Photo by Y. Sanguine, CIRAD
A new greenhouse in Corsica, known as ARCHE, is part of an effort to safeguard one of the world’s largest citrus collections in the face of increasing disease and climate threats. The Citrus Biological Resource Centre (Citrus BRC) inaugurated the 1,100-square meter insect-proof facility on Dec. 5.
The facility will soon house hundreds of citrus varieties from the Citrus BRC, which currently houses 1,064 citrus accessions from 42 countries. Scientific teams from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environmentand the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) manage the collection. In the event of a disaster, the collection makes it possible to restart citrus activities and ensures a better understanding of genetic and biological mechanisms in citrus fruit.
RISKS TO CITRUS
According to CIRAD, health and climate risks are increasingly threatening citrus crops. In recent years, countries have suffered the loss of a large proportion of their orchards as a result of drought or rapid disease spread. These factors are driving researchers to preserve known citrus biodiversity.
For several years, highly aggressive pathogens have been ravaging orchards throughout the world. For example, HLB disease has devastated orange production in Florida. Although the disease has not yet reached the Mediterranean region, the psyllids that spread it are present in Spain, Portugal, Israel and Cyprus.
PROTECTION EFFORTS
Protecting the Citrus BRC citrus collection directly benefits research and agriculture. Within these biodiversity treasures are genes that confer resistance to pathogens, along with information on the origins of different species and their evolution. This knowledge is essential for developing new citrus varieties that meet the needs of the citrus sector in Corsica, the Mediterranean basin and in overseas territories and tropical countries.
The Citrus BRC supplies genetic material to around 30 countries every year.
Similar to Corsica, two other French islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique, are mobilizing to preserve their citrus fruits. For several years, teams from CIRAD have been conducting field surveys in Creole gardens to collect unique accessions.
In Martinique, Eric Chiffrin, an agricultural technician at CIRAD, has assembled more than 30 varieties of oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, pomelos and clementines. He cultivates them in what is referred to as a “heritage plot” at the Caribbean Agro-Environmental Campus.
Guadeloupe is equally active and also maintains its own heritage plot at the CIRAD site in Roujol.
Source: CIRAD
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