UE A2M

Presentation of the Mediterranean Fruit and Vegetables Experimental Facility

Created in 2021, the A2M Experimental Facility conducts multi-site experiments (Saint Maurice and Saint Paul estates in Avignon, Amarine estate in the Gard department) on emblematic fruit and vegetable crops of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d' Azur (PACA) region, by promoting the implementation of agro-ecological practices and the enhancement of cultivated and associated biodiversity.

Its priority objective is to meet the very diverse needs of the PACA center research units in terms of support and methods of experimentation, falling within a national and international experimental network for horticulture.

The unit is equipped with an original continuum of experimental infrastructures (from the S2 greenhouse to the connected orchard) making it possible to deal with challenging research questions associated with climate change and the reduction of agricultural inputs. It forms a support force for experimentation and for the design of sustainable cropping systems.

Scientific background

The agro-ecological transition cannot take place without combining the knowledge and innovations provided by research with the diversity of agronomic practices in horticulture.

In this process, the role of A2M is (i) to ensure the maintenance of genetic resources (Biological Resource Center, collections), (ii) to facilitate the assessment of a very wide range of genetic diversity, (iii) to implement factorial or system experimentations and (iv) to develop and implement tools and methods to measure a broad set of traits.

These different objectives will ensure the evaluation of a set of agronomic and varietal levers, to improve our understanding of the ecophysiological and genetic bases underlying the mechanisms of crop resilience.

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Our goals

  • Promoting biodiversity and crop resilience
  • Reducing the use of chemical inputs
  • Facilitating the adoption of new technical tools
  • Integrating national and global experimentation networks
  • Promoting interdisciplinarity

Our missions

- Ensure the implementation and smooth running of experiments in collaboration with PSH and GAFL research units, in their diversity in terms of crops and disciplines.

- Set up and test a range of levers and practices allowing the reduction of inputs and the greatest crop resilience while maintaining production and its quality.

- Monitor both practices and technological innovations.

- Ensure experiments traceability and contribute to the collection of data of different natures and large dimensions (e.g., phenomics, enviromics) within the framework of the FAIR (Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable) data management process.

- Participate in the management of CRB collections.

Our expertise

One of the specificities of A2M is the large number of species cultivated and the diversity of experimental set-ups covered.

Diversity of species

  • Model species such as Arabidposis thaliana, tomato and peach
  • Cultivated Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Prunus and Malus species and their wild relatives

Diversity of trials

  • “System” trials testing agronomic levers
  • Trials with a high level of genetic diversity involving, for example, core collections or bi- or multi-parental progenies
  • Biotic stresses by inoculation and/or low-input phytosanitary management
  • Abiotic stresses under controlled conditions (e.g., water deficit, nitrogen stress in tomato)

Diversity of assessments

  • Monitoring plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses
  • Growth measurements (vegetative, fruit-related…)
  • Ecophysiological measurements (gas exchanges, water potentials)
  • Phenological (flowering, harvest) and disease symptoms observations
  • Biodiversity and crop pest counts
  • Environmental surveys: meteorology, microclimates

Activities necessary for carrying out the experiments

  • Management and maintenance of all facilities (phytotrons, greenhouses, tunnels, orchards)
  • Planting and plot maintenance
  • Management of sanitary and climatic conditions in controlled facilities, including some with containment constraints (quarantine viruses and genetically modified materials)
  • Management of sanitary status in open fields, in line with requirements to respect the environment (e.g., alternatives to glyphosate)
  • Multiplication of plant material (e.g., sowing, grafting)