DROMAMED - Capitalization of Mediterranean maize germplasm for improving stress tolerance

The World as a whole, but the Mediterranean Area particularly, are facing the unsustainable use and management of natural resources and the degradation of the lands for cultivation. Having this challenge in mind, DROMAMED will launch activities to increase the variety of available food and the ability of maize agroecosystems to effectively respond and adapt to environmental challenges by ensuring biodiversity and releasing materials and resources for supporting sustainable Innovative Farming Systems under unfavourable conditions, while farmers conditions are improved.

• SO1/WP1: Assemble three germplasm collections (landraces, inbred lines and improved varieties) of maize adapted to Mediterranean dry areas, by pooling, evaluating, and screening for stress-tolerance national germplasm collections • SO2/WP2: Support Innovative Farming Systems (IFS) by promoting soil fertility, quality, and sustainability of agricultural models • SO3/WP3: Identify and characterize Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), involved in maize adaptation to drought and heat stress • SO4/WP4: Investigate the physiological and morphological mechanisms involved in maize resilience to drought and temperature stress • SO5/WP5: Establish predictive models and selection criteria for breeding programs focusing on tolerance to drought and high temperature. Phenotypic, marker assisted, and genomic selection models will be designed to improve tolerance to combined stresses • SO6/WP6: Complete breeding programs initiated in previous projects and release new stress tolerant populations, inbred lines, and hybrids, to be evaluated by stakeholders. Improved varieties will mitigate the effects of drought and heat stresses of climate change scenarios and to achieve sustainable production.

DROMAMED will have an immediate impact, and is aware of the relevance of providing guidance to farmers. Project’s results will provide arguments for social and economic useful analyses for policy decisions. Increased demand of improved local varieties will promote policy decisions about registration, multiplication and commercialization of local varieties, adaptive learning for both crop scientists and producers, and valorisation of agriculture with products with added value. The interaction between crop scientists, producers and farmers will result in guidance to conventional farmers for a transition to more sustainable and resilient farming systems.