PON 01_145 ISCOCEM - Technological development and innovation for sustainability and competitiveness of the cereal productive chain in Southern Italy

Project Outline

The project is carried out by a public-private partnership assembled in ATS (a temporary association for a specific purpose) among 18 co-proposers based in Puglia, Calabria and Sicily, of which 8 are private enterprises, 6 are universities, and 4 are research institutions. A program of integrated and synergistic scientific and technical activities to develop the competitiveness of the Southern Italian cereal productive chain has been proposed by the partners.

The planned project combines skills and experiences gained by the private sector partners (seed producers, crop growers and processors) with those developed by public research organizations in the fields of genetics, varietal breeding, agronomic management, processing, marketing and training.

Agronomic protocols (both technical and managerial factors) are tested over a network of 10 sites, representative of the variability of southern environments in order to identify types of grains suitable for different areas. This activity involves several partners and will enable the development of new models for sustainable cereal productive cycles.

The genetics activities involve 6 research institutions for the identification of new alleles for crop quality, nitrogen use efficiency, resistance to water and heat stress, introgression lines, enzymes involved in grain nitrogen metabolism, molecular markers for MAS protocols, SNP markers characterising varieties with better quality and adaptability, genotypes resistant to cryptogamic diseases (wheat rust etc.), quality and food safety protocols, verifiable tools for traceability in the food supply chain.

Other activities are related to variety obtainment, and primary and secondary transformation.
The innovations and technologies identified within the project will be introduced into the supply chain in order to create increased competitiveness in cereal cultivation productive chain of Southern Italy.

Principal Investigator: Gabriella Sonnante - grabiella.sonnante@ibbr.cnr.it