ANNUAL REPORT 2010

annual report 2010 Passeig de GrĂ cia 44, 3r 08007 Barcelona

www.irta.cat irta@irta.cat

Tel. 93 467 40 40 Fax 93 467 40 42

2010

annual report 2010 PRESENTACIÓ Introduction .....................................................................4 Director General’s Report .............................................4 Chief Scientist’s Report ................................................6 Scientific Structure .....................................................7 IRTA ...................................................................................8 IRTASOLIDARI ..........................................................18 Plant Production .............................................................20 Extensive Crops .........................................................22 Fruit Production..........................................................26 Postharvest................................................................36 Sustainable Plant Production ......................................38 Biotechnology and Genomics .....................................46 Animal Production ..........................................................48 Animal Breeding and Genetics ....................................50 Animal Nutrition, Health and Welfare ...........................52 Aquaculture ...............................................................56 Animal Health.............................................................60 Food Industry .................................................................64 Food Technology ........................................................66 Product Quality ..........................................................70 Food Safety................................................................72 Functionality and Nutrition ..........................................74 Environment and Global Change ...................................78 Organic Waste Integral Management...........................80 Aquatic Ecosystems...................................................84 Environmental Horticulture .........................................86 Ecological Production and Bioenergy ..........................92 Efficient Use of Water .................................................94 Agrofood Economics .....................................................96

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Director General’s Report External context 2010 and surrounding years will be remembered by the crisis environment they have been submerged in, which has dramatically affected the entire social fabric of our country and from which Research has not been exempt.

The current annual report reflects this context due to the effect it has had on the total resources available for IRTA’s research, though we have been able to manage by being very careful with spending, while looking for new funding sources and methods, to reduce the effect public deficit could have had on IRTA’s R+D activities and results.

Thus, in this sense, our available resources in 2010 totalled 43.3 million Euros (46.1 in 2009) to carry out a 1016 current activities (1012 in 2009). Of these resources, 38.43% were the structural contribution of the Government and 61.57% were equity.

Obviously, after a year of significant growth, infrastructures were one of the affected chapters because, though 25 million Euros were invested in the last 3 years, the effort in this area in 2010, 4.5 million, has been significantly lower and a result of budget difficulties forecast for the following years.

In a global economic crisis, the efforts made by all members of the organization in fundraising related activity should be highlighted. From 255 clients in 2009 we have gone up to 275, 92 of which are new, which means 343 current contracts with a turnover of 25.9 million.

Internal Aspects During 2010, IRTA has undergone the process of redefining its strategies with a clear objective, to improve results in research, innovation and technology transfer as stated in our mission by Law IRTA (4 / 2009).

We have defined four strategic lines: • Recruitment and talent management • National positioning and international projection • Results assessing and marketing • Operational efficiency and continuous improvement These lines will be established with the corresponding objectives and markers throughout our entire organization in order to help improving efficiency in all our areas.

IRTA workers also proved to be supportive, and we developed the project IRTASOLIDARI (IRTASUPPORT) with the funds from the Christmas Gift Baskets, which gave us 29,000 Euros to participate in charity projects in Ethiopia (13,000 Euros contribution to equal the one of the ‘Fundación Rose Caja Mediterráneo’), in Haiti (2460 Euros), with El Trampolí Association (8600 Euros) or with the Food Bank Foundation (11,440 Euros).

In the field of European Research, the launching of the first three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC), promoted by the European Institute of Technology (EIT), which focus on development of sustainable energy, climate change and information technology, deserves special mention. Catalonia is working to be properly represented on future announcements related to the fields of biomedicine and food.

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Introduction

In summary, this report highlights the most significant actions of IRTA in 2010. I would like to mention, for their significance and impact, the transfer activities that, which with 307 contracts in force and 247 seminars and demonstrations with over 13,000 attendees, have been one of the relevant and basic areas of our business.

Regarding our cooperative system, currently with 9 associated centres that, together with IRTA’s 10, comprises a total of 1251 people, it makes more sense than ever in these circumstances because it allows us to add alliances and resources to ongoing projects and initiatives while ensuring the promotion and synergy of each one’s activities.

Among our institutional activities, I would like to draw special attention to the agreement with Mercabarna, with an IRTA office in their facilities to support the companies also located there, the strategic agreement with Laboratorios Ordesa and the pilot plant for dairy-based products or other liquids (juice, tiger nut milk, isotonic drinks, etc.), the agreement with IngaFood to work on Iberian pig genetics or the one with Caldes de Montbui City Hall to create urban gardens at Torre Marimon.

Internationally, we have signed an agreement with the Dominican Republic to train them in R&D management, we have initiated contacts to collaborate with the Academy of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, which has appointed our Chief Scientist academic, and we have also signed an agreement to form a Joint Research Unit with the prestigious New Zealand institution Plant & Food Research.

The report of the Scientific Director refers to the evaluation of the scientific strategic plans of our 21 Scientific Programmes, conducted by renowned experts (2 domestic and 2 foreign ones per programme) and what it has meant as an internal reflection exercise and as a tool to design the strategy for R & D & T. In the same context, the reports on the scientific field put IRTA in a very encouraging position, both in Catalonia in relation to the 29 research centres, as in Spain. In addition, in Biological and Agricultural Sciences, IRTA is placed second, after the CSIC. These figures are a sample of our research excellence and of our researchers’ quality and motivate their future improvement.

All this considered and though our country is in a delicate moment, the future horizon for IRTA is clear and full of challenges. The main one being to serve our society in an area that is becoming more and more strategic: the supply of safe and nutritious food for a growing world population. The other is to adapt to the circumstances we are living and that IRTA is fully aware of, for which, we also want to subscribe to the words of our Honourable President “to do more with less”. You can be sure we’ll do so.

Josep Maria Monfort Managing Director

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Chief Scientist’s Report The evaluation of IRTA’s scientific programs took place mostly in 2010. For this purpose, researchers from each Program prepared a strategic plan consisting of a paper that assessed the last four years of activity and presented an action plan for the next four years. This analysis was studied by a group of external renown reviewers, three per programme, and usually two foreigners and a Spanish one, who held two-day sessions with the researchers to discuss the proposed Strategic Plan. Finally, the evaluators produced a document summarizing their critical assessment of the group and their proposals for the next period.

Fifteen IRTA programs have been evaluated so far and the researchers have the corresponding reports. The sessions were held at the offices of the IRTA Centres where groups carry out their activity, so that the invited researchers were able to access the available facilities as part of knowledge about the activities of our research groups. The distribution of the centres where the evaluations were carried out is significant in the distribution of IRTA’s scientific activity: Five were carried out in Lleida, four in Monells, two in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, one in Mas de Bover and one in Cabrils. Two programs were evaluated in two locations, one in Lleida and Cabrils and another one in Torre Marimon and Cabrils.

Overall, this activity has enabled an internal reflection on each Program about its interaction with other IRTA Programs and other research groups of the international scientific environment, and has discussed this analysis within the group helped by external experts. Regardless of the interest of this reflection and update of each group by the researchers of each Program, IRTA has gathered valuable information, which will be useful for designing the short and medium term R & D & T strategy of our Institute. It is important to mention that evaluations, which will be carried out every four years, also make us more visible to outstanding researchers from other institutions and brings us closer to the most renowned European and international organizations that have research planning and monitoring systems similar to those we have implemented.

In 2010, two bibliometric studies were published comparing Catalan scientific production at universities, research institutes and hospitals, (OCRI Report 2004-2008 of the Government) and Spanish ones (Report of MICINN FECYT 2003-2008) with each other as well as with worldwide research organizations. IRTA’s production, in terms of number of scientific papers stood out among the Catalan (third of 29 research centres) and Spanish total (fourth of all Public Research Bodies of the State). The FECYT report data place us as the second Spanish Research Centre in the field of Biological and Agricultural Sciences, just behind the CSIC group, a body in which, as emphasized by this report, the field of Agriculture and Biological Sciences is the main specialty. In terms of impact of the publications based on the number of times that our articles have been quoted, IRTA stands at 35% above the world average in the OCRI report, twentieth of the 29 studied centres, and in the FECYT report we stood at 22%, above the Spanish average (10%). These are encouraging general data for the visibility and impact of our research, given that IRTA has important additional activities in industry and agriculture that cannot always translate into scientific publications and which determine that the choice of themes and species is generally made without considering scientific impact productivity as a priority.

These data also point to areas in which we can improve, one of them being to increase the quotation of our papers, which means improving the quality and excellence of our research in order to consolidate our current strong position in Catalonia and the State. Following this direction means that we must advance in both the individual and corporate level in various ways, including attraction and retention of talent and internationalization of our activity.

Pere Arús Scientific Director 6

Introduction Area AGRO-FOOD ECONOMICS

Programme Agro-food Economics José Mª Gil

Natural Resources Economics and Agro-food Development José Mª Gil

Scientific Structure. Organization chart

Functionality and Nutrition José Antonio García

Product Quality Mª Àngels Oliver

FOOD INDUSTRY

Food Safety

Margarita Garriga

Food Technology Jacint Arnau

Aquatic Ecosystems Carles Ibáñez

Integral Management of Organic Waste Xavier Flotats

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND GLOBAL CHANGE CHIEF SCIENTIST Pere Arús

Environmental Horticulture Robert Savé

Subprogramme . Agro-food Markets . Micro-economic Analysis of the Agro-food sector . Agro-food Economy Information Systems . Natural Resources Economics . Sustainable Development . Functional components and molecules ...................... José Antonio García . Proteomics and Metabolomics .............................................. María Hortós . Meat Quality ................................................................................Maria Font . Animal Products Quality ...................................................Mª Àngels Oliver . New Conservation Technologies .................................... Margarita Garriga . Abiotic Food Safety ...................................................... Massimo Castellani . Biotic Food Safety ............................................................ Teresa Aymerich . Food Engineering ..........................................................................Pere Gou . Food Industry Processing ........................................................Jacint Arnau . New Food Industry Processing Technology .............................................. Josep Comaposada

. Aquatic Biodiversity .................................................................Nuno Caiola . Aquatic Ecosystems and Global Change .............................Carles Ibáñez . Characterization and Agricultural Valorisation . Management, Planning and Decision Making Tools . Environmental Technology . Ecophysiology .......................................................................... Robert Savé . Biosystems Engineering and Agronomy ..................................Pere Muñoz . Agroforestry ............................................................................... Neus Aletà

Ecological Production and Bioenergy Simó Alegre

Efficient Use of Water Joan Girona

Aquaculture

Dolors Furones

Animal Breeding and Genetics

ANIMAL PRODUCTION

Joan Tibau

Animal Nutrition, Health and Welfare Joaquim Brufau

. Aquatic Cultures ....................................................................Alícia Estévez . Marine Monitoring .................................................................Jorge Diogene . Poultry Production ....................................................... Amadeu Francesch . Rabbit Production ..................................................................... Miriam Piles . Pig Breeding and Genetics ............................................ Raquel Quintanilla . Animal Welfare ..................................................................... Antoni Velarde . Monogastrics Nutrition ............................................................Enric Esteve . Ruminants ....................................................................................Àlex Bach

Animal Welfare Mariano Domingo

Extensive Crops

. Extensive Crops Agronomy ................................................ Carlos Cantero . Cereal Breeding ...................................................................... Conxita Royo

Fruit Production

. Pip and Stone Fruit ................................................................ Joan Bonany . Olive, Oil and Nut Production ..................................................... Joan Tous

Biotechnology and Genomics

. In Vitro Culture .......................................................................Ramon Dolcet . Genomics ........................................................................ Jordi García Mas

Conxita Royo

Joan Bonany

PLANT PRODUCTION

Jordi García Mas

Postharvest

Immaculada Viñas

Sustainable Plant Protection Josep Usall

. Fruit and Vegetables Postharvest . Processed Fruits and Vegetables

.......................... Christian Larrigaudiere ................................. Immaculada Viñas

. Entomology ........................................................................Jordi Riudavets . Postharvest Pathology .............................................................. Josep Usall . Plant Pathology ................................................................ Soledad Verdejo 7

IRTA The Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology was created in 1985 to contribute to the modernization, improvement and boosting of competiveness and sustainable development of the Agriculture, Food, Agroforestry, Aquatic and Fisheries sectors, as well as of those directly or indirectly related with providing safe and quality foods to the final consumer, and of Food safety and processing, and to the global improvement of population’s health and safety.

A public company of the Government of Catalonia, linked to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment (DAAM), IRTA aims to become the strategic ally of the food industry and the scientific reference point, the engine of innovation and technology transfer for this sector.

The 7 values of IRTA are:

M IT

EN

T

LE

AR

4

We anticipate the needs of the industry and our customers, bringing our scientific and technical capacity to provide, objective and sustainable quality solutions.

CO M V R SE

IC

RIT EO

ION

ENTATION

OVAT INN

7

We work with independence, reliability, accuracy and costumer service orientation.

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Sharing the knowledge, we communicate openly, learn from our mistakes and work as a team.

CREATIVITY

G IN

M

We engage in a common project where everyone belongs and is needed. At IRTA, we give our best.

N

1

2

We stimulate our people’s creativity ability, considering initiatives that allow our continuous improvement as a reference institute.

6

RE SP EC

We foster interpersonal relationships based on honesty and closeness, understanding that no one is better than another.

8

T

ER D LEA

IP H S

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We have the ability to assume responsibilities and mobilize people. We achieve the goals through a generous leadership and trusting the abilities of others.

IRTA since 1985 19 centres and Field Stations

Activity:

28 locations A set of own 10 Centres and Field Stations and 9 associated Centres throughout the country form IRTA’s corporate system.

9 in Barcelona 6 in Tarragona 9 in Lleida 4 in Girona

Own Centres

93 467 40 40

Plant Production Animal Production Food Industries Environment and Global Change Agro-food Economics

irta@irta.cat

www.irta.cat

Corporate Services

Torre Marimon

Cabrils

Sant Carles de la Ràpita

Mas de Bover

Lleida (1)

Monells

Lleida (2)

Alcarràs

Amposta

Pg. de Gràcia, 44 3a pl.

08007 Barcelona

Ctra. de Cabrils, Km 2 08348 Cabrils (Barcelona)

Crta. De Reus - El Morell Km 4,5 43120 Constantí (Tarragona)

Food Technology Pig Control and Evaluation Finca Camps i Armet 17121 Monells (Girona)

Partida Montagut s/n 25180 Alcarràs (Lleida)

08140 Caldes de Montbui (Barcelona)

Ctra. Poble Nou, Km 5,5 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita (Tarragona)

Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191 25198 Lleida

Lleida Field Station Av. Alcalde Rovira i Roure, 191 25198 Lleida

Ebre Field Station Ctra. Balada, Km 1 43870 Amposta (Tarragona)

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IRTA Associated Centres MAS BADIA

CENTA

Mas Badia Field Station Ctra. De la Tallada, s/n 17134 La Tallada (Girona) Tel.: 972 78 02 75 Fax: 972 78 05 17

Centre for New Food Technologies and Processing Finca Camps i Armet s/n 17121 Monells (Girona) Tel.: 972 63 00 52

CREAF

Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Facultat de Ciències-Departament d’Ecologia 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) Tel.-Fax: 93 581 13 12

CRAG

Centre for Research in Agrigenomics Campus UAB - Edifici CRAG Bellaterra - Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Barcelona Tel.: 93 563 66 00 Fax: 93 563 66 01

CReSA

Centre for Research in Animal Health Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) Tel.: 93 581 32 84 Fax: 93 581 44 90

CREDA

Centre for Research in Agro-food Economics and Development Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia Edifici ESAB Av. del Canal Olímpic, 15 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona) Tel.: 93 552 10 00 Fax: 93 552 11 21

SEMEGA

Livestock Improvement Service Finca Camps i Armet s/n 17121 Monells (Girona) Tel.: 972 63 02 88 Fax: 972 63 06 25

GIRO-CT

Integral Management of Organic Waste - Technological Centre Pompeu Fabra, 1 08100 Mollet del Vallès (Barcelona) Tel.: 93 579 67 80 Fax: 93 579 67 85

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Activity: Plant Production Animal Production Food Industries Environment and Global Change Agro-food Economics

IRTA

Human Resources Our staff is formed by 620

employees, located among our 10 centres, 214 of which are researchers and 406 support personnel,

and consists of 53%

women and 47% men.

WOMEN/MEN

Dones

Men

Homes

Women

53%

El total personnel We total 1.251

47%

including IRTA and associated centres is 831 people.

people in our cooperative system.

Finances In 2010 IRTA had 43,3

Million Euros in total resources.

38,43 % resources are structural funds contributed by the Catalan Government, Generalitat de Catalunya and 61,57% are equity In 2010 investments have been superior to 4.500.000

â‚Ź.

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IRTA Projects and Contracts 1.016 current activities, 275 of which started in 2010.

343 current contract for a total of 25,9 M€, 123 of which have already been initiated, 275 totals clients, 92 of which are news and 183 repeating clients.

Clients’ evolution in the last two years Client Evolution

2010

2009

Total Clients New Repeating

275

255

92

84

183

171

Of the 2010 public competitive calls, IRTA had 65,4% success in INIA’s, 59,8% in MICINN’s, and 42,3% in the UE ones.

Projects obtained in 2010 Obtained 2010 Budget, M€ Successful funding

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MICINN

INIA

UE

8

18

6

1,16

1,48

2,5

59,8%

65,4%

42,3%

IRTA

Scientific and Technical Production IRTA

Cooperative System

513 ........................................Total Publications...................................... 1.229 170 232 70 41

........................................ ScientiďŹ c Articles...................................... 402 ............................ Communications at conferences............................ 532 ........................................Technical articles........................................ 190 ...............................Books and articles in books................................. 89 Completed PhD theses and ďŹ nal 60 ................... undergraduate Books and articles ins books...................... 89

Technology Transfer 307 Current Technology Transfer Contracts 247 Technical and Demonstration Conferences 13.720 Attendees to Technical and Demonstration Conferences 4 National Patents

IRTA Functions Transfer at the DAR On December 29, the transfer of functions at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Action was formalized. The outgoing minister, Joaquim Llena, met with Josep Maria Pelegri, the new Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment to implement the transfer of powers.

The new Minister, Josep Maria Pelegrí, thanked his predecessor, Minister Llena, for the transfer and for his “contribution to the country from the scope of his responsibility as Minister of Agriculture”. Pelegrí believes that Llena has given “important work and dedication to the country.”

These new facilities will be a great boost for aquaculture research since their cutting-edge technology will have the necessary R+D+T to answer the sectors’ needs while complying with environmental sustainability, biosafety and energy efficiency and improving competitiveness and the scope of research.

The new constructed area will be 2.164 m2 and cost 6.588.000 €, 50% of which will be financed with FEDER funds, managed by the Ministry of Industry, Universities and Business, and the other 50% will be assumed by IRTA.

Laboratories ORDESA and IRTA Sign a Strategic Research Peer Agreement The newly assigned Agriculture Minister was “very honoured to hold this responsibility” which he trusts “to carry out and develop with a spirit of service to the country, the people, agriculture, livestock, fisheries, food sector and environment.” The new minister wanted his first words to be “of offering, dialogue and help to the sector.”

Expansion Work of IRTA’s Aquaculture Centre On 8th July, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Action, Joaquim Llena, with IRTA’s Director General, Josep M. Monfort, and the centre’s Director, Dolors Furones, laid the first stone for the expansion work of IRTA’s Aquaculture Centre in Sant Carles de la Ràpita.

This expansion involves the construction of three different buildings completely devoted to aquaculture and aquatic eco, and which will host a quarantine zone, a fish-rearing tank (vivarium II) and one for bivalve molluscs.

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Laboratories ORDESA and the Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA) signed a strategic research and development agreement whose scientific activities will take place at the facilities of the Centre for New Food Technology and Processes (CENTA-IRTA) in Monells (Girona). The core values of this collaboration agreement are the know-how both entities bring and the pilot plant that allows development testing of new products.

