GEN4OLIVE, European project for genetic improvement

Select new olive tree varieties capable of mitigating climate change, resisting parasites and biotic stresses, maintaining high productivity and the corresponding health value. This is the aim of the international project GEN4OLIVE that involves 16 research institutions and universities from Europe, Türkiye and Morocco, including the Crea that in its seat of Rende hosted the project meeting.
The assumption is ambitious: the existing genetic resources of the olive tree could offer answers and solutions to climate change, “but remain unexploited due to the limited development of pre-breeding activities and the lack of collaboration between germplasm banks, olive growers and nurserymen. Although the olive germplasm is very rich and diversified, only 5% of the olive tree varieties present in the world are commercially exploited. Therefore, the genetic resources of the olive remain unused and are simply stored in germplasm banks. The project, therefore, which will end in 2024, aims to promote and enhance the genetic resources of the olive tree, making them available to breeders and farmers".
Crea in particular is committed to creating an international collection for the assessment of susceptibility to Xylella fastidiosa.
The selected varieties and the new varieties, in the final objective of the subjects involved, will allow producers to obtain a reduction in costs and a lower environmental impact: in fact, they will have at their disposal olive genetic resources more suitable for contrasting and mitigating climate change in place and more tolerant to biotic stresses, while maintaining high productivity and the health value of the corresponding oils.