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In the dynamic landscape of agriculture and food science, incorporating emergent crops appears as a pioneering solution for diversifying agriculture, unlocking possibilities for sustainable cultivation and nutritional bolstering food security, and creating economic prospects amid evolving environmental and market conditions with positive impacts on human health. This review explores the potential of utilizing emergent crops in Mediterranean environments under current climate scenarios, emphasizing the manifold benefits of agricultural and food system diversification and assessing the impact of environmental factors on their quality and consumer health. Through a deep exploration of the resilience, nutritional value, and health impacts of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) such as quinoa, amaranth, chia, moringa, buckwheat, millet, teff, hemp, or desert truffles, their capacity to thrive in the changing Mediterranean climate is highlighted, offering novel opportunities for agriculture and functional food development. By analysing how promoting agricultural diversification can enhance food system adaptability to evolving environmental conditions, fostering sustainability and resilience, we discuss recent findings that underscore the main benefits and limitations of these crops from agricultural, food science, and health perspectives, all crucial for responsible and sustainable adoption. Thus, by using a sustainable and holistic approach, this revision analyses how the integration of NUS crops into Mediterranean agrifood systems can enhance agriculture resilience and food quality addressing environmental, nutritional, biomedical, economic, and cultural dimensions, thereby mitigating the risks associated with monoculture practices and bolstering local economies and livelihoods under new climate scenarios.

Among the Mediterranean horticultural landraces, garlic is one of the crops most threatened by genetic erosion. Due to its sexual sterility and to the incidence of seed-borne diseases, historical varieties have been widely replaced by commercial cultivars. In Catalonia, despite the historical relevance of the crop, solely the Belltall garlic landrace is cultivated for commercial purposes. To assess the genotypic and phenotypic diversity within the Belltall garlic, we evaluated sixteen local accessions and five recognized traditional and modern varieties as controls. Genetic analysis with SSR and InDel markers showed low genetic diversity within the Belltall population, grouping modern and traditional varieties separately. Farmers and consumers were involved in the definition of the landrace ideotype and classified the materials by means of projective mapping. Scant phenotypic diversity was found within the Belltall landrace, which is characterized by its color profile and the small size of bulb and cloves. The Belltall landrace grown outside its area of origin lost the distinctive quality signals that differentiate the landrace from the commercial cultivars (clove appearance), indicating that the high quality of the landrace is under genotype-by-environment effects (i.e. local adaptation). Moreover, the size of the Belltall sowing clove had a strong effect on the harvested bulb size. Our research represents a case study for the description of the variability within garlic landraces and an approach to quantify the phenomenon of local adaptation that currently drives their conservation.

European long shelf-life (LSL) tomato landraces can be classified into two main groups: the Italian group, including ‘Piennolo’ landraces, and the Spanish group, including the ‘Penjar’ and ‘Ramellet’ landraces. In this study, a partially common set of ‘Piennolo’ and ‘Penjar-Ramellet’ varieties was grown in Italy and Spain to evaluate the effect of different agro-environmental and storage conditions on fruit quality and shelf-life. Overall, both Italian and Spanish LSL genotypes lost their peculiar phenotype in terms of physicochemical properties and shelf-life behavior when not grown in their original agro-environment. To better understand the sensory attributes that drive consumers’ preferences, all varieties were characterized using descriptive sensory analysis combined with hedonic tests. The evaluations were conducted postharvest on raw and processed products according to the country’s culinary tradition (baked in Italy; spread on bread in Spain). Sensory description by trained panels conducted on raw and processed products highlighted different sensory profiles between the two LSL tomato groups. In the ‘Piennolo’ group, a reduction in sensory diversity among the genotypes was observed in the baked products compared to the raw ones, while this trend was not observed for the ‘Penjar-Ramellet’ group. None of the varieties fully met the consumers’ preferences.