Unique in Southern Europe, this multifunctional pilot plant allows developing dairy-based foods, as well as testing other products such as vegetable milks (tiger nut milk, almond milk, etc.), isotonic drinks or fruit juices. It can test not only IRTA and ORDESA research but also “on demand” projects for other companies that do not have the possibility of scale-testing their processes, as it was designed for batch production of 500 kg maximum, which means a significant saving in both time and cost of production (about 70% less compared to an industrial plant of a large company).

IRTA

Mr. Michael Guarner said the FMC considers this a very positive incorporation “because IRTA is a reference research institution in aquaculture, and becasue it will generate many positive synergies.”

IRTA’s membership will help the FMC to provide a better structure of the maritime sector, particularly in crosscutting themes, and also to work on joint objectives, such as the enhancement of the competitiveness of companies linked to the fishing sector and to the captive breeding of species for fisheries.

Collaboration Agreement with Mercabarna The pilot plant has a total surface of 387.52 m2. The installation consists of three rooms to develop the main stages of processing (reception of milk, defattening, evaporation, pasteurization, homogenization, UHT treatment and spray drying) plus a room for packing the dried product, among other operative spaces. One of the special equipments of this pilot plant is a drying tower, unique in Spain.

IRTA, New Member of the Catalan Maritime Forum Mercabarna and IRTA have signed a framework agreement to cooperate in R & D, technology transfer and technical training. The CEOs of Mercabarna and IRTA, Mrs. Montserrat Gil de Bernabé and Mr. Josep M. Monfort, respectively, signed the agreement at Mercabarna facilities.

The agreement between the two institutions expects to promote and encourage agrofood research in the areas of fruits and vegetables, meats, fish and shellfish in the aspects of technological innovation in processing, conservation, packaging, and development and shelf life of fourth and fifth range products.

IRTA has accepted the proposal to become a member of the FMC, and the agreement was signed by both Josep M. Monfort, Managing Director of IRTA, and Miquel Guarner, General Secretary of the Catalan Maritime Forum (FMC).

To fulfil these objectives, IRTA will have an office in Mercabarna facilities to advice businesses on all that relates to the area of food R & D, transfer results and, together with the Mercabarna training area, organize formation activities and/or conferences on technological innovation addressed to the companies of Mercabarna Food Unit.

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IRTA Collaboration in R & D Management Training in the Dominican Republic

Contacts for future collaboration with the leading agrofood research institution in Russia

The President of the Dominican Republic,

The Minister of Agriculture, Joaquim Llena, accompanied by the Director General of Agriculture and Livestock, Rosa Cubel, the Institute for Research and Technology (IRTA), Josep Maria Monfort, and of Prodeca, Fernando Bienert, met in Moscow with President of Rosselkhozacademia, the Academy of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Gennady A. Romanenko.

Most Illustrious Dr. Leonel Fernández with IRTA’s Deputy Manager, Mr. Agustí Fonts.

The ‘Instituto Global de Altos Estudios en Ciencias Sociales’ (Global Institute of High Social Studies of Science) of the Dominican Republic, is an institute dedicated to specialized training in Social Sciences, Research, Extension and continuing education, which aims to train high level professionals through teaching and quality research of subjects vital to the development of the country in order to propose public policies that respond to the problems of Dominican society.

Invited by the Institute, the Deputy General Manager of IRTA, Agustin Fonts, led a seminar-workshop for managers of public research institutions of the country, focused on discussing the current challenges in research management.

During his visit, IRTA’s Deputy Manager was received in audience by the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, who showed his interest in IRTA’s activities and the ones it’s carrying out in his country, since the FUNGLODE Foundation (created by the President) is hosting the global Institute of Higher Studies in Social Sciences, where IRTA gave the courses.

In the area of food research, IRTA has stable collaboration agreements with IDIAF (Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research), IIBI (Research Institute for Biotechnology and Industry), ISA (Higher Institute of Agriculture) and INDRHI (National Institute for Hydraulic Resources), which has been accepted by UNESCO as a centre for research, transfer and training in water management for all countries in the Caribbean.

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Rosselkhozacademia is the main agricultural scientific institution in the country, has 33.000 employees and nearly 200 research institutes. 50% of their funding is public and the rest comes from private agreements.

Currently they have about 176 agreements with other research institutes worldwide.

Possible areas of cooperation were analysed during the meeting, and it was agreed to study in depth what lines of work can be more profitable for both parties. In addition, the president of Rosselkhozacademia offered IRTA to have a candidate in the International Committee of the Russian institution, which was accepted by Dr. Pere Arús, our Chief Scientist.

IRTA IRTA Confirmed Leading Research Institute in Catalonia

Remodelling of our Web

The Scopus 2003-2008 study on scientific activity bibliometric markers, presented, at the Scimago group, in Barcelona, on 16 November, shows that Catalonia’s scientific research publications lead the national ranking of the impact index. In addition, the quality of scientific research in Catalonia (measured by the impact index and number of publications) is above the international average in many scientific disciplines.

In the specific case of agricultural sciences disciplines, the study stresses the excellence of its quality. The majority of fields, including agronomy, agriculture and biological sciences, horticulture and food science and technology, combine a citation index above their equivalents worldwide, along with high citation index for documents on their work.

Analysing by research centres, besides emphasizing the high level of impact of ICREA researchers, the study highlights IRTA’s optimal position, confirming its role as a leader in regard with the number and quality of their publications. Considering the period analyzed by the Scopus study, 2003-2008, IRTA stands out with 994 published papers and a standard impact average of 1.35, 7.23 citations per document, 46.88% in international collaborations, and a 59.05 Q1 factor.

In July, IRTA was able to have a new redesigned website that reflects both the new structure and scientific activities continuously developed. Thus, apart from including information about the Institute, news, event agenda, publications, projects, etc., includes two major sections dedicated to companies and organizations (with a clear services content) and another one to research and technology (with a more scientific and explanatory focus of the different scientific areas, programs and subprograms).

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IRTASOLIDARI The IRTASOLIDARI group, constituted by volunteers from different IRTA centres, was created on 1 February 2010 with the aim of managing the funds previously assigned to IRTA Christmas gift basket to its employees and allocate them to social work. Thus, IRTA staff decided to donate the amount corresponding to the 2009 Christmas basket to social work within our country and abroad. This solidarity action will be repeated every year from now on.

‘Fundación Rose Caja Mediterráneo’ will make a joint contribution of 13,000 Euros, equal parts, to this project.

For further information on the project: www.melakucenter.org/esp

IRTASOLIDARI and the Manman Bèf Project: Cow ‘Renting’ for Haiti

The total amount for 2009 Christmas that IRTA is allocating to solidarity actions, named IRTASOLIDARI, is 29,000 Euros. The entities and beneficiaries were proposed by the IRTA staff and, after the pre-selection by a staff committee, were voted by all the staff. The projects in which to participate during 2010 are the ones we will now refer to.

Solidarity Initiatives in Ethiopia

The Manman Bèf programme allows individuals or institutions, who wish to support the project to increase milk production in Haiti, to act as ‘investment agents’ for a 4-year period.

The “Fundación Rose Caja Mediterráneo” (The Rose Foundation of the Caja Mediterráneo) and the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) have established a collaborative agreement for joint supportive tasks of general interest that has been formalized by the Managing Director of the Rose Foundation, Mr. Rafael Olivares, and the Director General of IRTA, Mr. Josep M. Monfort.

With the signature of this agreement starts a first charity project that aims to build two classrooms and a workshop to teach horticulture in Mekelle, capital of the Tigray region in Ethiopia, in Melaku Centre, part of the Centre of Solidarity Initiatives Angel Olaran. IRTA and the

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To do this, the ‘investor’ acquires a young pregnant cow (575€, including shipping, insurance, health monitoring and vaccinations), which is delivered by Veterimed ONG to a woman in a rural area of Haiti, so that she can benefit from the milk production for a period of 4 years. Of the three possible calves delivered by this cow during this period, two are for the woman and one for the “investment agent.” At the end of the period, the “investor” recovers his cow and calf, sells them and reinvests the money in other animals to keep increasing the revolving fund of dairy cows and help more women throughout the rural areas of Haiti.

IRTASOLIDARI has assigned 2.460 Euros of its annual budget to this project. Veterimed ONG was NGO Veterimed, created in 1999 by Haitian people who wanted to contribute to the rural development of their country by giving technical support to health and animal production.

For further information on the milk production project in Haiti, Manman BEF: www.veterimed.org.ht

IRTA Organic Orchard of the Association ‘El Trampolí’

Among the current projects of “El Trampolí”, there is an organic fruit and vegetables shop located in the main square of La Bisbal, and all the fresh merchandise for this shop will be directly produced by the disabled in the association’s orchard.

In addition to the aid for the organic orchard, the members of the Product Quality Program at IRTA Monells, coordinated by the IRTASOLIDARI group, collaborate in parallel with “El Trampolí” by donating fresh meat through Mr. Joaquim Matas’ delicatessen shop in La Bisbal. Mr. Matas committed, with the IRTASOLIDARI volunteers, to processing the meat and deliver it as a finished product free of charge.

IRTASOLIDARI collaborates with the Food Bank Foundation IRTASOLIDARI has allocated 8.600 Euros to improve the conditions of the organic orchard the association has on the outskirts of Corçà (Girona).

The Food Bank Foundation, in Girona, one of the chosen projects, was created in 1988 and aims to fighting hunger in their immediate surroundings and avoiding the destruction of non-marketable food supplies in order to bring them to the neediest people of our society.

“El Trampolí” was officially created in February 2000 and is formed by mentally disabled people from Alt and Baix Empordà (Girona), together with a team of volunteers, collaborators and professionals. The aim of the association is to make available to these people a number of services that, among other things, allow them to develop attitudes and skills such as memory, concentration or self-esteem.

IRTASOLIDARI has made a donation of 11.440 Euros to the Food Bank Foundation of Girona shires to acquire sunflower seed oil and/or beans, which will also see to the distribution of this aid among the different Food Banks of Catalonia (Barcelona, Lleida, Tarragona, Reus and Girona itself).

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Plant Production

22. Extensive Crops 26. Fruit Production 36. Postharvest 38. Sustainable Plant Protection 46. Genomics and Biotechnology

Extensive Crops Getting flour wheat carrier of H27 and H30 genes resistant to Mayetiola destructor

Non-Food Energy Crops The aim of this project, started in 2010, in which various companies and autonomous regions participate, is to determine the feasibility of using biomass of different cereals as fuel in to generate electricity. The specific objectives are:

· Select oats and triticale germplasm adapted to

different climatic conditions for lignocellulosic biomass production, with an optimal energetic and environmental balance.

· To establish the basis to start a breeding program

for these species aimed at producing lignocellulosic biomass.

· To increase the biomass yield of triticale through IRTA, the University of Lleida and General Direction of Science and Technology of the Junta de Extremadura, through their centre ‘La Orden’, participated in this PETRI project, which was been carried out through an agreement with the company Agrosa Semillas Selectas S.A. (Agrosa Selection Seeds SA), Guadalajara, and coordinated by Dr. Ángeles Delibes, from the Department of Biotechnology of the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

The aim has been to obtain a complete set of lines of bread wheat developed in previous projects (funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation), carriers of one or the other genes H27 and H30, which confer resistance to destructive Mayetiola (wheat mosquito).

The incorporated Genes H27 and H30 came, respectively, from species closely related to wheat, Aegilops ventricosa and Aegilops triuncialis, and they were incorporated to wheat through retrocrossing.

As a result of the project two lines (called T-2004 and ID-2105) have been sent in the Register of Commercial Varieties and also to the one for Protected Varieties.

Both are carriers of gene H30 and are currently in the second year of official trials. We also obtained another set of lines, carrying the same gene, although work is in a less advanced stage.

Finally it has advanced lines, carriers of the gene H27 that, though not suitable for growing live because they are associated with deleterious genes, may be useful for further research.

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overexpression of a gene of plant origin that has proven to increase biomass and yield in Arabidopsis thaliana and potato plants.

· To determine the technical feasibility of the combustion

of biomass from energy crops, evaluating energy and emissions performance of processes and analyzing the problems of sintering and corrosion resulting from the use of such biomass, studying and proposing, where appropriate, appropriate measures to minimize these phenomena.

· Developing an IT tool to calculate energy balances and emission of greenhouse gases in the process of electricity generation from lignocellulosic crops of oats and triticale.

Plant Production Drought tolerance in wheat: a study of the genetic and Molecular bases of chlorophyll content This project aims at increasing the existing knowledge about the genetic and physiological bases of drought tolerance in cereals in a Mediterranean environment, using wheat as model species. This objective is part of the research ‘Improvement of Cereals for Mediterranean Environment’ which has been carried out for two decades

by IRTA. The aim of the project is to break the traditional gap between the molecular level projects and applied improvement ones, establishing a model for studying the genotype-phenotype relationship applicable to the dissection of drought tolerance characters using coordinated methods of forward and reverse genetics.

The project studies the influence of three mutations associated with drought tolerance through a comprehensive phenotypic characterization in contrasting water conditions. The character ‘chlorophyll content’ is used as a model to detect candidate genes associated with this character by means of functional genomics and proteomics. The aim is also to select and clone the gene candidate most representative of those involved in the synthesis of chlorophyll, and validation of this gene by genetic transformation.

GMOs and mycotoxins The INIA project “Quantification of the content on GMOs and mycotoxins in commercial plots of corn: prediction and sampling techniques”, completed in 2010, had the objective to generate valid tools to assess and manage

the coexistence of transgenic and non-transgenic corn crops. The most important results during the development of this project were the following:

· The validation of the predictive index, called the GI (Global Index). This index was designed within the framework of the SIGMEA project and allows predicting GMOs content of a conventional corn field produced by cross pollination. This index has been adjusted in both fields of small (1-3 ha) and large (30-40 ha) size.

· The establishment of a simplified system of sampling

that identifies the fields of conventional corn with a GMO corn content well below the threshold set by the EU (0.9%). The large variability between samples and the error inherent in the technique of quantification (Q-PCR) are factors that greatly influence the accuracy of sampling when the GMO content is close to 0.9% and therefore the work on this aspect of the project should continue.

· Mycotoxins analysis performed for two consecutive

years in commercial transgenic and conventional fields and in a field trial where there was abiotic stress (drought and/or lack of nitrogen fertilizer) resulted in very low scores, probably due to the low presence of borer detected during these two campaigns.

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Extensive Crops Fighting pyriculariosis with genomic tools The pyriculariosis caused by Magnaporthe grisea is the most damaging fungal disease of rice. The use of resistant rice varieties is a cost-effective method to control the disease and can be incorporated as a component of an integrated pest management strategy.

against pyriculariosis apart from being agronomically very interesting. The behaviour of pyramided genes was studied and the description of the population of Pyricularia in the Ebro Delta was carried out.

Fertilization of rice with poultry manure

This project used the appropriate genomic tools to identify genes important to achieve durable resistance and to begin developing resistant varieties adapted to European culture conditions. IRTA’s role in this project was to evaluate the resistance of pyriculariosis of rice under field conditions during the campaigns of 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the Ebro Delta.

Annually, we evaluate the varietal reaction to pyriculariosis of 22 cultivars of rice a collection of 32 distinctive varieties and of five lines with pyramidal genes provided by CIRAD-INRA.

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In 2008, 136 F3 lines under field conditions were evaluated in field conditions, and in 2009, 64 lines F3 and 69 F4 lines, also under field conditions.

This trial, in the framework of “Plan for the improvement of agricultural fertilization in Baix Ebre and Montsià” involved the fertilization of a rice field by applying poultry manure in order to determine the optimal dose of organic fertilizer to use and the fertilization strategy to follow.

The results of these studies have allowed the selection of lines of rice of both tested crosses with a good behaviour

During 2010 Campaign, this trial was conducted, in a plot located in the town of Amposta was conducted,

Plant Production

with manure from a nearby farm. Fertilization strategies were six: 1. “Witness”, (which did not receive any type of nitrogen fertilization), 2. “Mineral fertilizers”, in which 130 kg N/ha (Urea 46% were deep placed and 40 kg N/ha (ammonium sulphate 21%) were applied to the surface, both in mineral form. 3. “Poultry manure Dose 1”, 110 kg N/ha were applied, of which 70 kg N/ha were poultry manure and deep placement and 40 kg N/ha were in mineral form (ammonium sulphate 21 and applied to the surface).4. “Poultry manure Dose 2”, 170 kg N/ha were applied, of which 130 kg N/ha were deep placement in the form of manure and 40 kg N/ha in mineral form (ammonium sulphate 21%) applied to the surface.

5. “Poultry manure Dose 3”, 230 kg N/ha were applied, of which 190 kg N/ha were poultry manure and deep placement, and 40 kg N/ha in mineral form (ammonium sulphate 21 %) surface application. 6. “Poultry manure Dose 4” consisted of 170 kg N/ha applied only in poultry manure form and deep placement.

In this first year of testing it has been possible to check that, through fertilization with poultry manure, rice plants germinate and develop normally, staying healthy and yielding productions that did not differ from the records obtained in the plots fertilized with mineral fertilizers.

Other Activities and Events Course for technical assessor in extensive crops fertilization staff Girona region - February

Technical and Field Workshop at the Experimental Unit in the Terra Alta (Gandesa),

to October

July 1

Presentation of the results of maize and sorghum trials of 2009. Campaign 2009

Organic Fertilisation in rice,

and recommendations for 2010 campaign,

Management of organic fertilization and irrigation in corn, on August 24, in Vilanova

17 February at Mas Badia

IX Workshop on the cultivation of maize,

in Amposta, July 30

de la Muga

in Linyola, 5 March

Rice Field Day,

Organic and mineral fertilization in winter crops, in Santa Pau (Girona) on 30 April

on August 26, in Amposta

Technical Seminar on cultivation of rapeseed for biodiesel production, in Solsona, on 4 May

IX Interregional Conference on herbal crops, at Mas Badia, on May 12 Technical Workshop on fertilization of the winter cereals, at Franqueses del Vallès crop, on 19 May

Technical visit to France, from 29 to 30 June, on innovations in cereal crop management

Technical visit to Denmark on extensive crops fertilization, 25 to 27 August Presentation of test results of Winter Extensive crops Recommendations for the 2010-2011 campaign, at Mas Badia on September 2

Lotta Brusone conference in Vercelli (Italy) on November 5, on Pyriculariosis in rice Workshop on fertilization and other aspects of extensive crops management, in Vilobí d’Onyar on 18 November

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Fruit Production Innovative project to classify the taste of fruit

different countries, has shown two-thirds of consumers prefer the sweet taste in apple and peach and only a third prefers acid taste. These results are independent of country, age or sex.

IRTA has participated in the classification of more than 200 varieties of fruit, depending on the contents of sugars and acids characteristic of each variety. This information is the result of evaluations of varieties of pip and stone fruit that have been carried out in our Lleida and Mas Badia field stations for 15 years.

With the “Palette of Flavours” project, it has been proposed that fruits be identified by colour in the retail stands to indicate whether the taste of the variety is sweeter or more refreshing (more acid), in order to help consumers to decide which to purchase.

The Pujol Supermarkets participated in this study in three of their Plusfresc supermarkets in Lleida.

RED BIO: Experimentation and transfer for organic farming

In recent years, many varieties of fruit of extraordinary quality, which are being cultivated by farmers, have been introduced in the market. This fast and varietal change and the great diversity of varieties have meant that consumers can not learn what a variety of a specific name tastes like, and most are reluctant to buy a new variety due to the doubt of getting the expected taste.

That is why Catalonia Quality, the Plusfresc supermarket chain and IRTA have launched the “Palette of Flavours”, an innovative project which was presented in Lleida, which classifies fruits with different colours based on the taste, at the retail point, so that consumers can choose, for the same fruit and with a colour code, if they prefer to buy varieties with a sweeter taste, or other ones with a more acid or refreshing taste.

