Idoia Garmendia, a researcher in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alicante (UA), is part of the research team for the MYCROP-RESICLIM project. Experts from the University of Navarra (UNAV), the Zaidín Experimental Station of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and the UA will study the association of berry-bearing crops, such as grapes and tomatoes, with a synthetic community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), microorganisms capable of acting as biofertilizers.

In this regard, the project investigates a nature-based solution to improve the tolerance of these crops to drought, heat, and high CO₂ levels, as well as to increase the plants' mineral nutrition and activate their natural defenses against pathogens. In other words, explains the UA researcher, "we are looking to optimize fungal bioinoculants as a realistic tool for agriculture that is more resilient to climate change and less dependent on fertilizers and pesticides."

The MYCROP-RESICLIM project is structured into two subprojects: MYCROP-CLIMATE, which focuses on the response of these mycorrhizal crops to climate change scenarios, and MYCROP-FUNCTION, in which the UA researcher participates and which addresses the functioning and persistence of arbuscular mycorrhizae under multiple stress conditions. The molecular mechanisms by which arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can improve crop mineral nutrition under extreme conditions and the modifications of hormonal signaling pathways involved in resistance to pathogen attack will also be investigated.

Specifically, Idoia Garmendia's work is linked to the study of the impact of mineral nutrition on annual and perennial crops, grapevine rootstocks, and the multiple stress conditions associated with short- and medium-term climate change. She will also work on the colonization dynamics and functionality of an AMF consortium with different life cycles.

MYCROP-RESICLIM

This MYCROP-RESICLIM project, which focuses on strategic crops such as grapes and tomatoes, will promote more sustainable production even under adverse environmental conditions, reducing economic losses for farmers and decreasing dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. “This not only benefits the primary sector but also promotes more sustainable practices that protect soil, water, and biodiversity,” the consortium states.

In turn, more efficient and climate-adapted agriculture helps guarantee the supply of quality food for the population, strengthening the resilience of food systems.

With a duration of four years, until 2029, MYCROP-RESICLIM is coordinated by the Biodiversity and Environment Institute BIOMA of the UNAV and financed in the 2024 Knowledge Generation Projects call, promoted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and managed by the State Research Agency (AEI).