Non-trellised culture of tomato is gaining interest among farmers cultivating long shelf-life (LSL) landraces because of the reduction in production costs. This cropping system can benefit from the selection of determinate growth genotypes, mirroring the advancements achieved in processing tomatoes. With this aim, and profiting from the natural variation found within the Penjar landrace, we selected traditional determinate genotypes and breed novel lines carrying both the self-pruning (sp) and the compound inflorescence (s) mutations. Traditional genotypes and breeding lines were compared to commercial controls in a three multi-locality trial and under two irrigation regimes (normal watered, 100% ETc; and water deficit, 50% ETc). Water use efficiency, harvest index, yield and fruit quality traits were studied at harvest. During postharvest, the effects of genotype and management practices on shelf life were assessed under different storage conditions (controlled conditions/cold storage/farmer facilities). All genotypes used water more efficiently under water deficit irrigation than under normal irrigation. Harvest index was improved in the determinate genotypes and was neither affected by locality nor by irrigation factors. Breeding lines showed yields similar to the controls and the traditional ones; however, they displayed a plant architecture that facilitated their management. They also presented higher postharvest shelf life than controls and traditional lines. Shelf life was significantly affected by genotype (G), locality (L, at early stages), and irrigation regime (I, at later stages), with the contribution of the genotype to the phenotypic variance increasing along the postharvest. Low watering increased shelf life in some genotypes while cold storage and high humidity conditions impeded the long shelf-life trait. Overall, sunscald incidence and percentage of unripe fruits when using a single harvest strategy are the major limitations for non-trellised culture of Penjar tomato. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the main aspects of management and on breeding targets to promote a non-trellised culture of Penjar tomato in combination with optimal water use efficiency.

The diversity preserved within the European long shelf life tomato landraces (LSL) is a unique source to design high quality tomato products better adapted to changing environmental conditions and, thereby, to reduce food losses. The adaptation of LSL to water deficit (WD) management practices and their postharvest keeping ability can be used as tools to concomitantly enhance fruit quality and sustainable production. In this study, we investigated the effect of WD conditions and the plant growing environment (open field vs. tunnel) on quality traits of two genotypes of the Penjar LSL variety (modern hybrid (MV) and landrace (LR)). Changes in ripening-related quality traits (fruit ethylene production, respiration rate, firmness, color, soluble solids content, titratable acidity and the content of antioxidants, as well as specific sugars and acids) in response to the different preharvest factors were evaluated at the time of harvest and after a short period of storage (30 days), following actual commercial practices. Significant differences among genotypes were encountered for most quality traits at the time of harvest and higher intra- and inter-environment heterogeneity was observed in the LR than in the MV genotype. In general, Penjar tomatoes exhibit a low physiological activity (ethylene production, 0.56–1.33 µL kg−1 h−1, respiration rate: 0.015–0.026 mg CO2 kg−1 h−1) at harvest. In both genotypes, WD increased to a different extent the fruit external color (redness, lightness) as well as the sensory (SSC) and nutritional (antioxidant capacity) fruit profiles. By contrast, the growing environment had little impact on most fruit quality traits. Postharvest storage only led to a slight reduction in the fruit respiration and ethylene production, lower sugars and acids content, enhanced color and no firmness changes. Overall, the results from this study demonstrate that selecting the appropriate genotypes is the most important step towards the design of high-quality LSL tomatoes, while WD and short-term storage can be used by farmers as a strategy to differentiate the product quality in specific market niches.

Consumer dissatisfaction with the flavor quality of many modern fresh market tomato varieties has fostered breeders’ interest in sensory quality improvement, and the demand for traditional varieties, which are generally associated with better flavor. To achieve further knowledge on the factors influencing the sensory quality and consumers’ preferences and perception, European traditional and modern fresh market tomato varieties were grown and evaluated in France, Italy, and Spain. Different growing conditions were tested in France (soilless vs. soil) and in Spain (open field vs. greenhouse), while in Italy fruits were evaluated at two ripening stages. Fruit quality was assessed by integrating physicochemical analyses, sensory profiles, and consumer tests. In all three countries, overall modern varieties were perceived as having more intense “tomato flavor” and “overall flavor” than traditional ones. In France and Spain, consumers’ preferences were more oriented towards modern varieties than traditional ones. Significant growing condition effects were found on sensory and physicochemical traits, while the effect on consumers’ overall liking was not significant, largely depending on the genotype. A fair agreement between product configurations from descriptive analysis by trained assessors and Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) questions by consumers was observed. Penalty-lift analysis based on CATA allowed identifying positive and negative drivers of liking.

The individual effects of biotic and abiotic factors on tomatoes have been widely reported. However, under commercial conditions, multiple interactions between factors occur, masking or even changing the direction of their effects in some cases. Here we report a comprehensive analysis of preharvest factors affecting yield, quality (soluble solids content, fruit color, and firmness), and shelf-life of long-shelf-life Mediterranean varieties of tomatoes. We studied five long-shelf-life genotypes under 16 growing environments, including tunnel and open-air systems and suboptimal to excessive fertigation (22–142% crop evapotranspiration). The results enabled us to classify traits into three groups according to the importance of the contributions of different types of factors: mainly genotype (ripening earliness and firmness), genotype plus environment (yield, fruit weight, water-use efficiency (WUE)), or genotype plus environment plus the interaction between genotype and environment (cracking, soluble solids content, and shelf-life). Under similar management practices, open-air conditions optimized yields, and high fertigation doses improved yield and marketability (firmness), but reduced quality (redness and soluble solids content). WUE was maximized under low-input cropping systems (comparable to traditional agrosystems), and the balance between WUE and yield was optimized when fertigation was adjusted to the requirements of the crop. Shelf-life was negatively correlated with high-yielding environments, and day–night amplitude in relative humidity was strongly correlated with the incidence of fruit cracking. The present study sheds light on the contributions of environment and management practices on tomato yield and quality, and provides a basis on which to select better management practices for the novel commercial group of European long-shelf-life tomato landraces.