The ISAFRUIT project, carried on in Europe, in recent years, with the participation of IRTA, through tastes in

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RED BIO is the acronym of the European inter-regional “Network of experimentation, exchange and transfer for the development of organic farming in vegetable production for Catalan farmers.” It is a three-year project (2009-2011) in which participate French and Catalan entities from regions with the common border of the Pyrenees: the Eastern Pyrenees (France) and Catalonia (Spain). Specifically, the French participation is formed by the Chamber of Agriculture of the Eastern Pyrenees, INRA (Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique),

Plant Production

CIVAM Bio (Association des producteurs bio du Roussillon) and SICA Centrex (Centre Expérimental des Fruits et Légumes du Roussillon). The Catalan side counts with the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment (DAAM), INCAVI, the University of Barcelona, Farmers Union and IRTA. The budget for this project is 2,728,894, 65% of which come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the remaining 35% comes from the partners involved.

RED BIO project is an experimentation and transfer project, addressed to farmers and technicians, with the aim of providing solutions to the problems in both border regions. Given the magnitude of the project and the number of participants, this is structured in 5 main areas: 1. Preliminary Analysis and state of knowledge. It aims to analyze the current situation of organic farming in the two involved regions through surveys to farmers to characterize the technical context of organic farms in both regions, creating an economic observatory of the sector through market analysis, among other actions.

In 2010, IRTA has conducted numerous activities within the framework of this project. We have carried out life cycle analyses (LCA) to detect, from the environmental point of view, the weaknesses of organic agriculture and provide possible solutions. 13 tests were executed in fruit production, 9 in horticulture, 4 in viticulture, 4 in related to biodiversity and 3 to cross-cutting issues. 2010 has been an outstanding year with regard to high transfer activity: presenting 7 papers at the IX Congress of the Spanish Society for Organic Farming (Lleida, from 6 to 9 October), organizing a workshop on organic fruit production within this congress, and two other technical workshops: IV Workshop on organic fruit growing on 16 December 2010, and a workshop on “Growing organic apples.

Key technical issues to be considered“ in Vilademat, Girona.

ISAFRUIT: Increasing consumption of fruit in Europe

2. Experimentation. In this area, the activity is structured in 5 subareas (fruit production, horticulture, viticulture, biodiversity and cross-sectional studies) with the final aim of increasing the state of knowledge and provide solutions to problems of ecologic agriculture. For example, works are being carried out in the field of crop protection, in fertilization, conservation and transformation of the product and in biodiversity.

3.Transfer. After preliminary analysis and experimental activities, takes place the transfer phase in which results are disseminated to the sector through the publication of technical specifications, guidelines, the holding of seminars and the setting of pilot farms.

4. Institutional communication and translation. To provide a common translation service and conduct communication activities necessary to ensure the institutional support for public and private institutions of both regions.

5. Management, coordination and evaluation of the project. Perform administrative and financial management of the project, as well as the tasks of directing, monitoring and evaluating the project activities.

The World Health Organisation recommends a daily intake of 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per person, which most European citizens do not reach.

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Fruit Production ISAFRUIT is the European project, started in 2006 and completed in 2010, whose main objective was to increase fruit consumption. A total of 15 countries, apart from New Zealand and the United States, 40 research institutes, several universities and over 20 companies participated in this project, which had a 22 M Euros budget.

Of the aspects studied within the IRTA ISAFRUIT project, we can highlight those trying to provide a uniform quality of fruit so that consumers find an even look, taste and flavour throughout the year. Also those that refer to the development of new products, such as a prune juice or new presentations like ready-to-eat cut and packaged fruit. With the participation of IRTA, the project studied the preferences of over 5,000 consumers of apples, peaches and nectarines, stating that tastes are very similar across Europe and the discarding the preconceived idea of the northern regions preferring fruits with more acidic tastes.

Thus, 78% of consumers prefer sweet peaches and nectarines, and 68% prefer sweet apples. In contrast, only 22% want acid peaches and 32% acid apples.

Although it is well known that eating fruit is healthy, is still unknown what components of the fruit provide health benefits and whether the processed products are as healthy as fresh fruit. Researchers found evidence of cardiovascular benefits in eating fruit, showing a significant reduction in cholesterol levels by consuming apples and apple-based products. The results obtained through the study called “The fruit working”, which offered free fruit to 186 workers showed that even small changes in fruit consumption contribute to improve our health, so it could have a significant impact on future European policies on this subject.

On the other hand, since the use of pesticides in fruit production is matter of concern among consumers, a prototype sprayer has been developed, which uses the amount of pesticide according to the state of the foliage of the crop, the health of trees and environmental conditions at the time of spraying. This application manages to reduce the spraying by 50% and therefore reduces the level of pesticide residues in fruit, apart from protecting the environment. Additionally, during the postharvest process, we have worked on the application of hot water, up to 60° C in peaches and nectarines, which reduces the application of fungicides on fruit.

For more information about the project ISAFRUIT, please check the website: www.isafruit.org

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Project RedHotgen: regulation the red of the apple Under the title of Economic exploitation of genomics: genetic and physiological regulation of red colour in apples, in environmental conditions of high temperatures”, the project RedHotGen, part of the 7th Framework Programme, which IRTA is coordinating, involves two European institutes, FEM of Italy and IRTA itself, and Plant & Food Research of New Zealand.

Plant Production

These three institutions have, as the scientific objective of their joint research, which began in January 2009 and will be held until December 2011, coordinated by Dr. Ignacio Iglesias of the IRTA Field Station of Lleida, the establishment of the genetic and physiological regulation of the red color of apples in environmental conditions of high temperatures.

More specifically, it aims to identify the genes involved in the expression of red apples in hot climates and develop

the corresponding molecular markers. These molecular markers will be used in breeding programs aimed at selecting varieties of high colour and high nutraceutical properties. The final aim is to achieve the increase of apple by providing new varieties of high quality taste and nutraceuticals.

This joint research is to find the range, the clone (Gala Group) and temperature regulating the metabolic route for the synthesis of anthocyanins and how these interact with the genetic regulation of the colour of the epidermis.

In order to determine the expression of genes that control the red colour in apples under different environmental conditions, evaluating the effect of variety, clone and changing the temperature of the plantation in its expression, two types of action have been proposed.

On one hand, high colour varieties and different clones of Gala Group (less colourful) will be evaluated simultaneously by IRTA and Plant & Food Research. On the other hand, the temperature of the fruits of the Gala variety in field will be modified to simulate, at IRTA, the cooling conditions of New Zealand, and vice versa, the warm-up in New Zealand. This should allow knowing the effect of temperature on gene expression from the extraction of RNA from the epidermis and the fruit and the subsequent determination of its enzymatic activity.

In addition, in two families of the apple genetic improvement program that IRTA and Plant & Food Research are carrying out the Gimenells estate, which are by nature segregants for the colour character in apple, we will proceed to the extraction of DNA from the leaves and to the corresponding phenotyping of different individuals by the colour of the fruit. The genotyping of individuals will be done using SNPs with Illumina GoldenGate technology, proceeding then to making a genetic map in order to include in it the candidate gene/ genes to control the red colour in apple.

Forecasting bitter pit in Golden apple Bitter pit and Plara can be considered as the most serious physiological disorders apples may suffer in the conservation period. There were years, despite following the guidelines to reduce its incidence, levels were very high, especially in years in which weather conditions during flowering have adversely affected fruit set and has affected final production, considerably reducing the load of trees.

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Fruit Production techniques that detect physical and chemical changes in the tissues of the fruit surface. The methods studied are: NIR spectroscopy, UV-VIS spectrophotometry and fluorimetric analysis.

Another part of the project aims to define a biochemical marker to detect changes in the permeability of cell membranes using different types of analysis. The tests conducted were: content analysis of hydrogen peroxide (method to evaluate the oxidative metabolism of the fruit), total phenol content, content of ascorbic acid and chlorophyll in the pulp, analysis of the antioxidant enzyme and global capacity of the pulp and analysis of the state of peroxidation of membrane by analyzing its lipid hydroperoxides. Two types of fruit were used for this: sensitive and not sensitive to bitter pit.

In 2009 began a project funded by INIA to study, in three years, different methods of prediction of bitter pit. The aim of this project is the commissioning of a preharvest method of prediction easy to implement and that allows a prediction as soon as possible.

To achieve this, we analyze different methods of prediction ranging from the mineralogical analysis of the fruit in early stages (approximately 60 days after flowering) to the measurement of vegetative growth of the tree or the rate of fruit growth. The aim is to establish a relationship between the mineral content of the fruit in the development of bitter pit at harvest, suggesting some levels or ratios of elements to be used as a method of early diagnosis of the probability of a high incidence of bitter pit. Currently, predictions are based on the level of Ca and/or some ratios such as (K+Mg) / Ca or K/Ca, also evaluated.

Methods that have been used in other countries are being analyzed as well, including the methodology for infiltration of magnesium in the fruit and the fruit bath in an ethephon solution. Simultaneously, we are experimenting with new methods which, without losing the ability to predicting ability of infiltration or fruit bath, allow the reduction of costs of the implementation of this technology, such as the bagging of fruit or conservation above 20°C. All these methods are evaluated from 60 days before harvesting.

Another part of the project explores the possibility of defining a method of prediction based on non-destructive

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Those methods with good predictive ability, in addition to being a decision tool for the conservation of fruit in storage centrals, will allow producers to apply corrective actions, such as increased application of calcium and/ or reduction of nitrogen or potassium fertilization before harvest.

Exchange of peach material with China From 18 to 23 July, IRTA researchers Joan Bonany, Ignasi Iglesias and Gemma Echeverria visited the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Science in the Chinese city of Nanjing, under the collaboration agreement established with IRTA in 2008 and the INIA project “Prospection, harvesting, conservation and characterization of new peach germplasm�, coordinated by IVIA and with four subprojects, one of which corresponds to IRTA. The purpose of the visit was to realize the exchange of plant material of the genus Prunus (mostly peach) between the two institutes to introduce innovative agronomic and fruit quality characters that enable the diversification of the genetic base currently available in order to obtain new varieties.

IRTA researchers gave three conferences on the genetic improvement of peach and pear carried out at IRTA, consumer preferences, peach situation in Spain and aroma and sensory characterization of varieties of apples and pears. Finally, they visited the production area of Wuxi, specialized in producing packaged white pulp peach, where the added value of the final product is to be highlighted.

Plant Production Restoring chestnut In the Prades Mountains

The description and characterization of the 4 shortlisted chestnut (‘Cella Ampla’, ‘Pere Andreu’, ‘Primerenc’ and ‘Tardà’), is based on the international UPOV descriptors for this species, and other characteristics defined in different works. The material was characterized by 34 characters (tree, phenology, leaf type, fruit, etc.).

Parallel characterization was performed by molecular markers SSR type, and the result has shown that these materials are different from other chestnuts found in the rest of Spain.

Extensive monitoring of tree phenology has been carried out, and floral biology studies have found that the variety ‘Pere Andreu’ is androsterile, it does not produce pollen, and ‘Cella Ampla’ does, but very little. However, this pollen as well as the one from the other varieties is viable.

This activity was carried out to restore chestnut trees in the Prades Mountains and consists of three aspects:

·

Description and characterization of shortlisted chestnuts in this area.

· Studies on floral biology of the chestnut. · Preparation of the material necessary to establish

a comparative trial of different varieties of chestnut.

We have also seen the self-incompatibility of 3 varieties (‘Pere Andreu’, ‘Primerenc’ and ‘Tardà’), which means that the pollen of one variety can not fertilize the flowers of that same variety.

Finally, we prepared a field of the pre-selected chestnut parent plants. Wood has been taken and grafted on hybrid Castanea rootstock. The four varieties are recovered and saved in the field of parent plants. This material will be used to establish a comparative trial of different varieties and also the material for future plantings of chestnut in the area.

Fruit Production Prospecting of the carob in Morocco

During the summer of 2010, two IRTA technicians, together with technical-INRA Meknes, prospected the area of ​​the Moroccan Rif (8 different municipalities in 6 provinces) and selected and marked 10 individuals for their interesting phenotypic features. Varieties rootstocks have been brought and grafted at Mas de Bover, for subsequent introduction to the Germplasm Bank and their study in our edafoclimatic conditions.

Cooperation in Almond with Tunisia

In 2010 AECI has completed the project “Survey, characterization and selection of local genotypes of carob in the north of Morocco”, coordinated by IRTA and in collaboration with INRA, in Meknes, Morocco.

Although Spain is the main producer of Carob been in the world (80,000 tons of Carob, before an estimated total of 300,000 t worldwide, the domestic varieties have a low yield in bean, rich in galactomannan and high thickening power highly valued in the food industry. Morocco is the third largest producer of Carob bean (8-9000 t) from feral trees, high seed yield (18-20% off 10% of Spanish varieties) and a very high genetic variability that justify its exploration.

The project objectives were prospecting and selecting material in the north of Morocco, exchange of varieties between INRA Meknes and the IRTA Mas de Bover Germplasm Bank of Spain (the world’s largest) and facilitate scientific contact between both research institutions.

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Plant Production

A project of international cooperation with the “Institut de l’Olivier” in Tunisia, coordinated by Dr. Xavier Miarnau has begun in 2010. This project is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (AECID), and aims at the introduction and evaluation of new varieties of almond IRTA obtained in Tunisia, and assessing the resources of the country in a matter of Almond material.

The project was conceived in 2009, during a visit from a group of researchers of IRTA’s Subprogramme of Olive Production, Oil Processing and Nut trees, to different production areas of Tunisia, as part of an AECID Complementary Action, to know the reality and productive agro-climate of the country. Later, in 2010, Tunisian researchers visited IRTA’s Almond Breeding programme in IRTA Mas de Bover centre and the plantations of the IRTA Lleida Field Station, in Les Borges Blanques.

The aim is to create a trial network in different parts of Tunisia, in order to improve knowledge of the behaviour

and adaptation of new IRTA varieties of almond and different Tunisia native ecotypes in different agricultural systems.

This project has been created to strengthen scientific cooperation between both countries, in a priority area for Tunisia as is agricultural development. The project aims to increase competitiveness of future plantations of almond and Tunisia and, consequently, promote the socioeconomic development of rural areas. In addition, it includes another important aspect for Tunisia: the sustainable management of water resources in agriculture, with the completion of various trials of deficit irrigation in almonds.

In Spain, this project may provide new insights into the characterization of new varieties, since in this case these will be placed on extreme agro-climatic conditions and very different areas from where they have been obtained.

Also, some Tunisian ecotypes or selections may be of interest for certain Spanish arid areas or can be used as genetic resources in breeding programs.

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Fruit Production Safenut: Valorisation of native genetic resources of hazelnut and almond For 3 years (April 2007 to September 2010), IRTA has participated in this European project aimed at the valorisation of genetic resources of two species of nuts: almonds (Prunus Amygdalus) and hazel (Corylus avellana L.) 11 research centres of six European countries: Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Portugal participated in the project.

This project involved researchers from the IRTA Mas de Bover and IRTA Cabrils Programme Olive Production, Oil Processing and Nut trees and the Subprogramme of Plant Pathology, respectively.

To address the project objectives six working groups were established: Group 1 (Coordinated by IRTA):

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Characterization of the material in hazelnut collections and germplasm banks and material exploration. Making a hazelnut core collection. Group 2: Characterization of almond varieties in collections and germplasm banks.

Group 3: Evaluation and characterization of hazel materials. Group 4: ecological, economic and cultural related to sustainable production. Traditional knowledge of almond and hazelnut. Group 5: Making an Almond core collection. Group 6: Creating a website with all the information generated in the project: http://safenut. casaccia.enea.it/).

As a result of the work, very interesting results have been obtained both for Science and the sector. The good relationship established between researchers from the different research centres, will provide the basis for future collaborations.

Plant Production

Other Fruit Production activities and workshops Interregional Conference of Olive 22 June, Llorenç del Penedès

IX Technical Conference and Exhibition of cherry and apricot varieties Gimenells, July 2

XIV Exhibition of peaches and nectarines varieties, in Gimenells, on July 29 7th Exhibition of peach and nectarine, Soses, on July 31 and August 1 Technical Fruit Seminar of summer apples, peaches and pears, in Mas Badia Specialization Course on “Update: Production technologies, conservation and pear marketing”on February 1 and 2, in Zaragoza

Technical Seminar on peach use of water under shading and reflective mesh, in Mollerussa, March 19

Almond Workshop, on March 25, in Mas de Bover

I International Conference Fruit 10, Lleida from 5 to 7 May

Seminar on quality management in the production of olive oil, on May 7 in Castellón d’Empúries

XIV Forum of peach and nectarine,

September 1

Workshop on organic fruit growing, under the IX SEAE Congress, October 5 in Lleida Symposium on Mountain Fruit, in Vielha, October 21

Technical Conference and Exhibition of apple and pear varieties, on October 26, in Mas Badia

Nursery Workshop, November 8, in Alcanar IV Conference on organic fruit, management of biodiversity, in Lleida 16 December

Growing organic apples, main technical issues to consider, in Viladamat December 17

Alcarràs, May 7

II Second National Conference of Hazelnut Constantí, May 14

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Postharvest Improving postharvest chain This project began in 2010 and it aims to study the different processes able to induce oxidative stress and antioxidant potential losses and physiopathies in fruits in conservation. This is the reason for the following tasks:

ID in pear

Granny apple scolding Peach damage by cold

·

Determination of the effect of collection date on the antioxidant potential of fruits and their relationship with physiopathies.

· I mpact of different post-harvest chain processes

(cold storage, changes of atmosphere, etc.) on the antioxidant potential of fruit and impact in disorders.

·

Interest of alternative non-chemical control systems, capable of increasing and/or maintaining antioxidant potential and increase fruit resistance to physiological disorders.

· D evelopment of non destructive systems able to predict the antioxidant potential of fruit and/or detect physiopathy patterns in fruit.

The main changes to be avoided:

· I nternal decomposition in pear · G ranny scalding · P each damage by cold Decomposition in Blanquilla pear This project aimed to define a general marker able to predict the sensitivity of fruit to a disorder of conservation, internal decomposition or ID. To achieve this goal, different studies have been carried out, trying to define, specially:

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· A marker in the harvest. · A biochemical marker. · A strategy able to characterize short-term ID sensitive lots (stress stage).

· A marker using non-destructive analyses (acoustic and fluorimetric) to predict the development of alterations in conservation.

At the end of the project it has been possible to define the harvest rates of major importance to predict the ID, a biochemical marker (ascorbic acid) linked to the expression of symptoms, a stress scenario that can predict the sensitivity of the whole batch to ID, and finally a non-destructive marker capable of detecting altered fruit in the chain and predict the onset of symptoms in conservation.

The results allow a more effective fight against one of the most problematic changes in pear: internal decomposition.

Sodium bicarbonate to control rot in citrus This project, funded by MICINN, has studied different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate in the bath (2.3 to 4%) of short immersion time (30 to 60 seconds) and high temperature treatment (between 40 and 55 degrees C) for the control of rot in citrus, as well as the possible need of carrying out a washing (rinse) after the application of sodium bicarbonate.

Plant Production

The most important results derived from this project are:

· T reatment of 3% bicarbonate and 40°C for 40 seconds

proved effective in all cases and does not affect fruit quality.

· R insing is not needed after the treatment, as it does

not produce any toxicity or deposits on the skin of the fruit, even when applying wax afterwards.

· T he effectiveness of bicarbonate is not affected because of posterior degreening of the fruit (no alteration has been observed).

· T he efficacy of bicarbonate treatment is different

depending on the origin of the fruit and it is observed that the texture of the fruit indicates that in some cases, the softer the fruit is, the less effective the treatment

· T he effectiveness of treatment could be related to

climate conditions (rain just before or at the time of harvest could have a negative effect).

· T he cost of the sodium bicarbonate treatment per kg

of fruit is about 100 times lower than treatment with fungicides.

· T he environmental impact posed by the waste

generated by the proposed treatment is much less than that caused by synthetic chemicals, which must be incinerated in special plants, resulting in cost.

Bicarbonate is not considered toxic or dangerous waste, so its environmental impact is minimal.

IX Technical Seminar on Postharvest Although the current consumer knows the good nutritional qualities of fruit, external appearance is still the base of the purchase decision. In fact, appearance makes ‘the first impression on consumers’ and is, therefore, one of the main factors that influence the purchase decision.

manipulate the fruit in an automated manner and comply with long periods of self-life in optimal conditions.

