Researchers in the field

Danilo Christen checks a bud on a pear tree after the frosty nights in April. «The pears haven’t suffered,» the agronomist says, «but unfortunately the frost has affected the apricot trees badly.» Danilo works at the Agroscope research centre in Conthey and directs the group focusing on fruit cultivation in alpine regions. Switzerland’s centres of expertise in agricultural research are located at different sites throughout the country; the one in Conthey specialises in crops grown under shelter as well as cultivation in alpine regions. The Fred pear, officially unveiled by Danilo Christen two years ago, was developed here. It took nearly 20 years of research, begun by his predecessor Charly Rapillard, to breed this new pear variety, which resists fire blight and stores well. Production began last year; the objective this year is to distribute the new variety widely in Swiss retail outlets. Danilo is now involved in new projects. «I’m focussing especially on apricots,» he says.

The same goes for the tomatoes that the biologist Cédric Camps looks after. He has fitted some of the plants with a device that measures the electric current passing through them to produce a kind of «electrocardiogram». This enables him to determine how much water they need for healthy growth and to carry out research into their nutrient requirements. «Growing outdoors, in normal soil, 1 kilo of tomatoes need more than 100 litres of water,» Cédric says. «In a greenhouse, and using a special substrate, we can significantly reduce these requirements.» The plants are also healthier and more resistant to disease. «Thanks to the LED lighting, we can harvest from spring until November.” The greenhouse barely needs to be heated, just protected from frost. Cédric’s research forms part of the Europe-wide Greenresilient project, which studies resilient and low-energy greenhouse crop production methods.