The penultimate CAPITALISE meeting was held at IPK in Gaterleben in March this year. CAPITALISE partners presented their latest progress as the project enters its last year. There were many interesting discussions on how best to enhance the translation of CAPITALISE results for optimum use by the breeding community. Outputs from the project include QTLs, phenotyping data, prediction and modelling work for improved photosynthesis and yield, as well as phenotyping tools developed in the project.
CAPITALISE is paving the way towards better phenotyping in the field. These outputs will highlight how improving photosynthesis traits is a real gamechanger for future crop breeding and will provide a platform to exploit this area of crop improvement.
In addition to the high level science the consortium were also treated to a tour of the PhenoSphere, a state of the art high throughput phenotyping facility at Gaterleben, and a demonstration of its remarkable capabilities to simulate future climates as well as fluctuating light, wind, and temperature. A tour of the gene bank at IPK, and their seed multiplication and storage facilities was also a hit.
The final consortium meeting of the CAPITALISE project will take place in September 2024 at Wageningen.