This situation is known to distributors, who note the loss of quality products on line, and to research centres that have the skills to develop and test new technologies and products (packaging systems, coatings, post-harvest treatment products, etc.) designed to maintain a good appearance of the fruit throughout the commercial chain.

These are some of the issues and experiences conveyed by the speakers who participated in this IX Technical Seminar on Postharvest, held on 13 May at the School of Agricultural Engineering of Lleida (ETSEA).

Energy saving and same quality of Gala apples in storage The researchers Carmen Costa and Pilar Plaza, of the IRTA Mas Badia Technical Service of Postharvest and IRTA Lleida, presented a poster at the 28th International Horticultural Congress in Lisbon, which took place from 23 to 27 August and had an attendance of 3,300 people.

The poster entitled “Effect of 1-MCP (SmartFresh SM) on gala apple cultivar: A comparison between 2 different cold storage temperatures.” The effect of 1-MCP (SmartFresh SM) compares 2 storage temperatures and provides the following conclusions: This poster compares 2 storage temperatures and provides the following conclusions: a) F ruit treated with SmartFresh and stored at a temperature higher than conventional (1.5°C instead of 0.5°C) not only maintained the same quality as the fruit not treated and stored at 0.5°C, but showed improved firmness. b) Saving in energy consumption of the chamber with conservation temperature 1.5°C was 27%.

Fruit production allocates much of its resources to develop new varieties of fruit with an optimal visual quality: greater size, better colour, lower incidence of post-harvest physiopathies, etc., but we must not forget that this quality can be enhanced along the production process and must be preserved throughout the commercial chain, a commercial chain that needs to

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Sustainable plant protection Biological control of whitefly in tomato Whiteflies and viruses they transmit are some of the major obstacles in the production of tomato in Europe.

The main objectives of this study have been to identify where and why the whiteflies are a major constraint on tomato crops, collect information about whitefly and associated virus, identify the available management tools and identify the main knowledge gaps and research priorities. This study was conducted in the framework of the ENDURE project (European Network for Durable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies - www.endurenetwork.eu).

Two species of whitefly are major pests of tomato in Europe: Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum.

Trialeurodes vaporariorum has spread to all areas where production in greenhouses operates, and B. tabaci has invaded since early 1990, all tropical and subtropical areas. Among the existing biotypes, the B and Q biotypes of B. tabaci are widespread and are especially problematic. Other key tomato pests are Aculops lycopersici, Helicoverpa armigera, Frankliniella occidentalis and lea miners. Tomato crops are particularly susceptible to viruses that cause the tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD) and the high incidence of this disease is associated with the high pressure of its vector, B. tabaci. The degree of importance of B. tabaci as a pest of tomato that has been established in this study correlates with levels of insecticides use in each of the studied areas. This indicates that B. Tobacco is a key plague in the planning of chemical control. There

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have been cases of resistance to most insecticides.

The Integrated Pest Management based on Biological Control (BC-IPM) applies to all regions and has been described as the strategy in which fewer pesticides are applied. Other components of IPM include the installation of netting in greenhouses and the use of tomato cultivars TYLCD tolerant. The sampling techniques differ between regions, and decisions are usually based on the densities of whitefly and are not related to control strategies, or crop cycles. To monitor and control the population, whitefly species are always identified.

In Europe, the IPM-BC is the recommended strategy for sustainable production of tomato. The BC-IPM approach relies primarily on innoculative releases of parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus and Encarsia Formosa and/or polyphag predators Macrolophus caliginosus and Nesidiocoris tenuis. However, some limitations have been identified for a wider application of this system: the lack of biological solutions for some pests, costs associated with the purchase of natural enemies, the low confidence of farmers in technology, the costs of technical assistance, and low thresholds for damage caused by pests that can be accepted by farmers. Research priorities were proposed to improve and promote IPM-BC in the following areas: (i) the appearance and invasion of new viruses transmitted by whitefly, (ii) the importance of B. Tabaci biotypes respect resistance to insecticides, (iii) resistance biochemistry and genetics of plants, (iv) economic thresholds and sampling techniques of whitefly for decision making, and (v) conservation and management of indigenous natural enemies of whitefly and improvement of biological control of other pests of tomatoes.

Plant Production Integrated control of the tomato moth Tuta absoluta Tuta absoluta is a lepidopter originally from South America who came to Europe, through Spain, in 2006.

It may cause very important damage to tomato crops because, besides eating the leaves, it can directly damage the fruit.

This coordinated project, launched in February 2010, aims to study the biology and ecology of the pest in Mediterranean conditions and find control alternatives to reduce the current dependence on pesticides.

for local parasites that can adapt to this new pest and complement the action of predators. Using T.absoluta infested plants as a trap, several species that parasite eggs and larvae of the lepidopters have been found.

Three species of larvae parasitoids excel: Necremnus artynes, Stenomesius sp. and Bracons hebetor. We have initiated studies of the biology of these species to determine their potential to control T. absolute.

The effect of modified atmospheres as a disinsection method at postharvest and it has been found that are promising. With short-term treatment with CO 2-rich atmospheres the control of all stages of T. Absoluta is achieved as well as a high percentage of extraction of larvae from inside the fruit.

Bemisia Risk: Phytosanitary crisis by bio-invasion of Bemisia-virus in Mediterranean greenhouse crops

IRTA’s primary task in the project is to search for and evaluate biological control agents. On the other hand another purpose is studying studying the role of poliphagous predators Macrolophus pygmaeus and Nesidiocoris Tenuis, very abundant in the tomato plants, which have long been used in integrated pest control programs, mainly for control of white flies, studying their preference between T. absoluta and white flies, and therefore, what potential they have to control both pests together. On the other hand, we are also looking

Bemisia Risk is the name of the cooperative project of several research teams from France, Spain, Tunisia and Morocco of many different disciplinary fields (entomology, virology, biotechnology, economics and sociology) that has focused on studying different aspects of one of the worst invasive species in agriculture: the whitefly Bemisia tabaci.

This study seeks to determine how to identify potential risks to agriculture associated with an invasive species, and face their control with the help of all stakeholders: research, plant health services, services of technical advice, farmers and society in general. The common objective of these studies has been to understand the

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Sustainable plant protection risks associated with invasive pests and design their sustainable management.

vulnerability, available at www.unifinder.co.uk/survey/ index.php

Bemisia tabaci is a bioinvader of tropical origin that combines high polyphagia (600 host species) with high transmission capacity of many plant viruses. It is located in southern Europe in a context of gradual adaptation to colder conditions. This adaptation could produce an expansion of affected agricultural areas, which implies a strong demand to develop strategies for Integrated Protection.

Biocucurbit: Biological control of Bemisia tabaci and Frankliniella occidentalis in cucurbits

This project has determined the areas of endemism as well as the introduction ways of the pest and the viruses it transmits. Among others, we characterized the genetic diversity and prevalence of biotypes B. tabaci and the strains of viruses, identified ways of dissemination and the impact of recombination in the evolution of the virus pathogenicity, and identified new host plants and the role of plant in the distribution of the plague biotypes. We also carried out the characterization of the distribution of temporary space of host plants of the virus and the vector in the area of Roussillon, Catalonia and Tunisia, determined the vulnerability of a specific culture and the organization of integrated risk management.

A website was created to disseminate the results (www1. montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/BemisiaRisk/index.htm), which has a public space where professionals can consult the summary of the results. We have also created a selfassessment tool to assist in farmers to diagnose their

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Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) and thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), cause significant economic losses in cucurbit crops, both because of their direct damage and its ability to transmit viruses. The application of biological control allows for a better pest control and also release into the environment, releasing also into the environment abundant populations of natural enemies. The Biocucurbit project aims to determine the effectiveness of different combinations of useful fauna in crops, knowing the effectiveness of commercial offsprings of natural enemies in relation with the natural populations of these and know the interactions between different natural enemies used for biological control, in order to determine their possible complementarity.

Thus, it has been reported that the addition of food on the plant has improved the installation of three species of predators, and this improvement has been confirmed also in semi-field conditions. The combined use of two predator species to control thrips and whitefly was not complementary, and it has not been possible to improve the control of both pests. The natural populations of three

Plant Production

studied predator species have been better at detecting the pest and the plant than populations produced commercially. However, the predator improved its research capacity if preconditioned before its release to the field. Using molecular methods, it has been possible to determine, in real time, the trophic relationships between different species of pests and natural enemies of the horticulture agroecosystem. This may allow a better determination of each natural enemy’s role, in the whole scheme, and optimize pest control.

Tuta absoluta control and Integrated Pest Control in vegetablel crops

effectively. To achieve this objective, a close cooperation with technicians of the Plant Protection Associations (ADV) and of the Department of Agriculture has been established in order to compare different decisionmaking methods easily applicable. We have also determined the efficacy of different specific insecticide treatments to control the pest and the residual effect of commonly used insecticides for control T. Absoluta on its predators.

A better control of the pest is being achieved with the implementation of this programme that in addition respects the environment. Technical information generated about the potential of different plant species to maintain and reproduce various natural enemies has also been transferred to the sector. Some of these plants have been planted in commercial field margins installed and the advantages they may have as ecological infrastructure to supply useful fauna are being assessed.

Edible: improving the knowledge of sustainable production of edible mycorrhizal fungi

This project of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment (DAAM) and IRTA, started in 2008 to adapt and implement in Catalonia the measures for the integrated control of Tuta absoluta, and the coordination of joint development of technologies to improve biological control of pests, such as the installation of plants insectari margins to increase the presence of natural enemies around fields.

Regarding the control of T.absoluta, the project aims to determine native natural enemies of this insect that may be more effective in controlling them, assessing as well the effectiveness of the most abundant species in controlling the pest in both field and laboratory conditions. Very important tool tomato growers are using the application of integrated pest control based on the management of natural enemies. Therefore, another goal of this project is to integrate the control of T. absoluta in these programs. A first step is to perfect an easier decision-making method to control the pest more

Ectomycorrhizal edible fungi are mandatory symbionts of plants that contribute significantly to the socio-economic and environmental value of the land. The annual economic value derived from the commercialization of these fungi is above that of other resources such as cork, acorns, chestnuts, resin and even wood in the Mediterranean areas where productive diversification is

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Sustainable plant protection a key factor to favour the creation of rural employment and prevent the gradual abandonment of the land.

The main objective of the project is the evaluation and monitoring of the persistence of species of edible ectomychorrizal fungi established under different ecological conditions, and the factors that influence the evolution of the different vegetative stages of this symbiont (mycorrhizal and extraradical mycelium) and its eventual fruition.

Different biotechnological tools for inoculum production of edible species of ‘rovellon’ (Lactarius sanguifluus), Boletus, truffles and Amanita, and for the identification and quantification of these fungi in different types of field samples (roots and rhyzospheric soil) are being set.

The development of these techniques will allow tracing introduced species and establishing their spatial and temporal dynamics in established field plantations with plants that have undergone controlled inoculation.

The project results will increase knowledge of the factors related to the sustainable production of certain key species, some of them in recession, and management techniques to optimize the establishment of productive plantations.

Improving symbiosis for the production of mushrooms An important part of edible mushrooms are fungi that live in symbiosis with different species of trees and shrubs. Among these fungi, those belonging to the group of Boletus edulis are most appreciated. The harvesting and marketing of these mushrooms provides significant socioeconomic value in areas where other agricultural activities are unprofitable.

Developing the technology needed to control this symbiosis, and address it towards the production of mushrooms, will make its exploitation more sustainable.

Currently, it depends almost exclusively on harvesting the natural production in forests.

The project “Synthesis of mycorrhizae fungi in shrub species with Boletus edulis group fungui: Identification and molecular quantification of the symbiosis”,

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coordinated with DIEF Board of Castilla-León, and funded by the INIA, has reached the following goals: a) creation of a bank of fungal strains of the B. edulis group has established, symbionts of tree species (Pinus spp.) and shrubs (Cistus spp), ecological and molecular characterization, b) production techniques have been adapted for controlled mycorrhization, in axenic conditions, of tree species or shrub with fungi of the B. edulis group, and c) development of tools based on DNA analysis (PCR, real-time PCR) that allow the detection and quantification of mycorrhizae and mycelium of B. edulis in forest soils, and therefore monitor the development of vegetative structures of the fungus under natural conditions.

The objectives of the project have now continued on a new project funded by MICINN and a complementary action financed by the INIA. A doctoral thesis, funded by the INIA, is also being developed in the framework of these projects.

BIOSEC: Study of invasive alien species in Europe and Asia The project “Tackling Biosecurity between Europe and Asia: innovative detection, containment and control tools of Invasive Alien Species potentially affecting food production and trade (BIOSEC)” was included in the program ‘Asia Link’ of 5th Framework Programme of the European Union. This project has duration of 3 years (2008-2010) and an overall budget of 988.294.71€.

The project participants are the Universities of Turin (Italy), Lleida, Bonn (Germany), Zhejiang (China) and the Technology University of Rajamangala, in Lanna (Thailand), in addition to the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The participation of IRTA is the result of our association with the University of Lleida.

The project has focused on the problem of invasive alien species in Europe and Asia that cause disastrous epidemics, both economic and environmental, affecting trade between Europe and Asia.

Therefore, the objective has been to establish a network of European and Asian academic institutions involved in teaching and research of

Plant Production

these species, as well as developing an updated list of species with high potential to be introduced to or from Europe and Asia. In addition, there have been short training courses on the subject, as the one developed for Asian students in Lleida. We have also funded pre and post doctoral students stays, like Zhang Yibo’s, who spent a year in Cabrils studying the competition between two parasitoid predators of the whitefly, a native (Eretmocerus mundus) and the other of an exotic but naturalized (Encarsia pergandiella) and its interference in controlling the pest, and Dr. YinKuan, spending 6 months at the University of Lleida.

caused by the nematode have been prospected. A wide variety of fungal species parasitising Meloidogyne eggs have been detected, but in general, the percentage of parasited nematodes within a plot was low. The frequency of parasitism was higher in plots where organic farming is practiced than in those subject to integrated production. Factors such as limestone and silt content positively correlated with fungal parasitism, while the potassium and clay content showed a negative correlation. Therefore, the characterization of the factors that favour biological control is important to identify situations that promote its development.

Biological control of Meloidogyne

Mineral oils for the control of Tetranychus urticae The red spider, Tetranychus urticae Koch is a very important pest of citrus, affecting mainly lemons and different varieties of clementines. T. urticae spiders produce small spider webs and dense colonies on the back of the leaves. At the end of summer they attack the fruit producing characteristic spots that reduce the commercial value to the point of considering it damaged fruit. The purpose of the trial was to study the efficacy and persistence of different control strategies of T. urticae on clementines based on the application of mineral oils.

The main conclusions of the study are:

· The application of mineral Meloidogyne nematode is causing between 10 and 15% of production losses in under shelter horticultural crops.

The nematode control has been traditionally done by spraying the soil before planting. However, banning the most effective fumigants (eg methyl bromide, 1,3 dicloropropane) has intensified the search for other control methods.

Biological control has proved effective in controlling pests and diseases and the use of native organisms has provided good results for its better adaptation to local climatic conditions. The aim of this project was to detect and identify native fungi able to parasitize Meloidogyne, determine the frequency of these fungi in integrated production systems and organic farming, and study the physical and chemical properties that influence soil their abundance.

A hundred soils, in horticultural production areas of Catalonia and Andalusia, with a history of problems

oil in the summer to control of T. Urticae, when populations are high, is not very effective on the leaves.

· In summer, when

populations are high, applications of mineral oil prevent them to increase their number to very high levels, and on the other hand, they remain stable during the first weeks of the application.

· Applications of oil in late August, although the spider

populations are high, helps obtain commercially acceptable quality fruit

· A repeated application (up to 3 times) of mineral oil of narrow range distillation has not produced a

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Sustainable plant protection delay in the colouring of fruit with respect to a single application.

The results and several interesting aspects observed in this study raise the need to further study the control of this species by mineral oils.

pruning wounds by one of the most common pathogens in Catalonia, Diplodia seriata, which takes place from March to June. Evaluating the effectiveness of various fungicides for the protection of pruning wounds showed that methyl thiophanate could be an effective alternative to reduce the infection of the vine after pruning.

Diagnosis, epidemiology and wood disease control in adult plants

Study of new techniques to control fungal diseases of vine wood

The most important diseases of the wood of the vine: Esca, Eutipiosis and BDA (black dead arm) are some of the phytopathological diseases of vineyards in a sector in Catalonia. These diseases are caused by a complex of fungi difficult to control and which have the usual route of entry to the plant: pruning wounds.

This research project, completed in 2010, has allowed progress in the identification, characterization and epidemiology of fungal pathogens associated with disease. The most notable results of the project include the development of a new molecular method for identification of the pathogen Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, the identification of mycotoxins produced by different species of Botryosphaeria, and determining the period of maximum risk of infection of

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Plant Production

This project began in 2010 and continues research on diseases of the wood of the vine started by IRTA in 2003. These diseases, that include ESCA, Eutipiosis and BDA (black dead arm) occur in adult plants and usually penetrate through the pruning wounds.

The project’s main objectives are to study the infection process of pruning wounds and develop chemical and

biological control measures to reduce infections by this route. Regarding the process of infection, the natural frequencies of infection of different fungal pathogens, the minimum amount of inoculum for the establishment of infection and the period during which the wounds remain susceptible to pathogenic infection will be studied. As for control measures, evaluate the effectiveness of different products of chemical synthesis and the antagonisms several biological control agents can offer to face the pathogens.

“Predatory mites in cultivated plants. Family Phytoseiidae “

The book “Predatory mites in the cultivated plants.

Family Phytoseiidae”, which authors are the specialists Drs. Francisco Ferragut, Ignacio Perez-Moreno, Victor Iraola and Adriana Escudero, was published in 2010 by Ediciones Agrotécnicas. Dr. Escudero is a researcher at IRTA Mas Badia.

This work was first published in Spain on this family of great importance in biological control, and intended to be a useful tool for identifying the various phytoseiid species present both in crops and vegetation that grows close to them.

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Genomics and Biotechnology Molecular markers in woodland strawberry

The woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, is a species cultivated on a small scale for its fruit, perennial, self-fertilizing, of easy vegetative reproduction, diploid, small genome (200 MBP) and used as a model of strawberry (F x ananassa), a species genetically close, and greatly produced in Spain, but with an octoploid genome. The overall objective of this project has been to advance the creation of genetic and genomic resources for F. vesca as a model system to facilitate the understanding of the heritage characters of production and fruit quality and apply this information to the breeding of strawberry (F x ananassa).

Under the project “Use of molecular markers for the construction of a collection of nearly isogenic lines of diploid strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and comparison of genomes of Prunus and Fragaria” has developed a population of nearly isogenic lines (Nils) in F. vesca.

After two rounds of retrocrossings and one selffertilization, approximately 2,000 plants with 68 loci have been genotyped. Finally we have selected 28 NiLs lines,

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each of which contains a single chromosomal fragment of a close wild species (F. bucharica) in the genetic background of the cultivated variety of F. vesca “Queen of fences.” The sum of the introgressed fragments of each line represents the entire genome of F. bucharica. The selected introgressions have an average size of 43 cm (7.9% of the genome). In the near future, this collection will provide the study of the inheritance of phenotypic variability in strawberry, particularly the quantitative type.

At the same time, a tool for genetic mapping by approach (bin mapping) that has increased the saturation of the F. vesca map with Type SSR markers generated from genomic libraries of microsatellites or derived ESTs. Using the saturated F. vesca map and the reference Prunus map, a genre that also belongs to the family of rosacea and includes the peach, the first comparison of the genomes of Prunus and Fragaria types using RFLP and SNP markers already mapped in Prunus and have been mapped in F vesca. For most markers of each chromosome of a species, the presence of one or two copies in the other genome has been observed, proving thus the existence of synteny between the two genomes. We observed a high number of chromosomal rearrangements (36), most being investments (27) and very few translocations (9).

Plant Production Improving germination and fruit-set to obtain new varieties of pansy geranium The aim of this project began in 2010, is to launch a program to improve pansy geranium to solve the problem of low germination and fruit-set, and therefore produce many segregant populations with a reasonable effort.

