Latin America:A development pole for phenomics

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has long been associated with the production and export of a diverse range of agricultural commodities. Due to its strategic geographic location, which encompasses a wide range of climates, it is possible to produce almost any crop. The climate diversity in LAC is a major factor in its agricultural potential but this also means climate change represents a real threat to the region. Therefore, LAC farming must prepare and quickly adapt to a climate that is likely to feature long periods of drought, excessive rainfall and extreme temperatures. With the aim of moving towards a more resilient agriculture, LAC scientists have created the Latin American Plant Phenomics Network (LatPPN) which focuses on LAC’s economically important crops. LatPPN’s key strategies to achieve its main goal are: 1) training of LAC members on plant phenomics and phenotyping, 2) establish international and multidisciplinary collaborations, 3) develop standards for data exchange and research protocols, 4) share equipment and infrastructure, 5) disseminate data and research results, 6) identify funding opportunities and 7) develop strategies to guarantee LatPPN’s relevance and sustainability across time. Despite the challenges ahead, LatPPN represents a big step forward towards the consolidation of a common mind-set in the field of plant phenotyping and phenomics in LAC

Firmness at harvest impacts postharvest fruit softening and internal browning development in mechanically damaged and non-damaged highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)

Fresh blueberries are very susceptible to mechanical damage, which limits postharvest life and firmness. Softening and susceptibility of cultivars 'Duke' and 'Brigitta' to developing internal browning (IB) after mechanical impact and subsequent storage was evaluated during a 2-year study (2011/2012, 2012/2013). On each season fruit were carefully hand-picked, segregated into soft (<1.60 N), medium (1.61-1.80 N), and firm (1.81-2.00 N) categories, and then either were dropped (32 cm) onto a hard plastic surface or remained non-dropped. All fruit were kept under refrigerated storage (0ºC and 85-88% relative humidity) to assess firmness loss and IB after 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days. In general, regardless of cultivar or season, high variability in fruit firmness was observed within each commercial harvest, and significant differences in IB and softening rates were found. 'Duke' exhibited high softening rates, as well as high and significant r2 between firmness and IB, but little differences for dropped vs. non-dropped fruit. 'Brigitta,' having lesser firmness rates, exhibited almost no relationships between firmness and IB (especially for non-dropped fruit), but marked differences between dropping treatments. Firmness loss and IB development were related to firmness at harvest, soft and firm fruit being the most and least damaged, respectively. Soft fruit were characterized by greater IB development during storage along with high soluble solids/acid ratio, which could be used together with firmness to estimate harvest date and storage potential of fruit. Results of this work suggest that the differences in fruit quality traits at harvest could be related to the time that fruit stay on the plant after turning blue, soft fruit being more advanced in maturity. Finally, the observed differences between segregated categories reinforce the importance of analyzing fruit condition for each sorted group separately.In Chile, this work was supported by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research CONICYT (FONDECYT 11130539) and the Universidad de Talca (research programs “Adaptation of Agriculture to Climate Change (A2C2)”, “Fondo Proyectos de Investigación” and “Núcleo Científico Multidisciplinario”). In Spain, this work was partially supported by “Fundación Carolina” and “Programa de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria”, Universitat de Lleida

Editorial:Plant Phenotyping and Phenomics for Plant Breeding

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Exploring Agronomic and Physiological Traits Associated With the Differences in Productivity Between Triticale and Bread Wheat in Mediterranean Environments

In Mediterranean climates soil water deficit occurs mainly during the spring and summer, having a great impact on cereal productivity. While previous studies have indicated that the grain yield (GY) of triticale is usually higher than bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), comparatively little is known about the performance of these crops under water-limited conditions or the physiological traits involved in the different yields of both crops. For this purpose, two sets of experiments were conducted in order to compare a high yielding triticale (cv. Aguacero) and spring wheat (cvs. Pandora and Domo). The first experiment, aiming to analyze the agronomic performance, was carried out in 10 sites located across a wide range of Mediterranean and temperate environments, distributed between 33°34′ and 38°41′ S. The second experiment, aiming to identify potential physiological traits linked to the different yields of the two crops, was conducted in two Mediterranean sites (Cauquenes and Santa Rosa) in which crops were grown under well-watered (WW) and water-limited (WL) conditions. The relationship between GY and the environmental index revealed that triticale exhibited a higher regression coefficient (Finlay and Wilkinson slope), indicating a more stable response to the environment, accompanied by higher yields than bread wheat. Harvest index was not significantly different between the two cereals, but triticale had higher kernels per spike (35%) and 1000 kernel weight (16%) than wheat, despite a lower number of spikes per square meter. The higher yield of triticale was linked to higher values of chlorophyll content, leaf net photosynthesis (An), the maximum rate of electron transport (ETRmax), the photochemical quantum yield of PSII [Y(II)] and leaf water-use efficiency. GY was positively correlated with Ci at anthesis and Δ13C in both species, as well as with gs at anthesis in triticale, but negatively correlated with non-photochemical fluorescence quenching and quantum yield of non-photochemical energy conversion at grain filling in wheat. These results revealed that triticale presented higher photosynthetic rates that contributed to increase plant growth and yield in the different environments, whereas wheat showed higher photoprotection system in detriment of assimilate production

Aplicación de la espectroscopía de reflectancia como evaluación de variabilidad ambiental entre huertos de peras CV. Packham’s Triumph con daño por sol

47 p.Durante la última década, por rapidez, facilidad de uso y por ser no destructivo, la espectroscopia de reflectancia ha tomado gran relevancia, permitiendo caracterizar los efectos de condiciones bióticas y abióticas sobre las plantas; en general modelamiento para la estimación de algún carácter de la planta o fruto. Con el objeto de evaluar la habilidad de la técnica en la identificación de diferencias medioambientales en peras Packham s Triumph, de cada huerto (Totoral, Javierana y Refugio; Rengo, Regi n de O Higgins, Chile) y nivel de daño estudiado (sano, leve, moderado y severo), durante la temporada 2017/18 se seleccionaron 40 frutos por condición. Una vez cosechada y segregada, la fruta se almacenó en frío convencional (0°C y 90% HR) por diecisiete semanas. Semanalmente y durante cuatro meses, a la fruta se les realizaron mediciones de colorimetría y espectroscopia Vis/NIR (490-950 nm). Tanto los resultados de colorimetría como de la firma espectral demuestran que existen diferencias evidentes en el origen de la fruta (localidad). Al estudiar las reflectancias, es posible identificar que aquellas sin daño o control no presentó diferencias significativas entre huertos, pero si la dañada. Al analizar la longitud de onda 720 nm, es posible afirmar que el comportamiento de Javierana y Refugio son similares pero diferentes de Totoral. Estos resultados demuestran la factibilidad en el uso de esta técnica para seleccionar aquellos frutos que pudieran tener una evolución en postcosecha distinta que obligará a reconsiderar su guarda o capacidad de viaje