Stone pine management for pine nut production: an alternative for many drylands in Catalonia

The stone pine, despite producing a highly valued pine nut, has insufficient global production. 70% of the global area of Pinus pinea is found in the Iberian Peninsula, but in Catalonia, the existing 40,000 ha produce very little due to a lack of management, climate change, and the invasive pest Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hemiptera: Coreidae). The project aims to transfer guidelines for productive management to the sector, from planting to harvesting, incorporating previous knowledge on the productive potential of stone pine in poor drylands, the evaluation of grafted plants, genotypes, rootstocks, and the recovery of non-grafted plantations. This project also addresses the potential of mass trapping L. occidentalis as an integrated management measure to further reduce its impact on pine nut production.

Project information

Current

Acronym

+pinyoCAT

Start

02/02/2024

End

06/02/2026

Project call

Call for grants for demonstration activities 2023

Project reference

EXP_SIA002_13_0000058

Coordinated by IQAC

Yes

Innovation action

Yes

Total budget

38.148 €

IQAC budget

38.148 €

Principal investigator

Sergio López

Research associate

Other staff involved

Jose Luis Abad Saiz

Tenured Scientist