Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    EXPLOITING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF FRUIT TREE WILD DIVERSITY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE (FRUITDIV PROJECT)
    (Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food - Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, 2025-10-08)
    ;
    ;
    ;
    The domestication of fruit trees has resulted in a significant genetic bottleneck, limiting the resilience of modern cultivars to abiotic and biotic stresses driven by climate change. Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) of major pome (apple, pear) and stone (cherry, plum, etc.) fruits represent a critical, yet underutilized, reservoir of genetic diversity for traits like disease resistance and drought tolerance. The FRUITDIV project, a 5-year Horizon Europe initiative (2024-2028), aims to systematically monitor, characterize, use, and conserve the diversity of fruit tree CWR to enhance the sustainability and climate resilience of European fruit production. A multidisciplinary consortium of 27 partners from 14 countries employs an integrated approach across six core research work packages. This includes: (1) creating a comprehensive CWR inventory; (2) advanced genotypic and ex-situ phenotypic characterization; (3) developing multi-omics resources for data analysis and sharing; and (4) using these data to strategically introduce CWR alleles into pre-breeding programs. FRUITDIV will generate and make publicly available a suite of resources, including a detailed CWR knowledge base, genomic datasets, phenotyping data on valuable agronomic traits, and novel pre-breeding plant materials. The project will also deliver frameworks for the sustainable conservation and economic valuation of CWR genetic resources. By bridging the gap between conservation and breeding, FRUITDIV will unlock the genetic potential of wild fruit species. The project's outputs are designed to provide breeders and farmers with the tools and genetic material needed to develop robust fruit varieties, ensuring the long-term productivity and sustainability of European agriculture.
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    Assessing Youth Employment Opportunities in Agribusiness: A Case Study from the Pelagonia Region
    (Journal of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, 2024-06-15)
    ;
    ;
    The agri-food sector in the Pelagonia region of North Macedonia, despite its importance to the local economy, struggles to attract young people to employment opportunities. This study surveyed 15 companies of different sizes and an academic institution to understand the skills and competencies employers need and to explore the factors behind youth unemployment in this sector. The findings point to a mismatch between the skills taught in formal education and those demanded by the industry, as well as certain gender disparities in job opportunities in agri-food sector. Employers emphasized the need for both soft skills, such as teamwork and flexibility, and hard skills, including practical agricultural expertise. A major barrier identified is the gap between formal education and the practical needs of the workplace, along with a lack of motivation and awareness among youth about the potential careers in the agri-business sector. The study recommends enhanced collaboration between academia and industry, increased internship opportunities, and efforts to make the agri-food sector more appealing to young people. By addressing these issues could help build a more skilled and inclusive workforce, supporting the sustainable growth of Pelagonia region's agri-food sector.
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    From clay to crops: improving water productivity in rosemary and lavender under sandy soil conditions in South Africa
    (Frontiers Media SA, 2026-07-29)
    ;
    Stander, Hendrik Barend
    ;
    ;
    Wolfaardt, Gideon M.
    ;
    Goli, Imaneh
    Background Increasing irrigation water productivity is a key strategy for achieving sustainable agricultural production. This study evaluated the performance of self-regulating low-energy clay-based irrigation (SLECI) as a sustainable alternative to surface and subsurface drip irrigation under water-scarce sandy field conditions, with a particular focus on quantifying the trade-off between irrigation water productivity and fresh biomass yield. SLECI system is a subsurface irrigation technology that uses microporous clay emitters buried within the crop root zone. Water is released passively in response to soil moisture deficits, as water flows through the clay pores only when soil suction exceeds the retention force of the emitter. This self-regulating mechanism delivers water directly to plant roots without the need for pumps, sensors, or external control systems. Methods The experiment was conducted on newly established, 1-year plantings of rosemary ( Salvia rosmarinus , Tuscan Blue variety) and lavender ( Lavandula stoechas , Hollandia variety) grown under open-field conditions at the Welgevallen Experimental Farm, Stellenbosch, South Africa (33°56′33″ S, 18°51′52″ E), from November 2023 to February 2024, during the hot-dry summer season. Results The highest fresh marketable yield of rosemary was obtained under subsurface drip irrigation (906 kg/ha), while lavender achieved its highest yield under conventional surface drip irrigation (3,625 kg/ha). Although yields under SLECI were lower, this system used substantially less irrigation water (533.2 m 3 /ha) over the 3-month period, compared with surface drip (6,800 m 3 /ha) and subsurface drip irrigation (3,060 m 3 /ha). Irrigation water productivity (IWP) demonstrated the water-saving efficiency of SLECI, producing 0.529 kg of fresh marketable rosemary per m 3 of applied water, nearly 4.5 times higher than surface drip irrigation. Similarly, SLECI achieved an IWP of 1.467 kg/m 3 for lavender, representing a more than 2.7-fold increase compared to surface drip irrigation (0.115 kg/m 3 ). Irrigation technique significantly affected fresh marketable yield. Subsurface drip irrigation and SLECI increased rosemary plant diameter relative to surface drip, whereas subsurface and surface drip irrigation promoted larger lavender plant diameters. Conclusion This study contributes to understanding how clay-based irrigation systems perform under severe sandy soil conditions and provides practical insights into the trade-off between water saving and crop productivity in semi-arid environments.