The UJI reveals that agricultural biodiversity is an effective tool against crop pests in the context of climate change

Researchers from the Ecophysiology and Biotechnology group have participated in a study that reveals how agricultural biodiversity is an effective tool to combat pests and the effects of climate change on crops. The results of the work, whose conclusions have been published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, show that the conservation of traditional varieties improves the effects of water deficit and damage caused by the red spider.

Professor Aurelio Gómez Cadenas directs the research group Ecophysiology and Biotechnology. The main lines of work of this group are the responses and the tolerance mechanisms of citrus and other crops to abiotic and biotic stresses and their combination, such as droughts, floods, salinity or infestation by the red spider, and hormonal control. In addition, the group applies biotechnology techniques such as in vitro culture and determines the metabolic changes of plants in response to stress.

Reference

Ximénez-Embún MG, González-Guzmán M, Arbona V, Gómez-Cadenas A, Ortego F, Castañera P. 2018. Plant-mediated effects of water deficit on the performance of Tetranychus evansi on tomato drought-adapted accessions. Frontiers in Plant Science in press