This would allow the obtaining of new varieties that have a commercially interesting homogeneous port (more compact and with good branching), presenting little cold requirements and, therefore, being early flowering and with the most complete possible range of colours.

To improve the set, and through the experience gained with the other two species of Pelargonium, it was decided to perform an experiment that consists in making the same crossing under two fertilization treatments, a control (with a balance of NPK fertilization 19-6-6 during vegetative growth and flowering during the 17-6-18), and another adding 3.58 meq/l of potassium sulphate (SO4K) to the flowering solution of fertilizer to make it especially rich in potassium, since this element is necessary for the plant for good fruit and specially seed development.

During the first year of the project all the crossings of the provided control fertilization treatment have been

made. There have been 12,778 pollinizations and 1403 seeds have been collected, which have been planted using two techniques for germination, an in vitro sowing the mature seeds after removing all the packaging in culture medium and the other in vivo and mechanically scarifying the seed and treating it treated with gibberellic acid, resulting in a total of 508 seedlings.

Applied Genomics to the improvement in disease resistance of fruit trees A meeting within the COST873 project, ‘Bacterial diseases in stone fruits and nuts’, focused on a topic of discussion: Applied Genomics to the improvement in disease resistance of fruit trees was held at the IRTA Torre Marimon centre on 18th and 19th February 2010.

This meeting facilitated the meeting of 18 European researchers, specialized in marker assisted breeding of different plant species, phytogenic and pathongenic characterization, from different institutions: INRA (France), IRTA, IRTA-CRAG, CEBAS-CSIC and IMIDA (Spain), EVD-ACW (Switzerland) and the Agricultural University of Athens (Greece).

The presentations and summary of the results of the meeting can be viewed directly (in English) on the project website: www.cost873.ch/5_activites/meeting_detail. php?ID=26

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Animal Production

50. Animal Breeding and Genetics 52. Animal Nutrition, Health and Welfare 56. Aquaculture 60. Animal Health

Animal Breeding and Genetics Joint project with Inga Food on Iberian pig genetics

LIPGENCAL: gene regulation of lipid metabolism

The general managers of Inga Food SA, Manuel Garcia Lorenzo and IRTA, Josep M. Monfort i Bolivar, have signed an agreement to develop a joint project on genetics of Iberian pig, with funding from the CDTI, which aims to characterise three lines of Iberian pigs and their crossbreed from a genetic and productive point of view in order to lay the foundations for a future program of selection and improvement in Iberian pigs.

Currently, the Iberian pig production works mostly with pure Iberian pedigree, essentially using just one female line and missing the potential hybrid vigour (heterosis) that could be obtained with two different pure Iberian pedigrees.

That is why Inga Food SA and IRTA will collaborate in this project, which will use three breeds of Iberian pigs (pure and cross breed) for its genetical and productive characterization through a diallelic experimental design, studying their characters of economic interest (prolificacy, growth, percentage of noble parts, meat quality ...). These studies will be carried out in IRTA’s centres in Lleida (for genetic studies) and Monells (for meat quality) with the collaboration of the Universities of Zaragoza and Extremadura.

The study of genes and gene regulatory mechanisms involved in lipid metabolism and product quality in swine is one of the priority research lines of the Animal Breeding and Genetics Program of IRTA. In this line, the project “Mapping and identification of genes implied in lipid metabolism in swine, meat quality and cured ham quality”, funded by the MICINN and coordinated by Dr. Raquel Quintanilla, was completed in 2010.

This project was carried out with the group of Animal Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and ​​ had the collaboration of researchers from IRTA’s Food Technology and Functionality and Nutrition Programmes, and the ‘Selecció Batallé’ company.

In the course of the project, numerous structural and functional genomics research works have been addressed, aimed at studying a plethora of interesting biomedical, production and nutritional characters: metabolism of cholesterol, growth and fattening, fat and fatty acid profile of meat, and sensory profile of cured ham. Some of the most relevant results published are:

This project intends to discover the genetic determinism of the three breeds and their crossbreeds for characters of economic interest, estimate heterosis and their combining ability. Likewise, the three lines will be evaluated by monitoring the end products obtained from their crossbreeds with Duroc males, under the current legislation for Iberian products.

The project results should allow obtaining more efficient animals from which to obtain high range products with competitive prices in the Iberian ham market.

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1. Map-Based Quantitative Trait Locus Identification (pig genome regions responsible for the variation of these characters); 2. characterization of several candidate genes and further study of their functional and structural association with the phenotypes mentioned before, and 3. establishing the differences between the patterns of gene expression of individuals with diverging

Animal Production

profiles with respect to lipid metabolism and muscle fat deposition, while defining the metabolic pathways involved.

The scientific interest of these results has determined the continuation of this line of research as part of a new project, recently initiated: “Study of characters related to lipid metabolism and quality in swine both by the integral analysis of massive data of genotypes and gene expression.”

piglets per sow and year, which is the highest figure reached in the history of the awards.

Conservation and breeding of the ‘Penedesenca’ chicken

The “Granja Castellets”, Diamond Porc d’Or (Golden Pig) for the second consecutive year On 26 November, at the “Palau de Congressos de Lleida – La Llotja”, with over 600 attendees, the seventeenth edition of the ‘Porc d’Or’ Awards Gala (Golden Pig Awards), where the farm ‘Castellets’, in Taradell (Barcelona), of the feed company ‘Pinsos Sant Antoni’, received the maximum award, the Diamond Golden Pig (Pork d’Or de Diamant), for the second year in a row.

Besides winning the main award, the Castellets farm also received two statuettes, gold and silver, for Numerical Productivity and Live Births.

The Fire del Gall (Chicken Show) of Vilafranca del Penedés, was held on 19 and 20 December, organized by the City Council which, this year has had the already traditional ‘Mercat d’Aviram de Pagès’ (Farm Poultry Market) and the Exhibition-Monographic competition of the Penedesenca breed of chickens.

In the Farm Poultry Market, since the mid-1990s, the star is the famous, “Gall del Penedès” (Penedès Rooster).

It is a completely black chicken fruit of breeding work that, based on the traditional black Penedesenca hen, are carried out at IRTA, in the Chicken Breeding Subprogram, at the Mas de Bover centre. In this still on-going process, we have sought to obtain a more profitable Penedès chicken, improving its growth rate and conformation while being careful not to alter the meat taste and texture of the traditional type.

The Special IRTA Prize to “Health, Environment and Animal Welfare” was won by the ‘Granja de Ves’, in Balsa de Ves (Albacete), of the Afrivall-Vall Companys Group, distinguishing it as a model farm to follow in terms of health, environment and animal welfare.

The Special Prize “Golden Pig High Productivity” was won by the farm “El SAS”, in Candasnos (Huesca), of the CINCA-PORC company, with a figure of 32.06 weaned

Under the name “Gall del Penedès” there are turkeys, capons and poulards. The roosters have a 19 week life span and a live weight of about 4 kg, the capons live around 27 weeks and have a live weight between 5 and 5.5 kg, and poulards do not exceed 18 weeks of life and weigh around 2.5 kg.

Its production is around 80,000 chickens, 90% of them fattening in Catalonia and 10% in the rest of Spain; the result of the breeding work carried out by the company AVIRAUT in close collaboration with IRTA.

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Animal Nutrition, Health and Welfare The intramuscular fat of pigs is not easily modifiable by diet

This research showed a trend of conjugated linoleic acid to reduce subcutaneous fat, without affecting the percentage of intramuscular fat. It was also noted that the incorporation of this product in the diet modified the fatty acid profile in the loin, compared with the control diet. In addition, animals that eat diets with lower levels of vitamin A showed a slight tendency to reduce subcutaneous fat, with no evidence of modification of intramuscular fat.

Moreover, it was found that, by reducing the levels of protein or lysine produced an increase of intramuscular fat, though when reducing the levels of lysine, there was a tendency to reduce the levels of subcutaneous fat, when reducing protein levels, there was the opposite effect. Finally it was concluded that intramuscular fat is not easily modifiable through the diet.

Núria Tous is the author of this work entitled “Effect of diet on fat deposition in pigs”, winner of the VII Prize of the Royal Academy of Veterinary Sciences “Carlos Luis de Cuenca “ in the field of animal nutrition.

Intramuscular fat is inside the muscle and can affect the quality (juiciness and tenderness) of meat. Pig production systems have been using genetic breeds of a lower body fat percentage, reducing the intramuscular fat and also damaging sensory perception. Therefore, the aim of this study was to increase the intramuscular fat through diet without increasing other fat depositions, such as the subcutaneous one.

The study included carrying out three experiments at the end of pig fattening (approximately from 60 to 115kg) in order to: • Adding 4% CLA (conjugated linoleic acid).

Galactomannans to reduce prevalence of Salmonella The MEC project CONSALCO is studying the formulation of a premix based on galactomannans from locust bean (Ceratonia Silicua), patented by IRTA. Once incorporated into the feed of poultry and pigs, it prevents adherence of Salmonella to the intestinal wall (Figure 1), by blocking 100

Adhesion of Salmonella (%)

This is the main conclusion of the work carried out by Núria Tous, who is doing her thesis in the Monogastric Nutrition Subprogram at IRTA Mas de Bover, in Constantine (Tarragona), and has decided to investigate whether the changes in the diet of pigs improve meat quality in terms of technological properties and sensory perception. The initial hypothesis was that the strategies applied to food should allow modifying the deposition and distribution of body fat in pigs.

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0

control

0,1

0,5

1

10

20

Salmosan g/ml Figure 1.-Degree of adhesion ability of in vitro Salmonella in solutions Salmosan ®

• Reduce the percentage of protein, lysine or both parameters at once.

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100

Achesión Salmonella (%)

• Reduce the level of vitamin A.

the fímbries with the mannose (Figure 2), which reduces the prevalence of Salmonella in farm.

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Animal Production Guides to risk assessment in animal welfare

5,0 mm

10 mm

5,0 mm

Figure 2.- SEM of intestinal cell cultures from pigs inoculated with Salmonella faced with Salmosan ® solutions.

The product is a premix of hemicellulose polysaccharides with different proportions of galactomannan, hydrolized

by B-mannanasses enzymes. The results show that the incorporation of the product called Salmosan ® between 0.1 and 0.3% in feed for both birds and pigs, is effective and reduces the degree of prevalence of salmonella.

Precision swine feeding

IRTA’s Animal Welfare Subprogramme has participated in this project, funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The project objective has been to develop some guidelines for assessing the risks related to animal welfare in housing conditions and handling.

The species that have been evaluated have been large and small ruminants, pigs and poultry.

The project was divided into 4 phases. The first phase reviewed the leading systems of accommodation and handling. The second phase discussed several methods for the identification and characterization of hazards and assessment of the exposure of animals to these dangers. The third phase developed a list of checkpoints to assess animal welfare. The last phase was focused on developing methodologies for assessing risk. The full report can be found at: www.efsa.europa.eu/en/ supporting/pub/87e.htm

Precision pig farming is a concept that seeks, as main objectives, improving economic and environmental production efficiency at pig farms, in addition to ensuring animal welfare. This project aims to evaluate and optimize, from different points of view, a precision industrial feeding station (IPF) that could be used to satisfy the concept of ‘precision porcinoculture’.

The main feature of this IPF station is that it uses feed techniques that allow providing the right amount of food composition at the right time for each pig, maximizing the use of nutrients and reducing the unnecessary removal of certain components such as nitrogen or phosphorus.

This project consists of two subprojects with a total of three experiments. The first experiment is intended primarily to determine the optimal number of animals that an IPF station can feed, so that their productive potential and welfare are appropriate. In addition, the knowledge obtained in this experiment will be used in the third experiment, focused on the technological and functional optimization of an IPF station. The second experiment will evaluate the effect of feeding pigs with diets adjusted every day and for each animal with the IPF station, in relation to a traditional feeding in three phases on the intake, nutrient removal (environmental impact), feeding costs and carcass composition of carcass and meat quality.

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Animal Nutrition, Health and Welfare Religious Slaughter DIALREL is a project funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme, entitled “Religious slaughter: improving knowledge and skills through dialogue and debate on welfare, legislation, and socio-economic aspects.”

The aim of the project was to promote dialogue and debate among the Member States of the EU on religious slaughter (halal and shechita). The aim was to establish practices to ensure animal welfare during slaughter according to European requirements and expectations of the market and consumers of these products. Therefore, the participation of scientists expert in animal welfare, legislation and socioeconomics, as well as veterinarians from public health agencies, public and religious organizations, industry representatives, consumer organizations and NGOs was encouraged.

The IRTA Welfare Subprogram was in charge of coordinating the work of determining the impact of religious slaughter in the different EU countries and assess methods of sacrifice from the standpoint of animal welfare (restraint of animals, stunning or not, and the

conditions under which this practice is carried out, the period of time necessary for the complete bleed-out, etc.). The last part of this task was the preparation of a document with recommendations on animal welfare during the most delicate moments of religious sacrifice, including the method of immobilization, the slain and bleeding to death of the animal. These recommendations as well as more information about the project results are available at: www.dialrel.eu.

Rest time in the transport of sheep This project is done in collaboration with the “Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimanetale of Abruzzo” (Italy) and is funded by the Government of Italy within its national research program. It deals with the issue of animal control centres, which now has great importance for the European Union. These livestock control centres are distributed throughout all countries of the European Union and used to enable complying with the maximum time of continuous transport to which production animals may be subjected. After a few hours, animals must be downloaded and allowed to eat or drink, and

Animal Production

it is necessary to have places where to carry out this activities. Livestock control centres, precisely, are these places.

The aim of this project is to monitor adult animals of the ovine species, that have to be transported distances long enough to require the use of a control centre and observe the status of these animals during the stop to assess the possible consequences of both the unloading itself as well as the subsequent loading and the different resting times in the final state of the animal.

Conference on innovation and transfer with the FCAC The Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCAC) and IRTA, with support from the Department of Agriculture, have promoted the realization of eight conferences of transfer and exchange of knowledge among veterinarians and technicians from cooperatives and researchers of IRTA and CReSA (Research Centre for Animal Health).

Faced with the need to reduce cost of production in pig, innovation and technology transfer become key tools to find solutions and optimize resources and, with this purpose, two working groups with experts in Nutrition and Animal Health have been set up.

These meetings intend to address various topics such as optimization and use of agricultural products of the region or of close areas, revalorisation of by-products, and diets for piglets to reduce medication or the different aspects of the main pathologies affecting pigs of Catalan farms.

The first such conference was held on December 2 at Mas de Bover, entitled “Recovery of by-products of agricultural origin and food processing. Application, use and safety. Feeding systems.�

Aquaculture Study of the pathology of bivalves

REPROSEL: optimizing breeding programs of marine species Within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union, eight research centres in Spain, Greece, Norway, Italy and Israel have launched the project, with the acronym REPROSEL, titled “Protocols and molecular tools for mass spawning and communal rearing based selective breeding schemes applied to multiple spawning marine fish.”

An essential element for developing the production of molluscs, as well as the protection of natural banks of these species, is the knowledge of the factors that threaten these populations and are often related to pathological aspects. The 3-year project PABIMAR “Pathology of the Spanish coast bivalves. Identification and life cycle of Marteilia refringens”, funded by MICINN and beginning in 2010, aims to deepen the pathological study of some of the most important commercial species on the Catalan coast and the rest of the Spanish Mediterranean, such as the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (with curly folds), the clams Ruditapes decussatus and R. philippinarum, the flat oyster Ostrea edulis, the razor clam Solen marginatus and the cockle Cerastoderma edule.

This project will study the various diseases that are relevant to the viability and profitability of these crops and shellfishing of these species. This study will focus on the ‘Alfacs’ bay of the Ebro Delta, in the ’Montsià’ (Tarragona), one of the places with a high concentration of the activities of the sector. This project will also cover research aspects related to new detection tools and the study of the complex life cycle of one of the most important pathogens causing problems in the Spanish Mediterranean as is the case of the notifiable parasite, in the European Community, Marteilia refringens that affects mussels and flat oysters in our waters. This way, new information will be provided from a multidisciplinary perspective, in order to carry out health management with assurances for the future of bivalve aquaculture and the protection of natural shellfishing banks.

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According to the IRTA Sant Carles de la Ràppita researcher, PhD. Neil Duncan, “with this international collaboration we aim to go beyond technological, economic and logistical issues caused by the reproductive biology of females of the species that reproduce by means of communal spawning (spawning of multiple individuals at the same time and in the same tank). Our challenge is to explore the possibilities offered by the mass spawning, both spontaneous and hormonally induced, and examine whether this approach can allow the start of “low cost” breeding programs.

Over the two years and with a budget of over one million Euros, the REPROSEL project researchers will

Animal Production

study how to provide SMEs tools able to optimize breeding programs for fish that usually have high rates of inbreeding, such as sea bass and sea bream, but without resorting to artificial insemination, as it is often problematic in these species. The following companies participate in this project: Tinamenor SA (Spain), Cultivos Piscicolas Marinos, SA (Spain), Galaxidi Marine Farm SA (Greece) and ARDAG Ltd. (Israel).

From the results obtained during the project it is intended to develop a business plan which will be accompanied by a cost/effectiveness analysis of the proposed strategy.

This way, “it is expected to strengthen the existing breeding programs and promote the emergence of new initiatives to improve certain species in the field of European aquaculture”, concludes Dr. Alicia Estevez from the IRTA.

The production of recombinant gonadotropins of Senegalese sole The overall objective of this project, funded by the ‘Fundación Ramón Areces’ is to obtain information about the role of gonadotrophins during the gametogenesis of the Senegalese sole, and to develop methods based on the use of these hormones to induce sexual maturation of cultivated animals. For this, recombinant gonadotropins will be produced by biotechnological methods and specific immunoassays will be developed to quantify the hormones in vivo.

Both technologies will be used to research the role of gonadotropins during spermatogenesis in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The purpose of the project is, therefore, to generate new technologies and knowledge to develop effective methods to control the reproduction of the sole in captivity, as well as for future research on the physiology of reproduction of this species and other flat fish of interest in aquaculture.

Aquaporin in oocytes of marine fish (AQUACYTE) The AQUACYTE project, funded by MICINN, investigated the molecular regulation of a water channel (aquaporin, AQP) in the oocyte of the sea bream, as well as the development of procedures to induce the accumulation of aquaporins in the plasma membrane of oocytes, to increase their permeability during cryopreservation.

The most important results achieved in the project were: 1. Obtaining evidence, for the first time in fish, of the transcriptional regulation of a gene in the oocyte by nuclear progesterone receptor, which in this case is the gene aqp1b; 2. identification of domains in C terminal of Aqp1b protein involved in intracellular transport of the oocyte in gilthead sea bream. These findings suggest that the mechanisms of synthesis and transport of the oocyte Aqp1b are highly regulated. Therefore, Aqp1b can help with a new biomarker of egg quality in marine fish; 3. discovery of a new mechanism for regulating the function of Aqp3 in fish (permeable to cryoprotectants) by pH and 4. design and production of two mutants of the zebra fish Aqp3b more permeable cryoprotectant ethylene glycol, or insensitive to pH, which can be directly applied to the cryopreservation of gametes in vertebrates.

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Aquaculture Advice on the production of Fish in Jalisco

Optimization of Cultivation and Management of Sea Urchin This project has a coordinated approach of different groups of seven autonomous regions with an interest in the management of this resource to study and develop techniques leading to the optimization of the cultivation and management of the Sea Urchin.

Catalonia will addressed the topic “Relevance of sea toxins for food safety and exploitation of sea urchin“ which includes the optimizat ion of methods used for toxins determination in sea urchin, the evaluation of toxins content in the population of sea urchin and the study of the inclusion of toxins produced by benthonic microalgae in laboratory conditions.

In 2010 began a project that is a continuation of projects started in 2005 by IRTA Sant Carles de la Ràpita for advice on marine fish culture projects of the Ministry of Rural Development Government Jalisco, Mexico. The aim of this project is to give technology advice to marine fish culture projects of the Secretariat of Rural Development of the Government of Jalisco, Mexico. This project aims to develop the production technology of the snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) in the facilities of the Centre for Technological Development of Marine Species (CEDETEM) in Jalisco. An IRTA researcher visited CEDETEM centre in November 2010, reviewing the facilities and the stock of breeding snapper. With this information, the IRTA team recommended changes to the facilities to improve the housing of breeders. The use of recirculation was specially recommended in order to increase the quality and quantity of sea water available for cultures.