This paper provides an overview of the last 40 years of use, and in many cases abuse, of the natural resources in Catalonia, a country that is representative of European countries in general, and especially those in the Mediterranean region. It analyses the use of natural resources made by mining, agriculture, livestock, logging, fishing, nature tourism, and energy production and consumption. This use results in an ecological footprint, i.e., the productive land and sea surface required to generate the consumed resources and absorb the resulting waste, which is about seven times the amount available, a very high number but very similar to other European countries. This overexploitation of natural resources has a huge impact on land and its different forms of cover, air, and water. For the last 25 years, forests and urban areas have each gained almost 3% more of the territory at the expense of agricultural land; those municipalities bordering the sea have increased their number of inhabitants and activity, and although they only occupy 6.7% of the total surface area, they account for 43.3% of the population; air quality has stabilized since the turn of the century, and there has been some improvement in the state of aquatic ecosystems, but still only 36% are in good condition, while the remainder have suffered morphological changes and different forms of nonpoint source pollution; meanwhile the biodiversity of flora and fauna remains still under threat. Environmental policies do not go far enough so there is a need for revision of the legislation related to environmental impact and the protection of natural areas, flora, and fauna. The promotion of environmental research must be accompanied by environmental education to foster a society which is more knowledgeable, has more control and influence over the decisions that deeply affect it. Indeed, nature conservation goes hand in hand with other social and economic challenges that require a more sustainable vision. Today’s problems with nature derive from the current economic model, which is environmentally unsustainable in that it does not take into account environmental impacts. Lastly, we propose a series of reasonable and feasible priority measures and actions related to each use made of the country’s natural resources, to the impacts they have had, and to their management, in the hope that these can contribute to improving the conservation and management of the environment and biodiversity and move towards sustainability.

Using trained panelists to evaluate sensory attributes is unfeasible when many samples must be evaluated, such as in quality control or breeding programs. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid inexpensive method often used in food quality evaluation. We assessed the feasibility of using NIRS to estimate sweetness, fiber perception, and off-flavors, the most important sensory attributes in cooked ‘calçots’ (the immature floral stems of second-year onion resprouts). The best results were achieved through models using interval partial least squares (iPLS) variable selection on spectra from pureed cooked ‘calçots’, which yielded values of the ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) greater than 1.4 in all cases. Therefore, it would be feasible to use NIRS to estimate sensory properties in ‘calçots’. This approach would be useful in initial screening to discard samples that differ substantially from the ideotype; thus, sensory analysis by trained panels could be reserved for finer discriminations.

Genebanks were created by the middle of the twentieth century to preserve cultivated biodiversity when landraces began to be substituted by modern varieties. This move was generally accepted as a necessary step to safeguard the future. After about 75 years of collecting and maintaining genetic resources, the increasing ability of biotechnology to create new variability brings the roles of genebanks in the present and near future into question. As a continuation of several workshops that started in 2014, staff of some representative genebanks have met to discuss how the Spanish Plant Genetic Resources Network can be improved, identifying the following major shortcomings: lack of efficient coordination in the distribution of species among genebanks; too many genebanks; existence of detected and undetected duplicates; insufficient rate of regeneration; insufficient phenotyping, genotyping, and epiphenotyping; unsatisfactory rate of use by end users; and, insufficient funding. As a considerable increase in public funding is unlikely, we propose some strategies to increase the efficiency of the system. The most urgent tasks are to strengthen the rationalization of the network by establishing a clear hierarchy and functions, to improve the information in the base collection by deep characterization including not only phenotypes but also uses and utilities, to progressively replace the active collections with focused core collections constructed to meet users' needs, to optimize regeneration protocols, to limit new collecting expeditions of Spanish crop wild relatives to those growing in threatened habitats, and to develop user-friendly platforms to access germplasm documentation, including a unified system of descriptors and classification categories. Current advances in biotechnology, and especially those in gene editing will have without doubt an impact on the role of genebanks. However, the high number of genes and gene combinations created by evolution they hold cannot be produced by these techniques at present. So, these reservoirs of variability will continue to be indispensable for the near-medium future while the function of all the genes is unveiled. In turn, biotechnologies and gene editing will allow us to take advantage of the information held in genebanks in a more efficient and fast way, contributing to a better rationalization and functioning.

