Know more

The agro-ecological transition cannot be achieved without combining the knowledge and innovations provided by research with the diversity of agronomic practices in horticulture. By participating in the research projects of the Genetics and Breeding of Fruit and Vegetables (GAFL), and Plants and Cropping Systems in Horticulture (PSH) units, the role of the A2M Experimental Facility 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-type trials 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, and to produce quality fruit and vegetables in terms of taste and nutrition.

The A2M Experimental Facility is also part of the three federating research networks of the INRAE PACA Centre, focussing on plants (particularly fruit and vegetables) and Mediterranean territories, which are at the heart of the experimental facility's activities:
- The Plant Health network (PSP): Integrative biology and integrated management of plant health, biological control
- The Integrated Horticulture network (PHI): Integrative biology and agroecology of Mediterranean horticultural production
- The Adaptation to Global Change network (ACG): Adaptation to global change and sustainable management of Mediterranean cultivated and forest ecosystems

Species covered:

One of A2M's special features is the number and diversity of the species it cultivates:
- Model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana, tomato and peach
- Cultivated species from the Solanaceae family (tomato, pepper, eggplant), the Cucurbitaceae family (melon, cucumber), the Rosaceae family with the Prunus (apricot, almond, peach, plum and their rootstocks) and Malus genera, and the wild relatives of most of them.