Some changes were also recommended in the tanks to increase the self-cleaning system and improve housing conditions. In terms of cultures, improvements in the diet of the breeders, with the addition of sources of essential fatty acids and carotenoids were advised. In 2011, some spontaneous spawning is expected in 2011 and a visit has been scheduled for the assessment on the larval rearing of the snapper.

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IRTA’s activities within the project will focus on the years 2012 and 2013. However, in 2010 our researchers attended several meetings to coordinate the start up

Animal Production

of the project and kick-off activities of protocols for the manipulation of individuals and the extraction of urchin tissues for subsequent determination of toxins have already been implemented.

JACUMAR-GESAC and Spanish aquaculture health The Jacumar-GESAC project aim was to create a working platform to facilitate collaboration between stakeholders and government administrations to allow: obtaining information on diseases relevant to marine aquaculture, proposing criteria for the development of epidemiological surveillance programs, helping to operate with scientific criteria in the necessary decision making to protect the health of aquaculture species and promote consensus on the procedures or strategies for the implementation, by the competent authorities of national and regional monitoring programs, of the new legal framework on health, while orienting the sector on the procedures to be implemented.

This objective was realized through the creation of multidisciplinary working groups to propose and guide the future actions of the public administration on the harmonization of methods of diagnosis and active animal health surveillance systems, according to the regulations, considering as well the adaptation of these rules to the specific strategic situation of aquaculture production sector in Spain.

The specific objectives were: a thorough analysis of the new legal framework, developing a directory of responsibilities and database, defining a list of diseases to watch for on fish and shellfish, the compilation of available information on prevention and control of each of the diseases on the list, identifying the most appropriate methods of diagnosis for each disease in the list; interlaboratory exercise planning, design a monitoring program, proposing a strategy to ensure traceability, identify the different needs of general and specific training for the actors, preparing a technical document (guide) of best practices, implementing a monitoring program. In short, we have provided agreed and harmonized technical tools to help all those involved with the health of aquatic animals to work in the same direction.

Molecular mechanisms of testicular physiology and sperm of marine fish (AQUAZOA) The modern sustainability of aquaculture depends on obtaining good quality gametes. In most cultured fish, the high variations in the viability and fertilizing ability of sperm (sperm quality) hinder the management of players and, in some flatfish, such as Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis), this is a major obstacle that prevents the industrial production of juveniles.

The physiological processes associated with factors that affect rates of fertilization in fish farming (nutrition, environment, and management) are not well known, and the molecular mechanisms that control the maturation of sperm in the testis and the activation of sperm motility are poorly documented. However, it is known that changes in osmotic conditions, pH and composition of seminal fluid are important involved factors. It is therefore very likely that the cellular mechanisms that regulate fluid homeostasis in the testis during spermatogenesis and in sperm have an important role in the formation of viable sperm in fish.

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Aquaculture hybrid biomaterials to develop new biosensors for the determination of toxins in aquatic environments.

The Tunisian team has brought their experience in the synthesis of these biomaterials, while the IRTA team has brought its expertise in the immobilization of enzymes on electrode supports and the determination of marine toxins through different approaches.

We think that these mechanisms are regulated by the aquaporins, water and solute transporters in the cell, as recently demonstrated in the mammalian testis.

Therefore, this project aims to investigate the role of aquaporins in fish spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and the activation of their motility. We will also explore the effectiveness of the incorporation of exogenous aquaporins in the sperm through proteoliposomes in order to increase the permeability of the sperm.

Two Teleost fish of commercial interest will be used as experimental models, the Senegalese sole and Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), which show a different pattern of testicular development and produce low (microlitres) or high (ml) amounts of sperm, respectively.

Thus, this research aims to contribute with new information on basic molecular mechanisms involved in testicular physiology and sperm of marine fish, which can lead to the identification of new processes to control the reproduction of males in captivity and the evaluation of the quality of gametes, as well as in exploring new technologies to increase the permeability of the sperm, which can be used in the future to optimize the viability of sperm in cryopreservation for species that produce low amounts or a poor initial quality of sperm.

Hybrid Biomembranes for the detection of toxins of aquatic environments This cooperative project with Tunisia, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, has been carried out in 2010. The objective was to elaborate

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In the first part of the work, the layered double hydroxides, two-dimensional nanostructures capable of accommodating biomolecules have been synthesized.

Next, hybrid biomaterials have been elaborated, resulting from the interaction of these nanostructures with enzymes, both wild and obtained through genetic engineering. These are enzymes that eventually be able to detect the presence of toxins. Once created, the biomaterials have been immobilized on electrode supports of different geometries and materials (gold and coal) to develop the corresponding colorimetric tests and electrochemical biosensors. In the presence of toxin in a sample, the enzymes activity is inhibited, causing a decrease in colour (tests) or in the electrical signal (biosensors) proportional to the amount of toxin present.

Conference on marine toxins and biosensors Sea water can contain micro-algae that produce biotoxins (phycotoxins), which deteriorate the quality of shellfish intended for human consumption, producing various gastrointestinal or skin disorders on consumers.

Animal Production

They also can cause serious changes in the biodiversity of coastal and river ecosystems.

When the presence of microalgae is detected in the shellfish-producing areas, it involves the closure and the consequent economic losses for producers. The monitoring of shellfish production areas is carried out routinely in Catalonia, by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment, through IRTA. Therefore, improvement in the detection of these biotoxins produced by microalgae, both in sensitivity and speed of the method is essential to ensuring, among other things, greater security to consumers.

The “ALARMTOX” project aims to develop and biosensors and tests for the detection of biotoxins in aquatic environments to ensure the water quality and provide safe bivalves for human consumption. It is project funded by the European Union (FEDER funds) and encompassed within the SUDOE (South West Europe) axis of innovation.

Chemical and Environmental Research of Barcelona of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC IIQAB) and IRTA itself. Furthermore, 7 additional members participate in the sending of samples to be analyzed.

For further information about the project, please go to: www.alarmtox.net

Conference on the Aquaculture Cluster in Catalonia On 14 May, the Agency of Support to Catalan BussinessACC1Ó, together with IRTA, organized a conference on the Plan to Promote the Aquaculture Cluster of Catalonia, which included the presentation of the Action plan of the Aquaculture Cluster of Catalonia led by ACC1Ó and IRTA, which explains the different instruments to support the sector

On September 16, IRTA Sant Carles de la Ràpita held a conference to explain the issue of marine toxins, the role of biosensors and the ALARMTOX project, ending the day with a visit to the Aquaculture facilities of the centre.

This project, which IRTA coordinates, has 4 main partners: BIOMEM-UP of the University of Perpignan (France), CRITT-INSA, Bio-Industries of the Institutes of National des Sciences Applied (France), Institute of

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Animal Health New knowledge on the H1N1 virus in pigs The journal Virus Research recently published an article prepared by CReSA demonstrating a certain immunity of pigs to the virus A (H1N1), pandemic of 2009, if they have previously been infected by another influenza virus circulating in European farms, in this case, the H1N1.

What will happen on farms in Spain and Europe, which have a high prevalence of swine flu, when a wave of human H1N1 pandemic virus arrives? This is the question posed to international organizations before an important potential threat this research has been able to answer.

CReSA Scientists have carried out a study with different groups of pigs analyzing whether infection of swine influenza A H1N1 produces immunity to subsequent infection with the pandemic human virus H1N1. The results were very mild pulmonary lesions and an increase of specific antibodies in animals that were infected with both viruses, which allows concluding that there is a cross-protection effect between strains.

This study has allowed learning a little more about the pandemic virus A and how it may affect the pig sector.

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MicroRNAs viral infections in pigs This project proposes using three DNA viruses that affect pigs: the Aujesky disease (ADV) as a prototype of a virus in eradication phase in Spain, the porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) as prototype of enzootic infection, and the African swine fever (VPAA), representing an exotic infection in our country. This will provide information to better understand the virus-cell interaction and help finding potential therapeutic targets and/or diagnostic biomarkers.

Vaccine against VPPA virus With the recent entry of the virus of swine fever in Europe from the south-east Africa, alarms have been triggered once again. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that there is currently no available vaccine.

This project aims to address two central objectives: first the comprehensive characterization of new antigens with protective capacity within the genome of African pig pest virus, attempting thus to optimize an effective vaccine formulation and obtain a final characterization of the immunological mechanisms involved in protection against the VPPA.

Animal Production

objectives of this project seeks to achieve are: study of the immune response induced in pigs before different strains of the VGP, identification and characterization of epitopes necessary to induce protection against VGP and deepening the structural and immune characterization of VLPs RHDV, in order to increase their potential as presentation platforms of antigens.

Circulating avian influenza virus detected in wild birds in Catalonia Persistence and new infections of Bovine Tuberculosis virus Bovine tuberculosis persists in herds without understanding precisely the epidemiological circumstances that lead to the reintroduction or persistence of this infection. This project aims to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis by analysing the circumstances that hinder its eradication.

First, high risk areas for tuberculosis will be identified.

Secondly there will be a study of the causes of appearance of new positive farms and the persistence of positivity.

Finally, through a sensitivity analysis, possible alternatives to the epidemiological surveillance system currently in force in Spain will be assessed.

Bovine neosporosis in dairy cows Previous work has confirmed the very high incidence of Neospora caninum associated abortions in cattle. The CReSA has shown that insemination with semen from beef bulls reduces the risk of abortion in dairy cows seropositive to N.caninum. This project, initiated in 2010, evaluated the differences in the humoral immune and maternal cells response in experimentally infected cows inseminated with Frisona and Limousin sperm, cases wich have not been studied previously. This will help to know the mechanisms involved in differences in susceptibility to abortion associated to N.caninum.

Immune response to swine flu and vaccine development This project is aimed at developing new vaccines against the swine influenza virus (VGP) based on chimerical empty capsids (VLPs) derived from calcivirus. The

The Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Department of Environment, has commissioned CReSA to carry out this study encompassed within the framework of monitoring avian influenza in wild birds.

Since its outbreak, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has come to have great importance with regard to public health and animal health, and that’s why monitoring programs to control the virus have been established worldwide in order to control the virus.

The results of the study or this 3-year surveillance show that no highly pathogenic virus has been detected in wild birds in Catalonia, although viruses subtype H5 and H7, potential highly pathogenic viruses, have been detected in poultry production, and that the avian influenza virus circulating in our country belongs to the Eurasian phylogenetic group clearly distinct from the American strain. This correlates well with the migratory routes of wild birds passing through Catalonia, routes of North Africa and Europe. The new information of ecological avian influenza virus in the western Mediterranean area this study provides deserves special mentioning.

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Food Industry

66. Food Technology 70. Product Quality 72. Food Safety 74. Functionality and Nutrition

Food Technology Optimizing shelf-life of meat products

of the action of nisin is favoured. The modelling of the combined effect of the addition of nisin to the HP treatment has made it possible to quantify the effects for each factor.

The mathematical models developed allow to define, with a scientific basis, the optimum process criteria (combination of pressure, time and temperature) according to the characteristics of the product (aw, bioconservation application), to meet the internationally recommended standards of food safety. Therefore they could be useful for design decision making and validation processes in the meat industry.

This 3-year project was carried out by modelling the microbial behaviour through a product-oriented approach. The project is titled: “Optimization of shelflife of ready-to-eat meat without compromising the objectives of food safety. Modelling and validation of the Barrier technology: high hydrostatic pressure and bioconservants.�

Among its most relevant results, the project includes the development and validation of mathematical models to predict the inactivation of pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica) and spoilage bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis and Serratia liquefaciens) in sliced cured ham, according to the technological parameters of high pressure processing (HPP).

The study of the influence of intrinsic factors (of the product) and the processing in the bactericidal effect of HP, has demonstrated and quantified the baroprotector effect of low water activity (aw). In some products of low aw, high pressure would not always be sufficient to meet safety standards and additional measures are required, such as the combination of bioconservation techniques (the application of natural antimicrobials such as nisin).

On the other hand, the influence of the amount of fat in the HP bacterial inactivation is less clear, although it seems to depend on the type of microorganism and the intensity of pressure.

The use of nisin, especially applied directly to the surface of the product, but also through films (active packaging), improves the safety of sliced ham by a bactericidal effect on L.Monocytogenes that is maintained throughout the storage of the product. In products with low aw, values

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Consumers in urban areas perceive less boar taint in pork meat than in rural areas This study addresses the reaction to and acceptability of different types of consumers regarding the smell of meat from entire male pigs (therefore, not castrated).

This meat develops a sensory fault due to the boar taint of the animal, presenting a unique aroma and taste that are rejected by most consumers.

The main compounds that contribute to boar taint are Androstenone and Escatol, although it has been observed that other compounds may also play a role

Food Industry

the originality of proposing an analysis according to the geographical origin of the consumers. The work concluded that 75.5% of consumers in rural areas perceive Androstenone more than those from urban areas (55.1%), and are also the ones that most reject this kind of meat (44,7% vs 35.9% in urban areas).

This research was presented as a poster titled “Sensitivity to Androstenone in Spain: differences between consumers living in urban and rural areas�, by the researcher Nuria Panella, in the 61st Congress of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) held last August in Heraklion, Crete (Greece), and won the prize for best poster of the Congress.

Revolutionary method for sanitation of knives in industrial plants The IRTA-CENTA, in Monells (Girona) has developed an innovative concept based on the knowledge of thermal inactivation kinetics of pathogens in order to improve the disinfection of knives used in the meat industry.

Thanks to the collaboration with the company MIMASA and analysing critical factors in industrial cleaning processes of these tools, the research has developed the first system capable of ensuring a more effective cleaning, reducing processing times and minimizing energy consumption. in this regard. Escatol production is due to a bacterial degradation of tryptophan in the intestines of pigs and is influenced by the conditions of breeding, so they can be reduced with a controlled cleaning of the stables.

Androstenone, however, is a pheromone produced by male testes that accumulates in adipose tissue, and its presence depends mainly on sexual maturity as well as on the genetics of the animal. The effect of both substances is frequently perceived while cooking the meat of adult males, so the debate about the castration of male pigs is creating much interest, to seek new alternatives, and because of the whole controversy in Europe on the economic interests of different parties involved in the production of pork.

The results show that of the 489 people in the study, 67% were sensitive to the scent of Androstenone (72% women and 62% men) and that this sensitivity increases with age.

Due to the fact that the perception of Androstenone is genetically determined, that is, that only part of the consumers perceive this smell in pork meat, and among these, only a fraction rejects it, the study had

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Food Technology Until now, it was unknown that a major contribution to the invisible dirt lies in the interface of handle-blade of the knife, in an area impossible to reach with the current sanitation.

As a first step towards solving the problem has been carried out by mapping the temperature to understand its distribution in different parts of the knife. Secondly, making calculations using X-ray tomography images, the coldest point inside the handle of the knife has been located. Later microbiological analysis showed the presence of microorganisms in the accumulated dirt in this point, which means the “heart” of the knives can represent a source of cross contamination by allowing the growth and spread of both viable cells and spores.

With these results a prototype capable of completely disinfecting knives has been built, which uses heat transfer through a low-pressure shower, providing profiles of inactivation of microorganisms according to the selected temperature and time.

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This innovative team can apply the settings for sanitation (reference microorganisms and data for thermal inactivation) that best meet the requirements of the laws of the specific sector or country, with the prerequisites and analysis of Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), as well as with the management systems of food safety (BRC, IFS, ISO 22000).

MIPFOOD: molecular imprinting polymers for the food industry MIPFOOD is the acronym of the project: “Development of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for their application in the food field.” This project involves four universities, five companies, two technology centres and a research

Food Industry

centre. The total budget is 5.4 million and it is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.

The general objective of the project is to develop rapid, sensitive, robust and economical new molecular imprinting polymers (MIPS), designed to meet the current needs of the food industry for quality control and food safety.

To do this, the development of several prototypes based on MIPS is being set to meet the needs of different foods (meat, fish and dairy), regarding: 1. Food control prior to its packaging applying fast and simple methods of separation to guarantee the quality of the product.

2. Smart Tags, which are incorporated on the package to detect quickly and economically the presence of contaminants in the package and indicate quality and freshness of the product.

3. Development of active packaging based on MIPS for the controlled and release of antioxidant or antimicrobial agents along shelf-life or in response to a sudden change in external conditions of the package (i.e. temperature) in order to extend shelf life.

TRUEFOOD: Improving and innovating traditional foods IRTA has participated in the project Truefood “Traditional United Europe Food� the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission. This 4 year project began in 2006 and its main objective was to improve quality and safety and to introduce innovations in the traditional food production systems in Europe, through research, demonstration, dissemination and training.

The project was divided into 8 workplans (WP) in order to achieve this goal. WP1, in which IRTA had an important participation, determined the perceptions, expectations and attitudes of consumers regarding quality and safety of traditional foods and innovations that could be introduced in the industry. In WP2 and WP3 innovations to improve the microbiological and chemical safety were studied and prediction and risk assessment models in traditional foods were built. In WP4, led by the IRTA, several innovations to improve the nutritional quality of traditional products according to consumer demands were studied. Specifically, innovations to reduce the salt content in cured ham and smoked salmon, to improve the composition of fat and antioxidant content of cheese and to improve the nutritional composition of different plant products (tomato, lettuce and cauliflower). In WP5 different factors were studied to improve marketing methods and organization of the traditional food supply chain. In WP6 10 subprojects were carried out for pilot scale evaluation, demonstration and transfer to industry of the innovations developed in the previous WPs. IRTA was responsible for two of these subprojects: i) Validation of strategies for reducing or replacing salt in cured hams ii) Use of X-ray based methodologies to improve the selection of raw material and optimize the processing of cured ham on an industrial scale. WP7 studied environmental, social, human and economic impacts of the innovations. The WP8 included all promotional, training and technology transfer activities.

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Product Quality Consumers value negatively the association of traditional food and innovation IRTA participated in a consumer survey to gather their opinion regarding the relationship between traditional foods and innovation, which was carried out simultaneously in 6 European countries: Spain, Belgium, Italy, France, Norway and Poland.

A total of 721 consumers participated associating the two previous concepts (traditional food and innovation) with various terms, in what is known as a free association of words technique. Results show that consumers associate in a not-positive way the concepts of traditional food and innovation. Thus, ten words or concepts are associated with the traditional food: habit, special occasions, heritage (transmitted from generation to generation), produced in a specific way, sensory properties, simplicity, linked to a root, with a health effect, influenced by marketing and providing a variety of products.

Surveyed consumers also relate the concept of innovation to five concepts or dimensions: novelty and change, processing and technology, roots and ethnicity, and comfort.

These results seem to point out that innovations on traditional products could end up damaging the foods image as a result of consumer perceptions and that there could be a certain incompatibility for consumers between the concept of traditional and the concept of innovation.

ALCASDE: Alternatives to castration in pigs and dehorning in cattle Under the title “Study of the improved methods for animal friendly production, in particular on alternatives to pig castration and to the dehorning of cattleâ€? (ALCASDE), funded by the General Direction of Health and Consumer (DG-SANCO) of the European Union, this project has aimed to provide the DG-SANCO with recommendations based on results of research on alternatives to surgical castration of pigs and dehorning in cattle, which supports to the policy making of the EU on these issues. The consortium was formed by 20 European research groups and has been coordinated by Dr. Maria Ă€ngels Oliver, representing IRTA. Preliminary results were presented at an international symposium in Bologna (Italy), where

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Food Industry

the impact of production of whole males could have in the different European markets was also analyzed and the possible alternatives to the practice of dehorning discussed with the different sectors involved in the production chain. The main conclusions of the study on the subject of castration have been integral to the production of males is a feasible option in some markets, but nevertheless there is a risk that this meat is not accepted by consumers, given that currently can not be guaranteed that is free of sexual scent (Boar Taint). So in the short term would urge the prohibition of castration by economic problems and quality of meat that might result. The long-term solution has to be achieved with the combination of several strategies.

