The executive director of InnovPlantProtect (InPP), António Saraiva, took part in the conference “What are the challenges facing the national agroforestry sector over the next decade?”, which took place at the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC) of the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra last Tuesday, April 22.
The event, which brought together more than 150 participants and was organized by 17 national Competence Centres, discussed topics such as innovation, sustainability, soil conservation, monitoring cork oak forests and efficient agricultural management.
António Saraiva was part of the panel of commentators, whose speaker was Pedro Santos, Director General of CONSULAI, and moderated by Maria Custódia Correia, Coordinator of the AKIS Portugal Network. The opening session was attended by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, who announced the publication of the Ordinance of April 21 to open the Grant for Initiatives for the creation of Operational Groups (OG).
This initiative provides a total of 11 million euros for new GOs, with a maximum of 350,000 euros per project and eligible funding of 100%.
The GOs are considered crucial structures for transferring knowledge and strengthening the AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System).
Special thanks to the 17 Competence Centers for the opportunity to participate in this productive meeting!
Beyond strategy: The secret ingredient of innovation
On the path to success, organizations define strategies, plan each step, and invest in crucial resources such as the sale of services and products, project applications, the development of solid business plans, and the protection of intellectual property. However, there is an often-neglected element that is fundamental to the flourishing of innovation: serendipity. But what exactly is this mysterious force, and why is it so vital to advancing agriculture and so many other areas?
When chance opens doors: The power of unplanned discovery
Serendipity lies in the art of finding something valuable when looking for something else. It's the unintentional discoveries that arise from unexpected situations. Throughout history, some of the most transformative innovations have not been the result of a rigorous plan, but rather of a fortuitous encounter with the unknown. Although deliberate research and methodical experimentation are pillars of scientific and technological progress, openness to the unexpected proves to be a powerful catalyst. When researchers cultivate this openness, they often come across revelations that have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform technologies, and expand our understanding of the world around us.
A close look at the “error”: The genesis of an innovative biofungicide
Today, we unveil the surprising and inspiring story of Maria Miguel, a talented researcher from the InPP's New Biopesticides Department, whose insight transformed a fortuitous event into a discovery of inestimable value: a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of combating Botrytis cinerea, the relentless fungus responsible for the devastating gray mold disease in tomato plants. This pathology represents one of the greatest phytosanitary challenges in tomato cultivation, especially when grown in greenhouses, causing significant losses to producers if not controlled in a timely manner.
From discard to discovery: An investigator's insight
The journey of this discovery began in a scenario familiar to any researcher: the observation of Petri dishes, used to grow cell or microorganism cultures. In Maria Miguel's Petri dishes, colonies of the fungus Botrytis cinerea were growing, intentionally introduced there for study. However, something else caught her attention: one of the plates was contaminated by mold, and curiously, a clear zone surrounded this intruder. Instead of discarding the plate and ignoring it as mere contamination, Maria Miguel decided to investigate the reason behind that clear area. Her curiosity revealed that the mold had a surprising ability to inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea in its vicinity.
“Sometimes we look at something and think it's a mistake. The truth is that within a failure, there can be something good,” shares the researcher. The emotion and enthusiasm of a researcher when realizing that what at first seemed like an obstacle, a negative result, can actually be an opportunity, is contagious. For Maria Miguel, this “error” transformed into a serendipitous discovery with enormous potential.
Maria Miguel, a researcher at the InPP's Department of New Biopesticides, transformed an unexpected event into a groundbreaking discovery: a broad-spectrum biofungicide to combat gray mold in tomato plants.
Beyond chance: The active ingredients of scientific discovery
As the story of this biofungicide demonstrates, the world of science is full of examples of discoveries that arose from the unexpected. One of the most famous cases is the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928. While observing Petri dishes, Fleming noticed that a mold was producing a substance that eliminated Staphylococcus aureus bacteria around it. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named his revolutionary antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin ended up becoming an extremely important drug for fighting infections.
However, chance is not the only protagonist of these important revelations. “Sometimes we have to follow our intuition and be able to prove that we are right or wrong,” explains Maria Miguel. In addition to intuition, a generous dose of curiosity, an open mind to accept unexpected results, a solid scientific knowledge, and the ability to see and advance to further investigations on surprising results play a crucial role in the alchemy of discovery.
The ecosystem of discovery: Fostering an environment conducive to innovation
There are other ingredients that contribute to the recipe for scientific success:
Creativity: The ability to generate new perspectives, concepts, questions, or solutions, and the willingness to explore existing ideas under a new light.
Flexibility: The courage to venture into unknown territories without fear of failure, thus increasing the odds of serendipitous encounters.
But no discovery flourishes in isolation. At InPP, the strong team spirit and culture of collaboration transcend departmental boundaries. Maria Miguel's discovery is a testament to this synergy, as she herself acknowledges: “My colleagues opened doors so that I could do my research.”
To foster innovation, organizations need to cultivate an environment that stimulates open discussions and connects people from diverse areas of knowledge and life experiences, without judgment; that encourages curiosity and receptiveness to new experiences; and that promotes a relentless pursuit of improving scientific knowledge, the fertile ground where serendipity can germinate.
Sowing the future: The impact of a discovery and the path of research
Although Maria Miguel is about to embark on a new journey, driven by a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral fellowship - a program that supports the career of researchers and promotes excellence and innovation in research - her legacy at InPP is already flourishing. Her innovative discovery is opening new and promising doors for future research in the area of crop protection, demonstrating how, at times, it is in the unexpected that the potential to transform our world lies.
