Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change
The sustainability of agriculture is seriously threatened by climate change. In Europe, chestnut ecosystems, which are growing mainly in Mediterranean climate, are facing during summertime increasing of heat and drought stresses. These induce fragilities on trees, leading to a reduction in productiv...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/3/335 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850199930777370624 |
|---|---|
| author | Tiago Marques Andrea Ferreira-Pinto Pedro Fevereiro Teresa Pinto José Gomes-Laranjo |
| author_facet | Tiago Marques Andrea Ferreira-Pinto Pedro Fevereiro Teresa Pinto José Gomes-Laranjo |
| author_sort | Tiago Marques |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The sustainability of agriculture is seriously threatened by climate change. In Europe, chestnut ecosystems, which are growing mainly in Mediterranean climate, are facing during summertime increasing of heat and drought stresses. These induce fragilities on trees, leading to a reduction in productivity and predisposing them to pest and disease attacks. The plasticity of chestnut species under contrasting climate is known. Understanding the specific adaptation of cultivars to different climate features is now important to anticipating climate changes. Caucasian Region is considered the origin center of chestnut (<i>Castanea sativa</i>), which is characterized by climatic transition from the Mediterranean to the Euro-Siberian area. Mostly, areas of chestnut are concentrated in the countries around the Mediterranean Basin, thriving in regions with humid and Pré-Atlantic bioclimates. In Portugal, more than 95% of the chestnut area is located in the Center and North side of Portugal. This is an anisohydry species, characterized by good hydroplasticity: 90% reduction in A occurs when Ψ<sub>wstem</sub> drops to −1.25 MPa, and a 50% reduction in A occurs at values of −1.7 MPa. The highest fatty acid contents in chestnut chloroplasts are a-linolenic acid (18:3), ranging between 40 and 50% of the total amount and being the unsaturated/saturated 2.27 for Longal. New strategies are being investigated in order to increase tolerance against those abiotic factors in chestnut species. They include the use of innovative irrigation techniques, which can increase production 22–37%. Fertilization with silicone (Si) has been investigated to promote the tolerance of plants against heat and drought stresses. Breeding programs, mostly (in Europe) against ink disease, have been performed since the middle of the XX century to create new genotypes (such the Portuguese ColUTAD<sup>®</sup>). ClimCast, a network of orchards, was created in Portugal with the aim of responding to the new challenges facing orchards in the context of climate change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cf1d0577681c4e2ea29ea6a439e647bb |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-cf1d0577681c4e2ea29ea6a439e647bb2025-08-20T02:12:29ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-01-0114333510.3390/plants14030335Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate ChangeTiago Marques0Andrea Ferreira-Pinto1Pedro Fevereiro2Teresa Pinto3José Gomes-Laranjo4Centre for the Research and Technology of Agroenvironmental and Biological Sciences, CITAB, Inov4Agro, Universidade de Trás os Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, PortugalDepartment of Biology and Environment, School of Life Sciences and Environment, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, PortugalPlant Cell Biotechnology Lab, Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology António Xavier (Green-it Unit), University Nova of Lisbon, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalCentre for the Research and Technology of Agroenvironmental and Biological Sciences, CITAB, Inov4Agro, Universidade de Trás os Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, PortugalCentre for the Research and Technology of Agroenvironmental and Biological Sciences, CITAB, Inov4Agro, Universidade de Trás os Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, PortugalThe sustainability of agriculture is seriously threatened by climate change. In Europe, chestnut ecosystems, which are growing mainly in Mediterranean climate, are facing during summertime increasing of heat and drought stresses. These induce fragilities on trees, leading to a reduction in productivity and predisposing them to pest and disease attacks. The plasticity of chestnut species under contrasting climate is known. Understanding the specific adaptation of cultivars to different climate features is now important to anticipating climate changes. Caucasian Region is considered the origin center of chestnut (<i>Castanea sativa</i>), which is characterized by climatic transition from the Mediterranean to the Euro-Siberian area. Mostly, areas of chestnut are concentrated in the countries around the Mediterranean Basin, thriving in regions with humid and Pré-Atlantic bioclimates. In Portugal, more than 95% of the chestnut area is located in the Center and North side of Portugal. This is an anisohydry species, characterized by good hydroplasticity: 90% reduction in A occurs when Ψ<sub>wstem</sub> drops to −1.25 MPa, and a 50% reduction in A occurs at values of −1.7 MPa. The highest fatty acid contents in chestnut chloroplasts are a-linolenic acid (18:3), ranging between 40 and 50% of the total amount and being the unsaturated/saturated 2.27 for Longal. New strategies are being investigated in order to increase tolerance against those abiotic factors in chestnut species. They include the use of innovative irrigation techniques, which can increase production 22–37%. Fertilization with silicone (Si) has been investigated to promote the tolerance of plants against heat and drought stresses. Breeding programs, mostly (in Europe) against ink disease, have been performed since the middle of the XX century to create new genotypes (such the Portuguese ColUTAD<sup>®</sup>). ClimCast, a network of orchards, was created in Portugal with the aim of responding to the new challenges facing orchards in the context of climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/3/335Chestnut (<i>Castanea sativa</i>)edaphoclimatic conditionsadaptative plasticitydroughtheat |
| spellingShingle | Tiago Marques Andrea Ferreira-Pinto Pedro Fevereiro Teresa Pinto José Gomes-Laranjo Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change Plants Chestnut (<i>Castanea sativa</i>) edaphoclimatic conditions adaptative plasticity drought heat |
| title | Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change |
| title_full | Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change |
| title_fullStr | Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change |
| title_short | Current Biological Insights of <i>Castanea sativa</i> Mill. to Improve Crop Sustainability to Climate Change |
| title_sort | current biological insights of i castanea sativa i mill to improve crop sustainability to climate change |
| topic | Chestnut (<i>Castanea sativa</i>) edaphoclimatic conditions adaptative plasticity drought heat |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/3/335 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tiagomarques currentbiologicalinsightsoficastaneasativaimilltoimprovecropsustainabilitytoclimatechange AT andreaferreirapinto currentbiologicalinsightsoficastaneasativaimilltoimprovecropsustainabilitytoclimatechange AT pedrofevereiro currentbiologicalinsightsoficastaneasativaimilltoimprovecropsustainabilitytoclimatechange AT teresapinto currentbiologicalinsightsoficastaneasativaimilltoimprovecropsustainabilitytoclimatechange AT josegomeslaranjo currentbiologicalinsightsoficastaneasativaimilltoimprovecropsustainabilitytoclimatechange |