The ‘Technological Development for the Farming of Fruit for Export that Solves Technological Challenges in the Territory Between the Maule Region and the Los Lagos Region’ Technological Transfer Program (PTEC) began to be developed in 2016 and has a duration of eight years. It is a collaborative R+D+i initiative that brings together fruit companies, universities, and public entities to promote the competitiveness and sustainability of the fresh fruit export sector in the Central-South Zone through the development and/or adaptation of varieties or patterns and the creation of technological packages/models. Thus, contributing to the diversification and sophistication of the industry and enhancing its participation in global markets.
The initiative involves the study of new varieties or patterns in the areas where the productive sector has identified gaps or needs, as well as the development of technological packages to solve current production problems that limit productivity. In addition, the program’s administration includes dissemination and transfer activities to optimize the organization and scope these activities.
To date, the PTEC program is developing 9 projects in blueberries, kiwis, raspberries, pests, and climate. The blueberry project is an initiative that includes a varietal replacement to improve the yield and quality of the fruit, as well as the optimization of the new varieties’ harvest management and their respective post-harvest quality to improve the positioning of Chilean blueberries. These developments are jointly addressed by INIA, the University of Concepción, and the Cranberry Committee of Chile-ASOEX.
In the case of raspberry, work is being done to develop new varieties that are tolerant of the main pests and diseases that affect this fruit, and that can adapt better to water stress conditions.
The program is also developing a predictive model for kiwis to estimate sizes. They are also developing selection protocols and methodologies for the establishment of genetic material in Chile. In addition, the PTEC program is working on a technological package for the use of geomatic information for the intelligent management of biotic and abiotic variables in the fruit-growing territory. A technological package is also being developed for integrated pest management for the production of fruit for export, with the incorporation of natural enemies, focusing on controlling pests of quarantine importance.
The Executive Vice President of Corfo, Juan Pablo Terrazas, highlighted the importance of public, private and academic work in this PTEC at a webinar that addressed the progress of this program, which is so important for the sector’s competitiveness.
You can watch the webinar in the following video:
Source: simfruit.cl