The Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) has organized this Friday a technical day titled "Varietal innovation, new technologies and sustainability in citrus growing," focused on the latest advances in agricultural research and its application to the main challenges facing the citrus sector.
The main focus of the meeting has been the presentation of new citrus varieties developed by the IVIA, along with the new rootstocks generated within its plant improvement programs, as the Generalitat has detailed in a press release.
The director of the IVIA, Alejandro Tena, has stated that these "achievements constitute the result of the research work carried out by the institute to expand the varietal offering, improve the agronomic and commercial characteristics of citrus fruits, and provide the sector with new tools to face the sector’s challenges and improve its competitiveness."
At the closing session, the director general of the Common Agricultural Policy, Ángel Marhuenda, has highlighted "the excellence of the research work carried out by the IVIA, aimed at responding to the real needs of the agricultural sector and addressing its main challenges."
Marhuenda has also emphasized "the importance of bringing scientific and technological advances closer to farmers, facilitating the application of innovative solutions that contribute to improving the competitiveness, sustainability and profitability of Valencian agricultural holdings."
Citrus research and new technologies
During the day, different lines of work from the IVIA related to citrus growing were presented, with presentations focused on plant health, the use of advanced technologies in agriculture, the sustainability of production systems, postharvest research and agri-engineering.
From the Centro de Citricultura y Producción Vegetal, María Ángeles Forner has presented the new citrus rootstocks obtained by the institute. Next, Antonio Olmos, a researcher at the Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, has reviewed the current situation of emerging viruses that affect Spanish citrus growing.
The researcher José Blasco, from the Centro de Agroingeniería, has detailed advances in technologies applied to citrus innovation, while the researcher and doctor agronomist Belén Martínez has addressed strategies for sustainable agronomic management in the face of the new climate scenario.
The section dedicated to postharvest research has been carried out by Lluís Palou, who has made known work oriented toward the control of diseases, the preservation of quality, and the reduction of losses. In addition, Sergio Cubero, also from the Centro de Agroingeniería, has presented the applications of agroengineering to citrus growing and the main technological challenges that the sector faces.
The session concluded with the intervention of Pablo Aleza, a researcher from the Department of Citrus Growing and Plant Production, who gave a presentation on the new varieties of citrus fruit generated by the IVIA.
This event is integrated into the IVIA’s research strategy to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of Valencian citrus growing. Through its genetic improvement programs and the projects developed in its different units, the institute promotes the creation of knowledge and technological solutions that favor the modernization and development of the citrus sector.