With regard to dehorning, short-term recommendations would be the improvement of practices: the use of anaesthesia and the restriction of dehorning to emergencies. Long term plans include the introduction of a specific gene that causes the non-presence of horns in cattle (gene polled) and maintenance of animals with horns, taking into account both animal welfare and the interests of the farmer and the consumer.

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Food Safety SIPCAP Management Committee Meeting The SIPCAP Management Committee is composed, on behalf of the industry, by six representatives in the production field and six representatives of the area of abattoirs. On behalf of the Administration: the President, who is the Director General of Agriculture and Livestock, the Deputy Director General of Livestock, the Deputy Director General of Food Quality, the Head of Livestock Production, two representatives of the IRTA and a secretary.

Decree regulating the weighing, grading and marking of the pig carcass was born with a clear dialogue purpose between the parties, production and slaughterhouses, and this reflects the text that, for over a year, has been shaped by the contributions of all parties, and thus becomes the culmination of a long project pursued by the sector and the Department of Agriculture after the difficulties arisen in the implementation of the decree of 2005.

The SIPCAP database will provide objective elements for the monitoring and control of the data provided by abattoirs in Catalonia. These data will facilitate the conduction of studies of interest to industry and guide

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research projects, such as the genetic improvement for the benefit of producers and slaughterhouses.

European Science Journalists visit IRTA-CENTA Due to the ‘Study Trips’ that EUSJA (European Union of Science Journalists Association) organizes throughout the year in cities across Europe, a delegation of 16 Science journalists from 10 European countries visited the research centres associated with the University

Food Industry

of Girona (UdG), among them, IRTA-CENTA Monells.

The delegation was welcomed by the Director of IRTA Monells, PhD. Joan Tibau, and during the presentation and visit of the centre, journalists showed great interest in research programs such as ALCASDE, Q-PORKCHAINS and WELFARE QUALITY, in which IRTA is notable for its leading role in Spain.

IN2 Fellowship Call The Jaume Casademont Foundation, the University of Girona and IRTA, with the help of the Alicia Foundation, have established the IN2 fellowship to attract international researchers and provide frontier knowledge in the food industry.

In order to spend a 3-month sabbatical in Catalan R & D institutions, colleges and private sector companies, the main task will be to participate in the management of research projects and training of local researchers and workers in frontier knowledge areas but with a clear focus towards industrial application.

This is an annual scholarship, covering a period of 3 months, which may be applied to by any individual person or by a person suggested by the research groups participating.

IRTA at the International Food and Drinks Exhibition (ALIMENTARIA) The International Food and Drinks Exhibition was held from 22 to 26 March with nearly 140,000 people attending from all over the world, and IRTA took a very active part in it, both in terms of exhibition with three stands in the Show, as in the various events that took place within the program of seminars and demonstrations.

Thus, IRTA had booth in the Prodeca set of exhibitors, where it showed its technology offer to the sector

companies that were interested in working with or having a better knowledge of the Institute’s activities.

In the FITEC section dedicated to several research and technology centres, IRTA also participated offering its range of technology to companies and received several visits within the program, organized for that purpose, called Brokerage Event.

Finally, in the Innoval exhibition section, there was an exhibition board showing IRTA’s philosophy as a provider of technology solutions, while a video was projected with various activities related to research, programs and services in agriculture.

Meanwhile, the CENTA-IRTA participated with two booths in the show: the first of them, next to IRTA in the FITEC stand, and another one in the ACC1Ó stand.

Different IRTA researchers participated in conferences and lectures in various seminars organized along the 5-day exhibition and organized a taste of Catalan oils.

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Functionality and Nutrition Genetics has the most influence on quality in organic pork production The project entitled “Definitions of a model of a differentiated sensory and nutritional quality of meat by-products of an alternative and sustainable pig production system based on organic Production in the Montseny Natural Park�, was funded by the Centre for Industrial Technology Development (CDTI) of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and was conducted in collaboration with the company Embotits Salgot SA. The aim has been to study the effect of both two kinds of feeds and the effect of finisher males on production efficiency, carcass and meat quality in an organic swine production system.

174 pigs were evaluated in 8 treatments depending on their genetics, diet and sex. The crossbreed animals were obtained from a finishing Duroc male and another with a 50% genetic component of the Majorcan Black Pig breed, while the genetic type of the mothers was the same in both studied crossbreeds (Duroc x Landrace).

Regarding the proposed diets, both were created from certified organic raw materials. Oleic acid levels above the control diet were included in one of the diets in order

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to assess the accumulation of the lipid components of the fat produced by the animal.

Overall, the research showed better growth in castrated males compared to females, showing higher values of back fat thickness. Furthermore, pigs born from the crossbreeding with Majorcan black pig presented better growth than those with Duroc crossbreeding, though their back fat deposit was larger, determined in vivo.

The analysis of carcass and meat quality, showed the effects of interactions between genetics, diet and sex in many of the studied variables, indicating a different behaviour depending on the effect analyzed. Although the applied treatments provided a similar quality of meat, the crossbreed obtained from Duroc male showed higher values of intramuscular fat. This result is one of the most decisive criteria to obtain raw material of differentiated quality and, therefore, it was very positively valued by the company. Finally, sensory analysis of meat from castrated males allowed determining that the consumer does not perceive differences in relation to tenderness or overall acceptability between the two types of diet or both types of genetic crossing.

Food Industry

In conclusion, genetics is one of the most determining effects in the obtained results for the production of quality organic products. Thus, castrated males produced from a Duroc x Landrace for the maternal line and Duroc finishing male seems to be the most suitable option according to the results of carcass quality and level of intramuscular fat obtained.

Fourth-year of the national project CENIT FUTURAL Worthy of the support of program for National Strategic Technology Research Consortia (CENIT) in its third edition in 2007, stands 4-year project FUTURAL: “Contribution of New Technologies in obtaining Future Foods�, with a budget 21 million funded in the form of subsidy by the Centre for Industrial Technology Development (CDTI).

Included in the Ingenio 2010 initiative, FUTURAL has focused on the promotion of cooperation between research institutions (public and private) and private companies for the development of R & D. FUTURAL has the participation of 24 companies in the food industry and 12 state research institutions. IRTA

has been appointed as head of the Project Coordination and assumes as well as the scientific direction, being responsible for the overall management, the coordination among members and for the management of the results arising from the research carried out along these four years.

The general objective of FUTURAL, as a cooperation project, has been increasing competitiveness of the food industry, especially SMEs, through research as the basis for development and innovation, bringing them closer to new technologies, new trends and to the processes that will be the base of the food industry of the future. Moreover, throughout this four-years (20072010), the FUTURAL project has created, expanded and consolidated R & D groups and networking in the business structures of the food industry, also incorporating new researchers to these businesses and encouraging the adoption of a corporate culture based on innovation through collaboration with research centres.

Further information on the Zenit-FUTURAL project Can be found at: (www.cenitfutural.org)

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Functionality and Nutrition International Course in Meat Products Technology The ninth edition of the International Course in Meat Technology, organized by IRTA Monells (Girona) with the collaboration of the Spanish Agency for International Development (AECI) and the National Institute for Research and Agricultural and Food Technology (INIA), was attended by 45 participants from Spain and 16 Latin American countries, and had a more experimental profile than in previous years. In fact, practices constituted a third of the total time, reaching over 60% in some modules.

Moreover, they contributed to the comprehensive training in the meat chain, from production of meat products

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to the evaluation of the factors of preservation and final packaging. Held at the IRTA pilot plant, practices were taught by professionals from academia as well as from the technology and business sectors, with broad experience in the meat industry.

The modules related to processing technology of fresh, cooked and cured meat products offered participants the opportunity to learn how to prepare about 30 products and to combine traditional techniques with new technologies applied in the selection of raw material and processing. In fact, the possibility of watching closely the elaboration of a variety of meat products was one of the best evaluated aspects by the course attendees.

Food Industry A photo of a Zein film structure is the cover photo of the Journal of Food Science The cover of the October issue of the prestigious Journal of Food Science has selected a photo showing the image in electron microscopy structure of a Biodegradable Zein

(a prolaminof maize) based film, obtained in IRTA Monells.

The same issue contains a paper entitled “Physical Performance of Biodegradable Antimicrobial Films Intended for Food Packaging” by Begoña Marcos, Teresa Aymerich, Josep M. Monfort and Margarita Garriga.

The article discusses the physical properties of different active antimicrobial packaging films and the effect the incorporation of antimicrobial causes in the physical properties of this film. The development of biodegradable antimicrobial materials can contribute positively to the improvement of food safety, while respecting the environment.

Other activities and events Technical Conference on the evaluation of beef cuts, May 3, in Monells Technical Conference on Strategies for the design and management of hygiene in the food industry, June 3, in Monells

Course on meat microbiology and meat products, November, in Monells Conference on new technologies applied to packaging, 3 November, in Monells

Seminar on the challenges of technological innovation in the food industry February 24, in Granollers Demonstration session on ham with reduced salt content, February 25, in Monells

Course in Cheese elaboration Technology, April and May, in Bellestar

Technical Conference on low- salt and/or fat meat products, 4 November, in Monells

Conference on allergens in the food industry, 15 November, in Monells How to promote a product on the market with a guarantee of commercial success, November 23, in Monells

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Environment and Global Change

80. Organic Waste Integral Management 84. Aquatic Ecosystems 86. Environmental Horticulture 92. Organic Production and Bioenergy 94. Efficient Use of Water

Organic Waste Integral Management

New consultancy format based on simulation of bioprocesses The GIRO has a new consultancy service through a virtual plant for the optimization of biological processes addressed to engineers, managers or operators of waste treatment plants for organic waste.

Consultancy through this virtual plant allows optimizing the operation of waste treatment systems based on biological processes, thanks to the mathematical simulation it is possible to save experimental testing and pilot plants operation time. Thus, companies save time and money while facilitating decision making.

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New keys to reduce estrogenic contaminants of aquatic environments The centres TNO/Deltares Research Institute and Wageningen University (Netherlands), together with Dr. Marc Vi単as, researcher of the GIRO Technological Centre, have developed studies of biodegradation of nonylphenol, an estrogenic pollutant that is accumulated in certain sediments of some of our rivers. This toxic compound, when dissolved in the aqueous phase can be detrimental to the health of fish and even humans.

During the purification of waste water that is carried out in treatment plants (WWTP), a series of the produced reactions lead to the appearance of toxic compounds such as nonylphenol. Today these compounds fail to be eliminated and that makes them end being poured to the rivers. Several studies have found that some rivers

Environment and Global Change

in Catalonia, such as the Llobregat River or the Ruby stream have high concentrations of nonylphenol and that it accumulates in the ecosystem.

Estrogenic pollutants interfere with the endocrine system of living organisms, including humans. One of the visible effects of estrogen has been observed in marine fauna (feminization of fish and invertebrates). Thus, to eliminate these toxic agents and their secondary metabolites, research to find strategies, such as the Bioremediation, is essential.

The results of this study, published in the journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology have shown that nonylphenol can degrade in the presence of oxygen through the action of nitrifying micro-organisms that live naturally in these aquatic environments (Nitrosomonas sp.). In addition, research has found that during degradation, forming compounds called secondary nitrononilfenols with less toxicity, appear but also end up degrading.

The results could be adapted for future actions in bioremediation of sites polluted by nonylphenol.

Bioremediation is an environmental technology based on the use of the metabolic capabilities of microorganisms to degrade or transform contaminants present in different chemical environments in more innocuous products.

Award to GIRO Environmental Technology The scientific activity of the GIRO CT in the area of environmental technologies and innovation in bioprocesses has played an important role in the latest edition of the Congress on Industrial Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, held in Alcala de Henares from 17 to 19 November. Thus, the poster presented by the researcher Miriam Guivernau on bioremediation of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons, using fungi of the same soil and compost, has won first prize in the section of Agricultural and Environmental Biotecahnology.

Organic Waste Integral Management INNOVAC will work to enhance the value of pig waste organic The project that INNOVAC will carry out aims to provide solutions to the management and treatment of organic waste produced in the sub-sectors involved in the operation of the pig meat sector to enable a global solution of the problems caused by this waste, and enhance them energetically and economically, while minimizing the costs of their environmental management.

INNOVAC led this project with the collaboration of the Balmes University Foundation of the University of Vic (SART Mediambient – SART Environment) and GIRO. To this end, the Department of Agriculture has awarded INNOVAC, the Catalan Association for Innovation in the pig meat sector, with headquarters in Olot, a grant of 23,018 Euros, co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

New activity dedicated to work environment This new line of activity focuses on the determination of various chemical agents that can cause diseases, impair the health and welfare, or create any significant discomfort among workers of a company or institution.

With this initiative, GIRO aims to provide a wide range of analytical services of high added value and be a support for companies or departments dedicated to the prevention of risks at work.

Producing biogas with food industry waste W ith the process of anaerobic digestion, the slaughterhouse by-products can be transformed into biogas, a renewable energy source, or can be used as a complement to other biogas plants with a suitable mix (anaerobic co-digestion).

Animal by-products are interesting for the production of biogas because of their high potential energy. Currently, in addition, the legislation gives priority to renewable energy production (RD 661/2007 special regime for electrical energy production) and allows treatment of these products by anaerobic digestion (EC Regulation 92/2005 and CE 1069/2009 of the European Parliament).

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Despite the interesting energy potential of these products, there are great gaps in the knowledge of this potential and the limitations to make this possible.

These limitations are related to the dynamics of fat and protein in an anaerobic environment, which produce inhibitors of the process, such as long-chain fatty acids and ammonia. The studies in this area should allow overcoming the limitations and make anaerobic digestion a real alternative. It is also essential to know in depth the effects on biogas production potential of the prepasteurization or sterilization treatments, required by law.

GIRO offers services related to the anaerobic digestion of organic waste generated by industry in its various aspects (wine industry waste, meat origin waste, dairy industry waste, fish waste, oil production waste, etc.).

GIRO has a research team composed of renowned experts in this technology with extensive experience in advising companies on issues related to the management of such waste.

Environment and Global Change

Regarding this area GIRO offers the following services to engineering, industry and administration: • Optimization of the anaerobic digestion process.

• Evaluation of treatment alternatives for a specific residue.

• Study of technical feasibility for biogas production.

• Design of waste mixtures for co-digestion.

• Selection of pre-treatment allowed by current legislation (133 ° C heat treatment, pasteurization or high pressure and temperature pretreatment depending on the category of material).

• Digester Recovery Strategies. Overcoming periods of unstable operation (overload, toxicity, etc.).

• Evaluation of industrial biogas plant projects in design phase.

• Advice during the commissioning of installed equipment.

• Monitoring and diagnosis of biogas operational plants.

• Analytical monitoring of operational plants.

Other activities and conferences

Spanish Congress of Integrated Management of livestock waste, from 8 to 10 June, Barcelona

Conference on the present and the future of biogas in the Spanish livestock sector, 8 June, Barcelona Course of biogas production and livestock waste management, November, Lleida

Current status of soil management and contaminated groundwater in Catalonia, 16 December, Barcelona

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Aquatic Ecosystems Collection cost of microalgae for biodiesel may be more important than the production of lipids The project “Evaluation of diatom cultivation for liquid and solid fuel production” which was funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN), ended in September 2010.

This project consisted of two distinct and complementary stages. The first, conducted by researchers of the IRTA Sant Carles de la Ràpita centre, studied at laboratory scale the effect different concentrations of CO2 have on the growth rate and on the lipid content of three species of marine microalgae (two diatoms: Cylindrotheca closterium and Phaeodactylum tricornutum and a eustigmatoficea: Nannochloropsis gaditana).

The second, also performed at the facilities of IRTA Sant Carles de la Ràpita, and conducted by researchers of the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, studied the different techniques (flocculation, filtration, tangential dynamic) in order to reduce the high energy consumption that involves the collection of microalgae.

An interesting result in this project is the lipid productivity of the diatom P. Trincornutum, which exceeded the other two studied microalgae.

However, despite having a lower production of lipids, growth characteristics of C. closterium (forming flakes) could facilitate its collection (and therefore reduce its costs), which would offset the lower productivity of this species compared to P. tricornutum.

This is an aspect worth highlighting that shows the process of selecting candidate species of microalgae is a key step in the process of biodiesel production, and that perhaps the best candidate species is not the one that submits a higher productivity of lipids, but that which provides sufficient level of production of lipids and, by its characteristics, facilitates its collection, which could be done at a lower cost.

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Models and techniques for the prevention and control of the zebra mussel This project started in 2007 and, for two and a half years, studied the distribution, habitat, population dynamics, physiology and trophic ecology of the zebra mussel and its influence on organic dynamics, besides the socioeconomic effect of its impact.

Currently, the invasion by the zebra mussel in Catalonia is concentrated in the Ebro river waters.

The zebra mussel is locally abundant (in locations with colonisable structures, such as, dams, piers, etc.), but the densities are much lower when compared with other water bodies (i.e. the Great Lakes of the U.S.A. and Canada).

The most severe impacts caused by this species are, socioeconomic (filling of water intake pipes of cooling systems of nuclear power plants and irrigation and drinking water dams). In these cases, manual methods as control are quite effective (pressurized water, increased water temperature, chlorine, etc.).

Environment and Global Change

In terms of environment, impacts are relatively small. The zebra mussel is not responsible for the organic changes observed in the final stretch of the Ebro from the mid90s, with increasing water clarity that led to excessive aquatic plant growth which, in turn, caused a population explosion of black fly, with all the social impacts this has brought. If the nutrient load in water does not increase, it is unlikely that populations of zebra mussel densities will exceed the maximum as observed.

Assessing the impact of this biological invasion in affected areas has allowed approaching the overall costs. Thus, it was concluded that the economic impacts exceeded 1.5 million. The cost development of the invasion has been growing throughout the period, although there has been a change in the actors that have an impact on costs. Currently, the bulk of the cost corresponds to control measures of the invasion and is supported by governments at national and regional levels. It has been confirmed that the largest direct impacts in absolute economic terms, in the Ebro, occur in the energy sector, being the magnitude of impacts in the agricultural sector significantly lower. But, given the narrow margins of profitability in the sector, one third of the irrigation companies consider important the impacts. 30% of the Ebro drinking water catchment population centres state control costs have had minimal to moderate significance. The field of navigation and recreational fishing is the group that suffered the greatest indirect impacts due to management measures taken in response to the invasion. These indirect impacts are a result of administrative requirements and various restrictions on the movement of boats.

A model of population dynamics of zebra mussel in the reservoirs of the Ebro has been built. The model, calibrated after a sensitivity analysis and validated with real data of abundance of the zebra mussel, had a stable behaviour and gave good approximations to the results previously observed. Therefore, the model is a robust tool with a high degree of reliability that can be used by the agencies responsible for the management of this invasive species. One of the most interesting aspects of this tool is its ability to forecast the long-term evolution of populations in different stages of water bodies managing plans.

Nowadays, eradicating this species is impossible.

However, populations can be controlled with appropriate management of reservoirs, especially in terms of the organic load that determines a greater or lesser concentration of phytoplankton. If applying direct

measures to eliminate adults and / or larvae, they are more effective before the breeding season and in points near the dam, which concentrated the largest proportion of the population.

In this regard an informative conference and debate on the prevention and control of the zebra mussel, was held in Tortosa, on 16 December.

Project LIFE + Delta-Lagoon for the management of two coastal lagoons in the Ebro Delta The European Commission granted the funds for the project ‘LIFE-DELTA LAGOON habitat restoration and management of two coastal lagoons in the Ebro Delta: L’Alfacada and La Tancada’.

The project was coordinated by IRTA’s Aquatic Ecosystems Programme and the beneficiary partners are: Catalonia Caixa Welfare Fund, Ebro Delta Natural Park and the Marine and Coastal Sustainability Directorate General of the Rural and Marine Environment Ministry. This 4-year project is expected to be completed by late 2014.

This LIFE project will be developed on Catalonia Caixa Welfare Fund property and on public land (Natural Park) in L’Alfacada and La Tancada lagoons. The main objective is to improve the ecological status of both through habitat restoration actions and management measures such as improving the hydrological functionality of L’Alfacada, the removal of infrastructure currently interfering with biological connectivity (power lines) and creating new habitats in the existing rice fields and in abandoned aquaculture facilities. The project also includes several measures to disseminate the natural values of the action area, as well as an educational program with the schools.

