Opportunities and Limitations of Crop Phenotyping in Southern European Countries

Abstract

WOS: 000487646800001 ; The Mediterranean climate is characterized by hot dry summers and frequent droughts. Mediterranean crops are frequently subjected to high evapotranspiration demands, soil water deficits, high temperatures, and photo-oxidative stress. These conditions will become more severe due to global warming which poses major challenges to the sustainability of the agricultural sector in Mediterranean countries. Selection of crop varieties adapted to future climatic conditions and more tolerant to extreme climatic events is urgently required. Plant phenotyping is a crucial approach to address these challenges. High-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) helps to monitor the performance of improved genotypes and is one of the most effective strategies to improve the sustainability of agricultural production. In spite of the remarkable progress in basic knowledge and technology of plant phenotyping, there are still several practical, financial, and political constraints to implement HTPP approaches in field and controlled conditions across the Mediterranean. The European panorama of phenotyping is heterogeneous and integration of phenotyping data across different scales and translation of "phytotron research" to the field, and from model species to crops, remain major challenges. Moreover, solutions specifically tailored to Mediterranean agriculture (e.g., crops and environmental stresses) are in high demand, as the region is vulnerable to climate change and to desertification processes. The specific phenotyping requirements of Mediterranean crops have not yet been fully identified. The high cost of HTPP infrastructures is a major limiting factor, though the limited availability of skilled personnel may also impair its implementation in Mediterranean countries. We propose that the lack of suitable phenotyping infrastructures is hindering the development of new Mediterranean agricultural varieties and will negatively affect future competitiveness of the agricultural sector. We provide an overview of the heterogeneous panorama of phenotyping within Mediterranean countries, describing the state of the art of agricultural production, breeding initiatives, and phenotyping capabilities in five countries: Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. We characterize some of the main impediments for development of plant phenotyping in those countries and identify strategies to overcome barriers and maximize the benefits of phenotyping and modeling approaches to Mediterranean agriculture and related sustainability. ; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) [UID/Multi/04551/2013]; FCTFundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) [UID/AGR/04129/2013, UID/MULTI/00612/2013, PEst-OE/BIA/UI4046/2014]; FCT R&D project INTERPHENO [PTDC/ASP-PLA/28726/2017]; FCT R&D project VitiRoots [PTDC/ASP-HOR/31907/2017]; COST Action PhenomenallEuropean Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) [FA 1306]; Junta de AndaluciaJunta de Andalucia [P12-AGR-0370]; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades [RTI2018-094652-B-I00]; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE); EU H2020 project EMPHASIS-PREP [739514]; EU-LIFE program [LIFE16 CCA/GR/000050] ; MO is thankful to Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal), for funding the R&D unit, UID/Multi/04551/2013 (GREEN-IT). JMC thanks the support of FCT for funding the R&D unit LEAF (UID/AGR/04129/2013). JMS is grateful to FCT for funding BioISI R&D unit, UID/MULTI/00612/2013, under the project PEst-OE/BIA/UI4046/2014 and the internal projects Optigrape I and II. Part of the work was also supported by the FCT R&D projects INTERPHENO (PTDC/ASP-PLA/28726/2017) and VitiRoots (PTDC/ASP-HOR/31907/2017). JMC, JMS, CP, PM, IT and BU acknowledge the COST Action Phenomenall FA 1306 - The quest for tolerant varieties - Phenotyping at plant and cellular level. MB is grateful to the financial support of grants from Junta de Andalucia (P12-AGR-0370) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (RTI2018-094652-B-I00 and MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE). FL thanks the support of EU H2020 project EMPHASIS-PREP (grant agreement n. 739514). PM acknowledges the support of EU-LIFE program under the grant agreement LIFE16 CCA/GR/000050.