The Iberian Peninsula is considered as a secondary center of diversity for the common bean, and the Spanish National Plant Genetic Resources Centre’s germplasm bank holds more than 3,000 Spanish accessions of Phaseolus vulgaris L. from which a core collection of 202 landraces has been selected. In order to encourage the use of this abundant resource, this study aimed to characterize genetic diversity, by measuring chemical composition in these core collections (in both the seed coat and cotyledon) using previously developed near infrared spectroscopy models. Crucially, these landraces in question all originated under similar agroclimatic conditions, allowing these field trials to be conducted in a single location without significantly altering the agronomic behavior of individual accessions. Using previously reported data, we also explored the correlations between chemical composition and culinary/sensory traits, as well as possible associations between chemical composition and seed coat color or gene pool (Middle American or Andean). The general Mahalanobis distance was >3 in only 11 of 1,950 estimations, confirming the robustness of the regression models previously developed. Variability was greater in seed coat than in cotyledon compounds and ranges for all compounds were wide: ash 34–94 g/kg, Ca 5–31 g/kg, dietary fiber 554–911 g/kg, Mg 2–4.4 g/kg, uronic acid 95–155 g/kg, protein 192–304 g/kg, starch 339–446 g/kg, amylose 208–291 g/kg, amylopectin 333–482 g/kg, and apparent amylose 241–332 g/kg. Accessions with white seed coats tended to be richer in ash, dietary fiber, uronic acid, and Ca, and accessions of the Middle American gene pool had on average 65% more Ca than the Andean gene pool. Strong genetic correlations were not identified between chemical and culinary/sensory traits. This is particularly positive with regards to plant breeding, as it means that synchronic improvement of nutritional composition and sensory traits is possible. The genetic diversity of chemical composition described in the Spanish core collection of beans therefore represents a promising opportunity to develop cultivars with superior nutritional profiles.

Landraces are considered valuable for their close ties to local cultures, adaptation to low inputs, and quality. ‘Calçots’ are the immature floral stems of second-year sprouts of onions from the ‘Blanca Tardana de Lleida’ landrace. ‘Calçots’ grown in their traditional area of cultivation have been awarded Protected Geographic Indication (PGI) ‘Calçot de Valls’ from the European Union. Despite annual sales of about €15 million, ‘calçot’ germplasm and cultivation methods are under-researched. This study aimed to estimate the influence of genetic and environmental factors in the chemical and sensory characteristics of ‘calçots’ to enable strategies to improve their commercial value to be devised. To this end, we tested the landrace and three new, more productive varieties derived from the landrace in experiments conducted over two seasons in six locations (within and outside the PGI zone), using two planting dates and two harvesting times. The results point to a major environmental influence in the quality of ‘calçots.’ The analysis of variance found all factors related with environmental influence were significant in most chemical traits considered (dry matter content, soluble solids content, pH, titratable acidity, and ash content), while the variety factor was significant only for titratable acidity. In sensory analyses, the variety factor and all the environmental factors had significant effects in all sensory traits recorded (sweetness, fiber perception, and off-flavors). In both chemical and sensory traits, most significant interactions involved the environmental factors. The negative correlation found between sweetness and fiber perception and off-flavors suggests that additional selection can bring ‘calçots’ closer to the sensory ideotype. Although clearly more productive, the new ‘calçot’ varieties maintain the chemical composition and sensory value of the landrace. Thus, fine-tuning the cultivation and/or breeding of the landrace for both yield and quality seem viable approaches to obtaining better commercial products.