Environmental Horticulture Optimizing nitrogen fertilization of horticultural crops

The 2010 campaign results show that, following the line of other campaigns, it is possible to reduce nitrogen fertilization by contributing minor amounts of nitrogen to crops of onion, spinach and tomato De Penjar (hanging tomato), without loss in production or quality of the crops. However, the lack of information in the case of the considered traditional (such as tomato De Penjar) confirms the need to continue with these tests in order to verify the results.

MONTES Consolider: Knowing interaction between forests and global change

The nitrate pollution of aquifers is a serious current environmental problem, and excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture is one of the causes contributing to it.

Since 2007, in collaboration with the DAAM Division of Land Resources Assessment, IRTA is developing demonstration tests on the optimization of nitrogen fertilization in horticultural crops, considering the most common rotation of the Maresme region.

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MONTES is an initiative coordinated by CREAF, which has the participation of a hundred scientists from eleven institutions, including IRTA. The IRTA Ecophysiology Subprogramme participates in the Consolider MONTES project that aims to improve the basic understanding of the interaction between forests and global change, and determine how its management can be effectively integrated into strategies to adjust and mitigate the effects of global change. Therefore the ecosystem services provided by forests (forest or bush and grasslands themselves) will be examined as well as their degree of interdependence with respect to various components of global change, identifying management opportunities to modify these behaviours.

Environment and Global Change

This objective is organized around three main axes that analyse the interactions between ecosystem services provided by forests, the threats posed by global change and the opportunity to modulate these interactions through its management: • Influence of global change in the structure and functioning of forests.

•W ays in which forests can modulate the consequences of global change.

•M odification by managing the effects of climate change on forests and of forests on global change itself.

The curriculum includes three separate scales (punctual, local and regional). This approach acknowledges the fact patterns observed on a large scale (i.e. distribution of fires in a region).

The punctual scale is represented by eight specific areas of study and includes three different major types of ecosystems: non-Mediterranean mountains, Mediterranean mountains and Mediterranean plains. The 8 areas contain sites that have been thoroughly studied, some of which (Doñana, Montseny, Prades) have been monitored for decades for which they represent the ideal starting point for this study and are an added value to the collected data.

For further information on the Consolider MONTES program: www.creaf.uab.es/montes/

Leafy Nobles (Hardwood) selected for wood The ash trees originating in the Iberian Peninsula are Fraxinus excelsior, distributed in the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian range, and Fraxinus angustifolia that does it in Mediterranean areas. These leafy hardwoods are naturally sparse in terms of water resources they have at their disposal and produce wood with high market value. The adaptive variability attributable to the populations of these species in Catalonia has been the starting point for their inclusion in a MICINN project presented by the UdL (University of Lleida): “Selection, adaptation and technological-silvicultural evaluation of high-quality hardwood.”

Exploration, selection and characterization of both species were carried out through the project. The IRTA

Agroforestry Production Subprogramme collaborated directly in this project, locating, identifying and characterizing different ash materials and planning clone banks and origins and progenies tests. The activities began in 2010 and have currently found 75% of the material of F. excelsior and 25% of F. angustifolia, both of ‘mother’ trees and ‘surplus’, which are introduced by seed or by grafting, respectively. A final year project of Forest Engineering is being carried out in relation to this work for the characterization of the ash.

Selection, agronomic and chemical improvement of wild populations of the genera Lavandula, Rosmarinus, Salvia and Thymus This project aims to: 1. Study the agronomic response of species: lavender (Lavandula latifolia (L. Fil.) Medicus), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and sage (Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl) under different management factors during the 4th and 5th year of the production cycle to obtain a series of data, at least half or two thirds, of their entire production cycle.

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Environmental Horticulture 2. Complete the survey and collection of plant material from wild populations of lavender, rosemary and sage in different regions of the country.

The linking of models for different sectors will enable seeing how their interactions could affect European landscape change.

3. Starting the work of selection and improvement of the populations of wild lavender, rosemary, sage and marjoram (Thymus mastichina L.) based on their morphological and chemical characteristics, analyzed for the most part in the previous project.

The tool will also enable stakeholders to explore adaptation strategies for reducing climate change vulnerability, discovering where, when and under what circumstances such actions may help. It will highlight the cost-effectiveness and cross-sectoral benefits and conflicts of different adaptation options to better inform managers, collaborate in decision making and developing a firm policy.

4. Prepare distribution maps of quimiotipus of the studied wild species according to their richness in active principles, using analysis through geographic information systems as a tool.

5. Promote and disseminate, through activities and outreach materials, the culture of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) as a real alternative in rural areas.

CLIMSAVE: Climate Change Integrated Assessment Methodology CLIMSAVE is a European project that is developing a user-friendly, interactive web-based tool that will allow stakeholders to assess climate change impacts and vulnerabilities for a range of sectors, including agriculture, forests, biodiversity, coasts, water resources and urban development.

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As part of this project CREAF is developing a simplified version of the GOTILWA + model. This new application, called MetaGOTILWA +, will be integrated to the interactive platform to provide information related to forestry services.

For further information, please go to: www.climsave.eu

ACCUA. Adaptation to climate change in the use of water The ACCUA project (Adaptation to Climate Change in the Use of Water) is to evaluate the regional vulnerability of the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia in the main climate change related to water availability. It also wants to set adaptation options to meet this demand.

Environment and Global Change

ACCU is a three-year project, funded by the Obra Social de Caixa Catalunya and coordinated by CREAF and has the participation of four research groups of various scientific fields: CREAF, IRTA, UPC and ETC-LUSI.

• The preparation of the document defining the future climate scenarios (XXI Century) and socio-economic prospects for the study basins (2030 horizon).

The study focuses on the basins of Fluvià, Tordera and Siurana. The specific objectives are:

• The supply for our water basins of future climate series study (2001-2100) by the ECHAM5 model and A2 and B1 (IPCC) scenarios.

• Analyzing the evolution of freshwater availability in different climate scenarios, based on soil covers and their changes in mid twenty-first century.

• Application of the SWAT program in the studied basins, for a reference climate scenario (1984-2008) and for various climate change scenarios.

• To analyse the vulnerability of the main crops and the possible alternatives.

• The modelling of changes in land use in the studied water basins for the 2030 horizon.

• Studying the consequences of urban development on fresh water availability and its changes.

Home gardens at Torre Marimon

• Assess the vulnerability of the territory, population and infrastructure to hydrological regime changes.

The C.E.O. of IRTA, Josep M. Monfort and the Mayor of Caldes de Montbui, Mr. Jordi Solé Ferrando, have signed a collaboration agreement to develop the project for home gardens at Torre Marimon, in order to provide the village of Caldes de Montbui with some plots in which to perform agricultural tasks for their own consumption, with clear benefits to health, as well as to conservation and preservation of a rural environment in the town.

• Establishing the main areas vulnerable to rising sea levels and analyse the possible effects, in various scenarios, on populations, infrastructure and coastline.

The most important tasks carried out in 2010 were:

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Environmental Horticulture IRTA has made available, to the Town Hall of Caldes de Montbui, a 1 hectare rural area for the creation of sixty 150 m2 plots, apart from community use spaces. The Town Hall of Caldes de Montbui, which will manage these orchards, will have spaces with the will to service the least favoured groups, the elderly and others, so they can have some leisure activity to keep them active while providing some personal, social and family gain through the possibility of having domestic plots for their own consumption, in order to promote personal and family improvement, with a social, cultural and educational purpose.

2nd Prize in the Contest for Environmental and Sustainable Ideas The IRTA Cabrils researcher, Lola Narvaez, along with a group of two architects (Ramon and Rafael Preciado Aliende) and an Engineer (Laia Solé), presented a project titled VERDCELONA with which they won the 2nd Prize in the contest for Environmental and Sustainable Ideas in the 13th edition of these awards.

This project reflects the possibility of integrating constructed wetlands in a typical street of Barcelona’s Eixample neighbourhood, ​​eliminating one of the private transport lanes and replacing it with a bicycle lane along with several trees and wetlands. The paving would be permeable concrete in order to redirect the rain or cleaning wastewater to the wetland for its depuration and recycling.

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Environment and Global Change

Other activities and conferences

Technical Conference on Ecological Horticulture: Conservation of horticultural seeds. Local varieties, traditional and wild, March 21, Salt Technical Workshop on hardwood for production of quality wood, June 1, Constantine

Conference on land cover species in landscaping. Sustainability criteria, 22 June, Cabrils

Organic Production and Bioenergy Improvement of apple production systems in organic agriculture This project has the following objectives: 1.To improve crop and production quality according to a better knowledge of both plant material and the interaction between growing features. This aspect includes evaluating the effect of different aspects such as the use of resistant apple cultivars, the cultivarrootstock interaction, the use of mulching and other groundcover management strategies as well as the use of organic techniques to regulate apple production.

2. To use and enhance functional biodiversity in apple orchards for improving biological pest control.

This issue focuses on identifying the plant species that can act as reservoirs of natural enemies and on promoting their use to increase the biological control of aphids. The project also aims at assessing the effectiveness of natural enemy releases for biological control of aphids.

3. To test agroecological techniques for solving some important problems which can limit organic apple growing, such as the apple scab, several epicuticular fungi that attack apples (sooty blotch & flyspeck complex) and the codling moth.

IX Congress of the Spanish Society of Organic Agriculture (SEAE) The Spanish Society of Organic Agriculture (SEAE) celebrates its scientific and technical conferences every two years since 1994, with the aim of establishing a framework in which to exchange research results and advances in agriculture, livestock and organic food and contribute to the development of the sector, forming a space for dialogue and debate, generating ideas and future projects. For the past 8 years, this exchange has not been limited only to Spain but has spread to the Latin American area.

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The 9th Congress of the SEAE, held in Lleida from 6 to 9 October 2010, in which IRTA participated as organizer, has allowed highlighting the contribution of organic farming to the quality and safety Mediterranean food.

There are still few studies on this, so this Congress intended to act as a stimulus for the production of papers on organic farming.

The objectives of the conference include: • Exchanging knowledge, research results between researchers, technicians and operators.

• Display, present and discuss the implications of the latest research findings on organic agricultural production.

• Discuss methods of transfer and application of technological innovations in organic operators, stakeholders and other representatives of organizations that support organic farming.

• Proposing policies in favour of organic farming, in terms of quality and food safety based on science.

For further information, please, go to: www.agroecologia.net

Environment and Global Change

Other activities and conferences

Technical Conference on mechanized harvesting of high-density poplar for energy, April 8, La Tallada d’Empordà I Conference of Agroecology and organic farming, 13 and 14 May, Castelldefels

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Efficient Use of Water Carbohydrate availability in the maturation and quality of peach under water stress conditions This project, launched in 2010, aims to study the availability of carbohydrates in the maturation and quality of peaches under water stress conditions and therefore seek to: • Ve r i f y i f t h e s u p p l y / d e m a n d o f carbohydrates at the time prior to harvest may be related to the ripening and quality of peach.

• Propose a strategy for managing irrigation-load settings that maximize production and fruit quality in a situation of limited water availability.

• Modelling the supply/demand of carbohydrates in response to water stress by using the L-PEACH programme.

• Evaluate the effect of water stress and load of the tree on fruit quality, regardless of their state of maturation, by seasonal evolution of physical-chemical parameters.

• Establishing relationships between physicalchemical quality parameters and sensory attributes under different conditions of stress and load of trees.

• To determine whether the effect of stress on fruit ripening and quality can be seen equally in peach varieties with different characteristics (late varieties compared to mid-season varieties).

Interception of radiation in scheduling precision irrigation in fruit The objectives of this project are to contribute to a more efficient use of irrigation water on fruit, by dint of practice tools to achieve precision irrigation without involving a great deal of dedication by the irrigators. Taking the apple as a case study, the specific objectives are: 1. Getting a method to accurately predict the needs of irrigation in apple under different size and structure conditions of the plant canopy.

2. To determine the appropriate methods, in the context of drip irrigation, to finish adjusting irrigation from the trend in soil moisture shown by sensors.

3. To define a control algorithm that allows the scheduling automated precision irrigation.

Environment and Global Change Controlled Deficit Irrigation It intends to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms that determine the contraction of the trunk by either studying the anatomy of wood or using growth models that predict the variation in diameter. The hypothesis is that deficit irrigation can be monitored and controlled using Dendometry as an indicator of the water status of trees, which can be supplemented and refined with other sources of information such as the tension of soil water, amount of water applied in previous days, level of deficit to be achieved, phenological state, characteristics of wood, etc.

Other activities and conferences

Aqua-Tech, 28, 29 and 30 October, Lleida Technical Symposium on Best Practices for the rational management and conservation of natural resources in irrigation, 22 April, San Fernando de Henares

Technical Conference on the management and maintenance of irrigation facilities, May 6, Els Torms

Agrofood Economics

98. Economics

Economics Impact of biofuel production in food prices Apart from their renewable or finite nature, the main difference between fossil fuel and biofuel is the role of each in the balance of our planet. Using crude oil products is synonym with Carbon overproduction in the atmosphere (which increases the thermostat of the Earth by the minute), whereas biomass, as an energy source, is capable of capturing and transforming it into oxygen, helping to safeguard the environment.

Among other things, the so called ‘green’ character of biofuels has increased their worldwide production at an exponential rate in recent years. This increase is mainly due to crude prices that have reached historical records, the prohibition to use Methyl tert-Butílic ether (MTBE) as an additive for gasoline in the U.S.A. and the growing importance of policies relating to energy safety and global climate change.

Although biofuels can be generated from different materials of organic origin, currently the main production of this renewable energy source uses alimentary raw materials from agriculture, such as corn, soybeans and sugarcane. This has spurred both the demand for these materials for energy and the beginning of a direct competition in their agricultural production for human and animal food, generating social concerns with regard to the impact biofuels may have on food prices.

To shed some light on these subjects, a group of researchers from the Centre for Research in Economics and Agricultural Development (CREDA) is conducting a project titled “Transmission of energy and food prices between markets: the effect of biofuels”. Using econometric models, the scientists of this private foundation, created by the UPC and IRTA, seek to quantify the relationship between crude oil, biofuels and food prices both in the U.S.A. and in Brazil (the World’s

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leading biofuels producers), as well as in Spain. In addition, this project aims to study social preferences for biofuels and determine their socio-economic implications.

In the first year of the project, work has focused primarily on the market for ethanol in the U.S.A., the worldwide leading producer of this high-octane alcohol made from corn. Although ethanol currently represents the most produced liquid biofuel, there are hardly any empirical studies to quantify the relationship between the prices of corn and ethanol.

CREDA’s study has revealed that the variation in prices of corn, ethanol, oil and gasoline over the past two decades has followed common patterns. The first phase of the study has shown, in fact, that an increase in energy prices will generate an increase in corn prices. This suggests that though the expansion of the ethanol industry in the United States has positive impacts on rural communities, it can also cause a lack of control on inflation in food prices. In this sense, the second generation of biofuels such as algae, forest and agricultural waste or any type of waste (which involve less competition with food production) represent an attractive economic alternative to fossil fuels.

CREDA researchers also found that an increase in the price of ethanol could cause a rise in gasoline prices. Thus, the oil refineries transfer of the inflation originated in a relatively small energy market (ethanol) to the gasoline market. In the opposite situation, the rising price of gasoline causes reductions in the market price of ethanol, which is why experts emphasize the economic potential of this fuel helping to control inflation in the market of liquid fuels.

The second phase of the study plans to analyze the situation of ethanol production in the Brazilian market with a methodology that allows analyzing both the

Agrofood Economics

relationships of prices and their volatility. In order to get a broader view of the social implications of biofuels, a choice experiment is currently being designed to analyze, at a later stage, social preferences for biofuels.

Instability in oil prices affects ethanol market The second study by CREDA (Centre for Research in Agricultural Economics and Development) has evaluated the behaviour of ethanol market prices in Brazil. The results suggest a close relationship between the cost of energy and sugar cane.

The favourable conditions in Brazil and its tradition for the cultivation

of cereals have constituted the fundamental factors, in recent decades, for this country to become the world’s second largest producer ethanol (behind the U.S.A.).

From the Seventies, the Brazilian government has promoted the production of ethanol through a series of interventionist measures to reduce its dependence on the oil industry. However, if the increased cost of crude has increased the competitiveness of ethanol, the growing demand for Brazilian sugar cane has also caused significant increases in the price of biofuel.

After conducting a study on the behaviour of ethanol prices in the U.S.A., CREDA researchers have managed to create a reliable simulation of the operation of this resource in the Brazilian market. By introducing substantial improvements on econometric models used to date, the analysis of the private foundation created by the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the

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Economics Institute for Agrofood Research and Technology (IRTA) has identified the existence of a very close relation between the energy market and the sugar cane market.

This model has allowed examining the response and instability of prices to unexpected economic shocks, showing that the rise in oil prices leads to a rise in ethanol prices and increases the instability in financial markets in short term. Moreover, the study has confirmed that a higher price of sugar cane increases both prices and the instability of biofuel.

Definitely, oil and sugar cane markets can cause significant changes in the price of ethanol, the latter is only marginally able to influence the first and, in particular, oil. Finally, considering sugar cane as raw food material, the model showed that inflation in ethanol markets does not affect the increase in food prices.

Producers and small-scale industries,the weakest links in the commercial food chain In times of crisis, much of the food industries will inevitably use the price of products as the main marketing strategy. On the other hand, it is increasingly common for economists to denounce the need to ensure transparency of the different links of the price formation chain. Therefore, the analysis of price transmission is an optimal tool to assess the overall functioning of markets, besides allowing the identification of the origin of imbalances throughout the chain.

For this reason, a group of CREDA researchers, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Analysis of the University of Zaragoza, have developed a new study applying models of temporal series to prices evolution along the different links of the commercial chain.

One of the most innovative aspects of the CREDA study has been to show the possible existence of asymmetries in the transmission mechanisms of the prices. According to traditional theory, when an unexpected economic change (or shock) occurs, efficient markets tend to respond quickly and symmetrically. In other words, any increase or reduction in prices will impact nearly simultaneous and equally in all links of the chain.

However, these markets may also exhibit certain asymmetries related to the magnitude as well as to the speed of response of different prices. Among the

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possible causes of these imbalances are the market power of the retail sector with regard to other agents, consumer transaction costs (in food, the consumer does not search for every product in different stores to buy the one that best adapts to his needs, as in the case of mobile phones or electronic products), inventory management policy by the producer as well as by the retailer, and public intervention. So, how consumers benefit from reductions (or increases) in prices throughout the commercial chain?

The results showed substantial difference between the products of animal origin (lamb, whiting and milk) and vegetable origin (tomato and lemon).

With regard to animal products, the study revealed that the price of feed has not influenced the evolution of the amount received by the farmer, because the adjustments between the price of feed and the price paid by the producer have been linear and showed no asymmetries.

At the same time “in the case of whiting, milk and lamb we have seen that the gains to producers are very shortterm, while retailers perceive a long-term benefit.”

Therefore, in the case of changes in market conditions, prices perceived by producers are much more volatile than consumer prices, which, in contrast, are much more stable, not only for the three considered foods, but also for tomato and lemon. On the other hand, retailers increase their sales margin over time, especially when the prices perceived by the livestock producer decrease.

Another point highlighted by CREDA’s study is the volatility in the price of diesel, which may represent an important factor in explaining the mechanism of price transfer. In fact, it has been noticed that the increase in the price of diesel is responsible for the wholesale price increase in the short term, generating asymmetry functions of greater intensity and more persistent. On the other hand, changes in price for consumers, in the long term, are generated 80% by changes in the wholesale price level and 20% by the price of diesel.

“It is also noteworthy that the information at our disposal allows us only to display the price transmission mechanism and the possible existence of asymmetries, being unable to explain the causes of these“, says José M. Gil, Director of CREDA. Finally, as in other similar studies, the results have certain limitations related to the frequency of the data collection period (weekly, monthly, etc.), depending on the reference prices that have been considered, especially at the producer.

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2010