Climate change at the heart of the European VCU group’s work
On 22-24 May 2023, GEVES organised the 16th seminar of the European group bringing together VCU experts from European variety examination offices in Angers. 40 VCU experts from 19 European examination offices took part in this meeting alongside representatives from the European Commission and the CPVO.
Technical discussions focused firstly on developments in the various national VCU systems, in particular to take account of new characteristics, uses, species or varietal types. One of the main themes was variety resilience to high temperature stress and drought. The examination offices presented their experience and possible ways of taking greater account of this type of stress, which is becoming increasingly frequent with climate change. Presentations on the progress of the H2020 INVITE and INNOVAR projects provided a scientific perspective on this issue. Other issues linked to sustainability were also discussed: nitrogen use efficiency, risk of frost, emerging diseases and pests (beet yellows, black rust in cereals, etc.). An update was given on the ongoing review of European variety and seed regulations. Discussions continued in the field, where trials are being conducted at the GEVES Anjouère experimental station on the following topics: beet yellows, cereal diseases, digital phenotyping, envirotyping, etc.
