters of interest in almond varieties and rootstocks (HOLA4ALLTREE)," the oral communication "Evaluation of new rootstocks and almond varieties to improve their adaptation and resilience" will be presented by María José Rubio-Cabetas, in which Jérôme Grimplet, Mª Ángeles Sanz, Gloria Estopañán, María Teresa Espiau, Virginia Ruiz, and Beatriz Bielsa have participated.
This study provides quality fruit data from new selections of the almond genetic improvement program, as well as the production differences between two rootstocks with different vigor.
Complementarily, the poster "Field behavior and water consumption of three low-vigor rootstocks" will be shown, prepared by María José Rubio-Cabetas, Virginia Ruiz, and Beatriz Bielsa.
The poster "Genetic diversity of local Aragonese olive varieties evaluated using SNP markers from new prospected material" will also be presented, in which synonyms and homonyms have been contrasted with the World Olive Bank of Córdoba, signed by María José Rubio-Cabetas, Beatriz Bielsa, and Marta Estopiñán on behalf of CITA.
On the other hand, researcher Juliana Navarro and research technician David Gimeno will intervene with two oral communications. The first, "Commercial circuits and value chains of wild-harvested plant species in Spain and France: implications for sustainable management and conservation," describes the value chains of the main aromatic and medicinal plant species (PAM) harvested in both countries, identifies the different actors, and analyzes the economic dimension of the activity in each type of circuit —food, medicinal, and ornamental green—.
The second presentation is titled "Shade tolerance and essential oil production of medicinal and aromatic plants under agrivoltaic conditions in a temperate climate" and presents productive data of PAM under shading conditions simulated by solar panels, anticipating a scenario of increased photovoltaic parks and the need to reconcile these infrastructures with complementary agricultural activities.
HERBICIDES OR COLD NEED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
Additionally, two posters will be presented: "HPLC-guided fractionation reveals possible bioherbicides from essential oils and extracts against common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus L.) as a model weed" and "Micropropagation of the medicinal plant Chiliadenus glutinosus (L.) Fourr".
These investigations are developed within the GESTES POCTEFA and BIODIVERSA Agroalnext projects and involve the participation of other researchers and technical staff from CITA: Inés Pérez, Lucía Benito, Alicia Cirujeda, and Gabriel Pardo.
Finally, Tudor Ionut Gheban will present, in poster format, the results of the work "Cold requirements of Prunus rootstocks: Implications for crop design under climate change".
This is a pioneering research in which, for the first time, the agroclimatic needs of nine widely used rootstocks in stone fruit trees and their adaptability to conditions arising from climate change are defined. In this study, researchers Erica Fadón, José Manuel Alonso, Pilar Errea, María José Rubio-Cabetas, and Javier Rodrigo collaborate.