Duration
1st October 1998 to 30th September 2001
 
Contract
INCO/DC Contract ERB IC18-CT98-0300

Coordinator
G. Caubel (INRA Le Rheu)
INSTITUT NATIONAL RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE
LABORATOIRE DE ZOOLOGIE
DOMAINE DE LA MOTTE - BP 29
35653 LE RHEU CEDEX France DR. GEORGES CAUBEL
E-M : caubel@rennes.inra.fr
TEL : 33-2-9928.5158
FAX : 33-2-9928.5150

Partnership
INSTITUT AGRONOMIQUE & VETERINAIRE
HASSAN II
DEPT D'AGRONOMIE & D'AMELIOR. PLANTES
LABO GENETIQUE DES LEGUMINEUSES
BP 6202 RABAT-INSTITUTS
10101 RABAT MOROCCO
PROF. MOHAMMED SADIKI
E-M : sadiki@mail.sis.net.ma
TEL : 212-7-77.48.69
FAX : 212-7-77.48.69

INSTITUT NATIONAL AGRONOMIQUE DE TUNISIE
LABO DES LEGUMINEUSES A GRAINES
RUE HEDI KARRAY
2049 ARIANA TUNISIA
DR. MOHAMED KHARRAT
E-M : mohsen.krichi@iresa.agrinet.tn
TEL : 216-1-23.00.24
FAX : 216-1-75.28.97

ISTITUTO SPERIMENTALE PER LA PATOLOGIA VEGETALE
DEPT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND RESISTANCE
VIA BERTERO 22
00156 ROME ITALY
DR. ANGELO PORTA-PUGLIA
E-M : ispave@flashnet.it
TEL : 39-6-8207.0355
FAX : 39-6-8680.2296

INSTITUT NATIONAL AGRONOMIQUE
DEPARTEMENT BOTANIQUE
AVENUE PASTEUR
EL HARRACH, 16200 ALGER ALGERIA
DR. ZOUAOUI BOUZNAD
TEL : 213-2-52.19.87
FAX : 213-2-52.25.47

Context
Food legumes are important crops in the Mediterranean basin ranking second after cereals. More than 85 % of the food legume area is located in the rain fed zones, the rest is irrigated. Faba bean is the first grown legume but it produces low and unstable yields. Lack of adapted cultivars resistant to the main diseases is the major constraint to the development of faba bean crop. Therefore, selecting resistant varieties of faba bean, a grain legume crop, is an appropriate strategy for contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture in the rain fed and marginal lands.

Objectives
The main objectives are to generate scientific and practical results for durable resistance in faba bean to fungal diseases and nematodes by :
>  Identification of sources of resistance in faba bean to fungal diseases and nematodes ;
>  Assessment of the resistant genotypes through multilocal trials ;
>  Investigation of the extend of pathogen variability in relation to resistant genotypes using molecular technologies ;
>  Understanding molecular and biochemical mechanisms of resistance to these diseases.

Activities
FRYMED is based on a multidisciplinary approach developed by pathologists, plant breeders, agronomists and molecular biologists from France, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia, and Algeria, in order to select faba bean for resistance to fungi and nematodes, using the following tasks :
>  at the plant level, to screen local and introduced germplasms for resistance to Botrytis, Ascochyta, stem (Ditylenchus) and root lesion (Pratylenchus) nematodes; evaluate the performance of the resistant genotypes in different cropping systems in the sites identified in the faba bean major growing areas of the participating countries;
>  at the pathogen level, to assess the variability and characterise the populations of the pathogens: collection, biological characterisation of pathogenicity, biochemical and molecular characterisation of pathogen populations;
>  at the physiological and genetic level, to analyse the mechanisms of resistance and the genetic control of resistance through molecular biology tools.

Expected outcome
Selecting resistant varieties of faba bean, a main grain legume crop, is an appropriate strategy for contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture in the rain fed and marginal lands. The work will enhance our scientific understanding of the variability of pathogens in Maghreb/Europe, to identify markers correlated to the virulence, and to characterise faba bean germplasm collections for resistance to major pathogens in order to identify resistance sources suitable for the Mediterranean environment. Identification of biochemical and molecular markers of resistance will improve the efficiency of breeding programmes. Local transfer of results to farmers and extension services will rely on the multilocal trials, which will be conducted in relation with extension and development services. Technical package for Integrated Disease Management in the Mediterranean region will be transferred through co-operation extension networks.
The final result is to increase and stabilise faba bean yield by developing resistant and adapted cultivars. In addition to the improvement of soil fertility, this system protects and preserves the environment. This may contribute stabilising small farmers in marginal zones of the Maghreb, improving their income, and enhancing the role of grain legumes as major components in the sustainable cropping systems

Participating organisations
>  Università Roma Tre
Dipartimento di Biologia, Viale G. Marconi 446, I-00146 ROMA, Italie
> Institut National Agronomique [INA]
Département de Pathologie végétale & Biologie moléculaire, Avenue Pasteur, Hassen Badi,
El Harrach, 16200 ALGER, Algérie
>  Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique [INRA]
Domaine de la Motte au Vicomte, F-35653 LE RHEU Cedex, France
>  Università Degli Studi di Bari
Dipartamento di Biochimica e Biologia Molecolare, via Orabona 4, I-70126 BARI, Italie
>  Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. [C.N.R]
Istituto di Nematologia Agraria Applicata ai Vegetali, Via Amendola 165/A, I-70126 BARI, Italie
>  Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie [INAT]
Sciences de la Production végétale, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, 1082 TUNIS, Tunisie
>  Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc [INRAM]
Département de Phytiatrie PO Box 293 Kenitra, Maroc
>  Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie [INRAT]
Laboratoire des Légumineuses à graines, Rue Hedi Karray, 2049 ARIANA, Tunisie
>  Institut Technique des Grandes Cultures [ITGC]
Station Expérimentale, B.P. 59, SIDI BEL ABBES, Algérie
>  Istituto Sperimentale per la Patologia vegetale [ISPAVE]
Epidemiology and Resistance, Via C.G. Bertero, 22, I-00156 ROMA, Italie
>  Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II [IAV]
Génétique et Sélection des Légumineuses, B.P. 6202, RABAT INSTITUTS, Maroc
>  Association Européenne des Protéagineux [AEP]
12 Avenue George V, 75008 PARIS, France