Ongoing greenhouse trials with trigonella, grasspea and forage pea were presented to the visiting public, explaing why these neglected species are so important in the fight against climate change – there was a very passionate discussion on these issues and so many questions – An impressive interactive session involving the BENEFIT-Med young researchers and the people around them !!!
What happens in Morocco?
Researchers at IAV (Hassane II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine)-Rabat have started the trial with the orphan legumes to test the BENEFIT-Med seed priming protocols in December 2023 … waiting for the results.
What about Greece?
Researchers had to fight with extreme climate events. Intense flooding forced to change the pilot site – a microtrial was performed at BPI (Benaki Phytopathological Institute)-Athens … promising results are emerging. A field trial has started in January 2024 under the supervision of AUA (Agricultural University of Athens).
The second round of field trial started in Italy and Algeria … keep fingers crossed !!!
The Italian and Algerian Teams had to face adverse environmental conditions: flooding and heavy rainfall (Italy) and extremely severe drought (Algeria), respectively. A second round of field trials has started in March 2024.