Organised by Mastroberardino and the University of Naples (Department of Agricultural Sciences), VISCA project - which is developing climate services to make the wine industry resilient to climate change - held its 2nd General meeting on 10th-11th December 2018 followed by the 2nd Stakeholders Workshop on 12th December 2018 in the premises of Mastroberardino and the Department of Agriculture – Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II who are part of our consortium.

Having a reliable method to get the number of flowers in a bunch is critical to analyze the effects of different stresses (biotic or abiotic) on blooming and fruit set. Here, it is presented a simple, yet, accurate method to obtain the number of flowers per bunch using a free software image analyzer. The bunches, are randomly selected at the experimental site and take it to the lab. In the lab, flowers are detached from the calyptra and placed in a black matt plastic sheet. Flowers are gently spread on the plastic sheet to avoid overlapping.  Next, a picture is taken using a camera fixed to a holder. The plastic sheet must have a reference length for the further analysis with the software. The image is processed using the ImageJ software. Once processed, the number and perimeter of each flower are obtained.  The bias analysis gives an overestimate of nearly 10 flowers, which, given the number of flowers per bunch, (for Tempranillo it could be more than 800) it can be considered an acceptable error. However, the bias can be diminished if a specific calibration is set. The images do not need to be clean. Non-desired elements can be removed from the analysis by applying a filtering method. The present methodology provides a simple, fast and precise technique to obtain the number of flowers in a bunch for research purposes.* 

*An abstract presented by Garcia-Tejera, O¹, Oliver-Manera, J¹ , Mata, M and Girona,J¹  at the International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences. To download the post, click here.

¹Efficient Use of Water Program, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Parc de Gardeny, Edifici Fruitcentre, 25003 Lleida, Spain

Check out the latest article from My Climate Services presenting our project and how it aims to make the European wine industries resilient to climate change: VISCA: Protecting 20 Billion Euros from Climate Change

Organised by the Regional Chamber of Agriculture in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and a multi-sector committee on 16 - 18  October 2018 in Avignon, France, the MED'Agri trade faire was entirely dedicated to the  agricultural production and the agri-technology.

A lot of showcase of innovative techniques were presented during the event. MED'Agri is aimed at professionals of all the agricultural production sectors and farmers and in particular those represented in the South of the France: market gardening, arboriculture, viticulture, olive growing, breeding and also horticulture, beekeeping, truffle, aromatic and fragrant plants, etc. VISCA project was presented at a dedicated stand by SEMIDE as well as the projects involved at the Common Dissemination Booster: WEAM4i and OpIRIS.

For further information, check the official website.

The 2^nd edition of the Climateurope Festival was organised in Belgrade from 17^th to 19^th October 2018 in order to support the exchange of knowledge and cultivate efforts for climate change adaptation and mitigation informed by science. The event brought researchers, suppliers, and funders with an emphasis on participants from Central and Eastern Europe. Varied programme was offered including lectures, discussions and networking to explore the state-of-the-art of climate information, and its uses and value in decision-making.

VISCA project was presented during the Climateurope Festival 2018 in 2 different sessions, one on the “Future of wine: Round table / Impulse talks” on October 18^th and the other on “Climate information at your services I. Agriculture: Storytelling session & Round table” on October 19^th.

On 2^nd-3^rd May 2018, the EU AgriResearch Conference took place in Brussels targeting scientists, farmers, rural communities, industry, advisors, policy-makers, citizens and NGO representatives who wish to learn about EU agriculture and rural R&I activities and achievements and have their say on how to shape the future of agriculture R&I after 2020. The conference was also a great occasion to network with around 500 peers.

During the conference, different topics about the H2020 program and priorities in the agriculture sector were presented including presentations about EU-funded projects.  The implementation of the strategic approach to EU agricultural R&I and present its first achievements on knowledge produced, linkages established between EU policies or new avenues opened in terms of implementation approaches were discussed.

Few farmers also participated in the event and some discussions on how to better involve them took place concluding that the language and the timing of harvest season should always be taken into consideration.

VISCA project was disseminated during the event by SEMIDE. Exchanges and contacts were gathered in order to make collaborations in the replicability and synergies foreseen in the project.

Have a Pint of Science!

Isadora and Dragana from Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC) will talk about new trends in climate change adaptation and innovation. The Pint of Science festival aims to deliver interesting and relevant talks on the latest science and research in an accessible format to the public, mainly across bars and pubs.

Isadora will talk about how and why forecasting the weather is important. The current trend of wine production in the Pyrenees, as a consequence of global warming, is only one of the examples Isa will use to demonstrate how to adapt to climate change and the full potential of computer modelling in tackling the challenges of tomorrow’s life on Earth.