Do Laboratório para o Campo: Estudo e controlo da Alternariose nos olivais

The main objective of this project is to reduce the incidence of Alternaria disease in olive groves in the Alentejo region by gaining an in-depth understanding of the epidemiology, diagnosis and monitoring of the disease and its effect on olive oil production. This is of great importance because Alternaria alternata has been reported to cause serious outbreaks of olive fruit rot in many countries with severe impacts on production. However, the lack of knowledge about this disease in olive orchards and non-existent specific controlling measures highlight the importance and novelty of the proposed project. New sustainable ways of mitigating this disease are proposed with the production of resistant/tolerant olive plants, the development of a biofungicide and with the creation of an app based on predicting models of the disease that will contribute to limit the use of chemical defence strategies. The following specific objectives are proposed: a) Molecular characterization of identified fungal isolates and pathogenicity studies; b) Identification of which organs of the olive tree are affected by the disease; c) Understanding the epidemiology of the disease; d) Development of a highly sensitive diagnostic test for early monitoring of Alternaria disease in the field to identify resistant/susceptible olive cultivars; e) Recognition of olive genes involved in resistance/susceptibility mechanisms in order to obtain resistant/tolerant olive plants; f) Study the effect of the disease on olive oil quality parameters; g) Development of a biofungicide against Alternaria disease based on olive mill biomass; h) Creation of an app based on prediction models developed for Alternaria disease in olive trees. These objectives will avoid production losses and unnecessary interventions by machinery and curative plant protection products, thus reducing the carbon footprint and contributing to the fulfilment of the target proposed in the European Ecological Pact of a 55% carbon reduction by 2030, in view of a greater production and yield to achieve a more competitive and sustainable agriculture.