Research Activities
GEVES carries out applied research projects aimed at developing and promoting relevant methods for analysing seeds and studying varieties, and at standardising and validating the methods created, at the level of national and international bodies. GEVES’s research work falls into three main areas: evaluating genotypes in their environment, managing reference collections and seed quality, and involves skills in phenotyping, genomics and data analysis.
R&D objectives
Over the period 2024-2028, GEVES will give priority to R&D work enabling it to develop, validate and implement tools and methods to serve its variety and seed evaluation missions, in line with the major current and future challenges facing the world of agriculture and the agri-food industry, with a view to sustainability in order to :
- Better evaluating varieties and seeds in the context of climate change
- Better evaluating varieties and seeds adapted to agro-ecology, contributing to the maintenance and study of biodiversity in relation to varieties
- Better evaluating the quality of varieties and seeds
- Improving evaluating methods to increase efficiency and reliability, and improve health and safety protection in the workplace.
The R&D policy, drawn up by the GEVES Scientific Coordination Unit with the assistance of the GEVES Scientific Committee, sets out for each of the four strategic objectives, the GEVES’ target trajectory, the priority actions to be carried out over the next 5 years, and the areas to be monitored.
Better evaluating varieties and seeds adapted to agro-ecology,
by contributing to the maintenance and study of biodiversity in relation to varieties
New varieties are a lever in the agro-ecological transition towards production systems that draw on the functionalities offered by ecosystems, to improve crop production while aiming to reduce pressure on the environment and preserve natural resources and biodiversity.
The reduction in the use of synthetic plant protection products and the withdrawal of certain active substances mean that it is even more important to evaluate varietal resistance to pests and diseases, and to monitor the health quality of seed batches.
Evaluating the suitability of varieties for association (varietal mixtures and species associations), evaluating plant habit, and evaluating minor species and service plants also need to be stepped up.
Better evaluating varieties and seeds in the context of climate change
In the context of climate change, varieties are and will be subjected to various abiotic stresses, which will become increasingly frequent, intense and erratic (due to drought, high temperatures, cold, excess water, etc.).
Evaluating the tolerance and stability of varieties to these different stresses is a major challenge.
Better evaluating the quality of varieties and seeds
Variety and seed quality evaluation covers three areas: the quality of varieties under study, the quality of seed lots, and the detection of GMOs and NGT products, mainly in seed lots.
Improving evaluating methods to improve efficiency,
and improve health and safety protection in the workplace
In the interests of efficiency, GEVES will endeavour to develop faster, more reliable, more objective, predictive, sustainable, less costly and less energy-consuming methods of evaluating varieties and seeds.
GEVES will also seek to develop its methods in order to reduce the health and safety risks for operators working on variety evaluating and seed analysis, both within GEVES and within the industry.
Scientific partnerships
GEVES research work is carried out in partnership, as part of national or international programmes, as well as in the context of improving methods (contract programmes, internal protocol optimisation projects, preliminary studies for the development of new methods, development, improvement, transfer, harmonisation of existing methods and validation for international recognition, etc.).
Scientific Committee
The role of the Scientific Committee is to support and advise the GEVES on its policy and research programmes. Its role is to shed light on areas related to the GEVES’s missions.
The GEVES Scientific Committee is made up of thirteen external scientists from various GEVES partners working in different areas of plant science.
Catherine Giauffret, Chairwoman | Head of research on climate stress, INRAE Montpellier |
Thierry Candresse | Director of Virology Research, INRAE Bordeaux |
Loïc Lepiniec | Head of research in seed biology, IJPB |
Stéphane Jezequel | Scientific Director, Arvalis-Institut du végétal |
Didier Pellet | Head of the Varieties and Seeds research group, Agroscope |
Mehdi Siné | Scientific, Technical and Digital Director, Acta |
Marie Weiss | Research engineer in remote sensing, INRAE Avignon |
Christophe Salon | Director of research in ecophysiology, INRAE Dijon |
Alain Charcosset | Research Director in Quantitative Genetics, INRAE Le Moulon |
Mathilde Causse | Director of Genetics Research, INRAE Avignon |
Jean-Albert Fougereux | Technical Director, FNAMS |
Philippe Reignault | Director of the plant health laboratory, ANSES |
Anne Grevet | GMO and NBT Research Officer, DGAL, Ministry of Agriculture |
Contacts
| Names | Jobs | |
|---|---|---|
| Ms Aurélia GOULEAU | Scientific coordinator | |
| Ms Catherine MALATIER | Scientific co-ordination support officer Monitoring of contractual research documents | |
| Ms Stéphanie Desplanches | Administrative and financial manager Follow-up of financial vouchers |