The interest of farmers in growing lettuce landraces is increasing, as landrace varieties prove particularly appealing to consumers striving to purchase natural, local, and high-quality produce. Although high genetic diversity exists in the landrace gene pool, this has scarcely been studied, thus hindering landrace utilization in agriculture. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and the agronomic and quality traits of lettuce landraces in organic agrosystems, by characterizing 16 landraces and 16 modern varieties. We compared 29 morphological descriptors, and several traits relating to agronomic behavior (total and commercial weight, resistance to Bremia lactucae) and quality (color, chlorophyll, dry matter, and total sugars). Trials were conducted in two localities and managed following organic farming practices. Moreover, farmers and consumers participated in the phenotyping of accessions by scoring yield, resistance to B. lactucae, appearance, and taste acceptance. Results show that cultivar group, rather than the genetic origin (modern vs. landrace), is the major source of variation for all agronomic and quality traits. Batavia and Butterhead were highly homogeneous cultivar groups, while Cos accessions showed a much higher intra-varietal diversity. There was also a clear separation between modern and landrace varieties of Oak leaf. Fifteen out of the 16 evaluated landraces presented a high susceptibility to the particular B. lactucae race isolated from the experimental field - a new race not reported before. Breeding programs intended to introgress genetic resistance to this pathogen are a major priority to recover the cultivation of lettuce landraces. Principal component analysis (PCA), conducted on all quantitative data, showed a clear differentiation between modern varieties and landraces, mostly related to their commercial weight and susceptibility to B. lactucae. These seem the most important traits influencing farmer and consumer evaluations. Farmers showed a high capacity for characterizing the samples and agreed with consumers when scoring for the external appearance. It is proposed that farmers and consumers should be included in the phenotyping platforms in future research projects aiming for recovery of landraces.

The alcobaça mutation in the Penjar tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) variety alters the ripening process and confers a long shelf life (more than four months). Storage of Penjar tomatoes leads to a distinctive sensory profile valued by local consumers, who prefer aged tomatoes to fresh ones. To study chemical changes occurring during storage, we characterized the complete sugar-and-acid profile of 25 accessions at harvest and at 2 and 4 months after harvest. We found considerable variability in the sugar-and-acid profile within the Penjar variety, especially for fructose and glucose. Some accessions presented exceptionally high values for sugars, making them especially interesting for breeding programs. During postharvest, the concentration of glucose, fructose, and citric acid decreased, whereas the concentration of malic and glutamic acids increased. Data from this study offer novel insights into postharvest changes in tomato quality parameters and help elucidate the reasons for the appreciation of this variety by consumers.

Although consumers appreciate the genetic diversity among tomato landraces, traditional varieties have been displaced from commercial agriculture. Their cultivation through organic farming in natural parks can contribute to their resurgence. With this aim, we developed a participatory plant breeding (PPB) program in Collserola Natural Park (Barcelona, Spain) to promote the conservation of the Mando landrace and to obtain new varieties adapted to local organic farms. Taking advantage of the natural genetic variation from the variety’s high cross-pollination rate, farmers developed five experimental inbreeds that were tested in a multi-locality trial in 2018. As a result of the PPB program, cultivation of the original landrace increased from 80 plants in 2011 to more than 2000 plants in 2018, which protected the variety from genetic erosion. Locality was the factor that contributed mostly to agronomic traits (e.g., yield (66% of the phenotypic variance)), while the genotype contributed more to the quality traits (except for soluble solids (37%) and dry matter (38%)). Farmer evaluations were highly correlated with the phenotypic traits recorded by researchers (Pearson coefficient ranging from 0.63−0.83), and led to the same final varietal selection. The superior inbred selected (3.9) is now being cultivated in the area of study. This paper discusses the efficiency of PPB in guiding the evolution of landraces.

The tomato commercial groups cherry and fresh market, mainly classified by fruit size, have clearly segregated markets. We aimed to estimate the variation within and between these groups and to analyze factors that impact consumer acceptance. To this end, we studied the chemical profile (dry matter, sugars, acids) and fruit morphology (Tomato Analyzer) of 63 accessions grown in 2 environments (open air/soil culture; greenhouse/soilless culture). To identify traits underlying consumer preferences, we used a trained panel for quantitative descriptive sensory analyses and consumer surveys on a subset of genotypes. Our results confirm the higher content of reducing sugars (fructose, glucose), soluble solids, dry matter, and glutamic acid in the cherry group and the important effects of environment and genotype-by-environment interactions on fruit quality traits. The diversity within cherry for chemical composition is 1.4-fold to 2.1-fold that of fresh market. Differences in fruit morphological traits (weight, shoulder height, height/width relation) were highly related to fruit size, but no differences between groups were found for the internal structure of the fruit (locular relative content). Consumers value sweetness, glutamic acid, titratable acidity, and juiciness in cherry, and sweetness and taste intensity in the fresh market group. The implications for plant breeding are discussed.

We have studied the structure and stability of the cyclic dodecamer d, containing two copies of the human telomeric repeat. In the presence of sodium, NMR data are consistent with a dimeric structure of the molecule in which two cycles self-associate forming a quadruplex with three guanine tetrads connected by edgewise loops. The two macrocycles are arranged in a parallel way, and the dimeric structure exhibits a high melting temperature. These results indicate that cyclization of the phosphodiester chain does not prevent quadruplex formation, although it affects the global topology of the quadruplex.