Lead Partner – ASTRO Research Unit (TROpical AgroSystems) – INRA (Guadeloupe, French West Indies).

 This partner is based in the French West Indies, at INRA Guadeloupe, and has a permanent staff of 60 persons. It aims to develop low-input, sustainable cropping systems designed for easy adoption by farmers. It is organised in 3 poles:
1. Assessment and conception of cropping systems (skills in agronomy and socio-economy).
2. Functioning of plants in their environment (skills in ecophysiology, physiology and soil science).
3. Functioning of pathosystems (skills in genetics, pathology, and bioclimatology).

 Jointly with Cirad, ASTRO has set up the Biological Resources Centre ‘Tropical Plants’ located in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The BRC is working to secure the conservation of collections (Banana, Mango, Pineapple, Sugarcane, and Yam) and to provide healthy plant material to users such as research teams, extensions services or the private sector. The BRC manages about 1 800 accessions, and is currently implementing an ISO 9001 certification scheme. It developed databases and a web portal giving access to the available accessions and associated information: http://collections.antilles.inra.fr/.

 ASTRO develops inter-disciplinary projects, integrating the BRC, and focusing on IPM and agro-ecology.

 This partner has expertise and skills in plant pathology. It manages a collection of 500 yam genotypes, belonging to the main cultivated species and to wild relatives. It is currently developing techniques for virus elimination, including thermo- and cryo-therapy.

 It hosts a range of facilities that will be used for the project: molecular biology and in vitro culture laboratories, greenhouses, controlled-conditions growth chambers.

Contact : claudie.pavis@antilles.inra.fr
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