FRUITDIV

FRUITDIV is a Horizon Europe project launched in 2024. Crop wild relatives (CWR) represent an important source of genetic diversity for the improvement of agronomic traits. In the context of the One Health Initiative, temperate fruit trees are essential for human nutrition and health, however, CWR resources have so far been underused. Moreover, fruit trees' long lifespan and a current production dominated by only a few cultivars make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of global changes. To address this challenge, the FRUITDIV project will monitor, characterise, use, and conserve the diversity of emblematic fruit tree CWR, with a particular emphasis on Malus, Pyrus and Prunus.