Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) are at the helm of an international project to create eggplant varieties that are resistant to climate change, extreme temperature conditions and drought, as well as certain diseases.
The project is known as EggPrebreed and is coordinated by the UPV's University Institute for Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV). Experts from the University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) and Félix Houphouët-Boigny University (Ivory Coast) are also taking part. EggPrebreed is part of the global initiative "Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Collecting, Protecting and Preparing Crop Wild Relatives", managed by the Global Crop Diversity Trust with the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew, UK) and supported by the Norwegian government.
Eggplant is one of the most important vegetable crops in the world, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. It is classified as one of the 35 most important for food security, and is listed in Annex 1 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.