GOCITRUS is launched to offer innovative tools to the citrus sector

• GOCITRUS is chosen from more than 240 innovative projects for financing
• The project, which involves eight entities from eight Spanish provinces, was presented publicly during the International Conference on Genetic Improvement of Citrus Fruits
• GOCITRUS was also presented during the last FRUIT LOGISTICA International Fair in Berlin

The GOCITRUS Operational Group was born in 2018, with the objective of forming a group of experts to work on the identification and appropriate selection of citrus varieties as a basis for correct varietal and production management and planning. Currently, GOCITRUS faces, in the second phase of the project, the objective of re-organizing and defining the varietal bases on which to establish the citrus revolution towards which our productive and export sectors are heading due to the imperatives and demands of the new relationships between the markets. . This objective will be undertaken through two main actions: a) The generation of an identification system supported by the Citruseq genomic database, for which the authentication experience obtained to date will be generalized to the rest of the varieties and the possibility will be studied. to establish a varietal identification service based on said genomic database. b) Help the production sector make decisions in varietal selection, considering their particular cultivation characteristics and adaptation to each area, for which an APP will be created that includes the maximum amount of existing information related to current varieties and rootstocks. . GOCITRUS has the participation of 8 Spanish entities and its scope of action directly involves 8 Spanish provinces.

GOCITRUS Approval:

On February 26, 2019, aid was called for the execution of innovation projects of general interest by operational groups of the European Innovation Association in the field of agricultural productivity and sustainability (AEI-Agri), within the framework of the National Program of Rural Development 2014-2020, for the year 2019. The Call had a high level of participation and more than 240 innovative project proposals were registered and presented for evaluation, among which was GOCITRUS. Subsequently, on November 5, 2019, its provisional resolution proposal was published, which reflected the list of the 47 applications proposed for financing and among which was GOCITRUS with a final score of 85.5 points.

Getting started with GOCITRUS:

On January 17, the GOCITRUS launch meeting was held at the Cajamar Experience Center in Paiporta. The event brought together representatives of the 8 members that make up the Operational Group and served as a starting point for the innovative project and its dissemination actions.

In addition, on January 28, a presentation of GOCITRUS took place during the International Conference on Genetic Improvement of Citrus Fruits. This specialized conference, held at the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA), served to present the most impactful citrus genetic improvement programs that are being carried out in different international research centers, including the IVIA. The meeting featured the presentation “Genomic approaches for obtaining and managing citrus varieties”, given by IVIA researcher Manuel Talón, who dedicated a section of his talk to presenting GOCITRUS, its objectives and components to the attendees.

GOCITRUS at FRUIT LOGISTICA:

The FRUIT LOGISTICA 2020 fresh produce trade fair was held on February 5, 6 and 7. This international reference event in the sector brought together more than 80,000 participants from more than 135 countries, among which were the members of GOCITRUS . Their presence promoted the internationalization of the Operational Group to support the dissemination of this innovative project.