EU project ADAPT protects potato yields in heat, drought and flooding
Extreme heat waves, drought and flooding are increasingly affecting potato yields in Europe. The EU Horizon 2020-funded project ADAPT (Accelerated Development of multiple-stress olerant PoTato) conducted extensive field trials and controlled experiments to identify commercially grown potato varieties that are particularly resistant to heat and drought stress, as well as waterlogging.
Numerous results were obtained with the help of field studies, molecular and physiological analyses in controlled greenhouse trials, high-throughput phenotyping and newly generated sensor lines. Various bioinformatic analyses, which led to the further development of the StressKnowledgeMap app, enabled early stress signals to be identified and linked to yield stability. The results provide breeders with concrete starting points for developing marketable, climate-resilient varieties over the next 5–10 years.