1st TRADITOM progress meeting held in Santorini
From April 21-23, 2016, the TRADITOM group came together for its 1stprogress meeting in Santorini (Greece). The meeting was hosted by project partner Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and the venue offered an ideal setting to discuss the project’s progress and future collaboration.
The meeting was arranged as a three days event with two full day sessions on April 21 and 22 that were complemented by a technical field trip on April 23, 2016. All meeting participants were committed to share what has been achieved during the first year of the project and to structure the tasks ahead. During this first year, the TRADITOM group started to get a good idea of the value and diversity of the almost 1,500 traditional tomato varieties in the TRADITOM collection.
The programme gave each partner the opportunity to address the progress and challenges within the different work packages of the project including updates and outlooks on research, dissemination and management activities. During the next year, a more in depth characterization of these valuable germplasm will be performed in close collaboration with the traditional farmers to extract the most valuable information and materials for producers and consumers.
Prof. Harry Klee from the University of Florida attended the progress meeting as scientific advisor and shared his valuable insights and expertise on tomato fruit quality. Prof. Klee remarked the outstanding quality of the science and diverse set of expertise demonstrated by the TRADITOM group.
In the course of the meeting, the consortium had the chance to meet with local growers and representatives of the Union of Santorini Cooperatives to discuss the unique characteristics and cultivation methods of the PDO Santorini tomato.Santorini is home of interesting traditional tomatoes that are unique and exclusively cultivated on the island.
Project coordinator Prof. Antonio Granell (CSIC) was very satisfied with the outcome and considers the 1st progress meeting of TRADITOM a very useful and participative event: “I think that we all have now a better understanding of TRADITOM as a community project where everybody is important and everybody counts.” The coordinator concluded that TRADITOM is making good progress and underlines the collaborative character of the project: “This is especially true for the younger scientists in TRADITOM who experience the value of working together which will facilitate the success of the project.”
Find more pictures from the 1st TRADITOM progress meeting in our media gallery.