There is urgent need to overcome the stagnation of genetic progress for strawberry disease resistances. Breeding offers the opportunity to combine resistances traits, adaptability to each area of production and fruit quality.

The general objective is to valorize local germplasm including advanced breeding lines for

improving level of natural resistances of strawberry to three Mediterranean major diseases grey mold, anthracnose and powdery mildew, caused respectively by Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum sp. and Podosphaera aphanis fungal agents. 

This objective will be declined into three specific goals:

• Characterization of resistant material to grey mold, anthracnose and powdery mildew from

germplasm (local germplasm, advanced lines, genetic resources and segregating populations)

• Identification of genomic regions (QTL) associated with natural variation of disease resistances

• Toward new varieties that pyramid genetic resistances