New Hope for Almonds in the Fight Against Drought: Support to COST Project  

The project, in which Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fırat Kurt, a faculty member at the Department of Plant Production and Technologies of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of our university, also took part, was entitled to receive support within the scope of the European Union's COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) program.

The project titled “Effect of ACC Deaminase-Producing Rhizobacteria on Almond Tree Performance under Drought Stress: Elucidation of Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Mechanisms” aims to develop new strategies for almond cultivation resistant to drought conditions.

Within the scope of the project, cooperation will be made with researchers from Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Çukurova University and Konya Selçuk University. In the research, it is planned to use plant growth promoting beneficial rhizobacteria (PGPR) to reduce the effects of drought stress. With this method, it is aimed to prevent drought-induced yield and quality losses.  

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fırat Kurt from our university will contribute to the studies on the processing of transcriptomic data and determination of effective genes of rhizobacteria on almond under drought conditions. The project, which will last for three years, has a budget of 2.4 million TL.  

This project aims to provide an important solution against the negative effects of increasing drought on agricultural production and food security due to global climate change. The data to be obtained will contribute to the development of long-term strategies to combat drought in almond cultivation. The researchers emphasise that the results of the project will guide both farmers and the academic community.