Beyond strategy: The secret ingredient of innovation
On the road to success, organizations define strategies, plan every step and invest in crucial resources such as selling services and products, applying for projects, drawing up solid business plans and protecting intellectual property. However, there is an element that is often overlooked, but which is fundamental to the flourishing of innovation: serendipity. But what exactly is this mysterious force and why is it so vital to the advancement of agriculture and so many other areas?
When chance opens doors: The power of unplanned discovery
Serendipity is the art of finding something valuable when you're looking for something else. It's the unintentional discoveries that arise from unexpected situations. Throughout history, some of the most transformative innovations have not been the result of a rigorous plan, but rather a chance encounter with the unknown. While deliberate research and methodical experimentation are pillars of scientific and technological progress, openness to the unexpected proves to be a powerful catalyst. When researchers cultivate this openness, they often stumble upon revelations that have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform technologies and expand our understanding of the world around us.
A close look at “error”: The genesis of an innovative biofungicide
Today, we unveil the surprising and inspiring story of Maria Miguel, a talented researcher from InPP's New Biopesticides Department, whose acumen turned a chance event into a priceless discovery: a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of combating the Botrytis cinerea, the relentless fungus responsible for the devastating gray rot disease in tomato plants. This pathology represents one of the biggest phytosanitary challenges in tomato cultivation, especially when grown in greenhouses, causing significant losses to producers if it is not controlled in good time.
From discard to discovery: The insight of a researcher
The journey of this discovery began in a setting familiar to any researcher: the observation of Petri dishes, used to grow cultures of cells or microorganisms. On Maria Miguel's plates, colonies of the fungus Botrytis cinerea were growing, intentionally introduced there for study. However, something else caught her eye: one of the plates was contaminated by mold, and curiously, a clear area surrounded this intruder. Instead of discarding the plate and dismissing it as mere contamination, Maria Miguel decided to investigate the reason behind the clear area. Her curiosity revealed that the mold had a surprising ability to prevent the growth of Botrytis cinerea in its vicinity.
“Sometimes we look at something and think it's a mistake. The truth is that in a failure there can be something good,” the researcher shares. The excitement and enthusiasm of a researcher realizing that what at first glance seemed like an obstacle, a negative result, could actually be an opportunity, is contagious. For Maria Miguel, this “mistake” turned into a serendipitous discovery with enormous potential.
Maria Miguel, a researcher at InPP's New Biopesticides Department, who turned an unexpected event into a discovery that changed the course of her work: a broad-spectrum biofungicide to combat gray rot in tomato plants.
Beyond chance: The active ingredients of scientific discovery
As the history of this biofungicide shows, the world of science is full of examples of discoveries that came out of the blue. One of the most famous cases is Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928. While observing Petri dishes, Fleming noticed that a mold was producing a substance that eliminated bacteria Staphylococcus aureus around him. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named his revolutionary antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin ended up becoming an extremely important medicine for fighting infections.
However, chance is not the only protagonist of these important revelations. “Sometimes we have to follow our intuition and be able to prove ourselves right or wrong,” explains Maria Miguel. In addition to intuition, a generous dose of curiosity, an open mind to accept unexpected results, solid scientific knowledge and the ability to see and move on to further research into surprising results play a crucial role in the alchemy of discovery.
The discovery ecosystem: Fostering an environment conducive to innovation
There are other ingredients that contribute to the recipe for scientific success:
Creativity: The ability to generate new perspectives, concepts, questions or solutions, and the willingness to explore existing ideas in a new light.
Flexibility: The courage to venture into unknown territory without the fear of failure, thus increasing the chances of serendipitous encounters.
But no discovery flourishes in isolation. At InPP, the strong team spirit and culture of collaboration transcend departmental boundaries. The case of Maria Miguel's discovery is testimony to this synergy, as she herself acknowledges: “My colleagues opened doors so that I could do my research”.
To foster innovation, organizations need to cultivate an environment that encourages open discussions and connects people from different areas of knowledge and life experiences, without judgment; that encourages curiosity and receptiveness to new experiences; and that promotes an incessant quest to improve scientific knowledge, the fertile ground where serendipity can germinate.
Sowing the future: The impact of a discovery and the path of research
Although Maria Miguel is about to embark on a new journey, boosted by a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD scholarship - a program that supports the careers of researchers and promotes excellence and innovation in research - her legacy at InPP is already flourishing. Her groundbreaking discovery is opening promising new doors for future research in the field of crop protection, demonstrating how sometimes it is in the unexpected that the potential to transform our world lies.
Is it possible to detect yellow rust diseases in wheat and gafa in olive groves early, before the symptoms are visible in the field?
Ricardo Ramiro, director of the Data Management and Risk Analysis department at InnovPlantProtect (InPP), tells us more in the new episode of the radio program 90 Segundos de Ciência (90 Seconds of Science), broadcast today, Tuesday, June 11, at 5 p.m. on Antena 1 radio.
In today's broadcast, Ricardo will present the AlViGen project that the InPP team is working on, which aims to identify variants of the fungi 𝘗𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴 and 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘮 and some important characteristics of these pathogens, such as virulence and resistance to fungicides or pesticides.
Listen to the new episode today at 5pm, with a repeat on Wednesday 12th at 11am on Antena1. The full episode is also available on RTP Play here.
Don't miss out!
The AlViGen project is led by InPP, in partnership with the University of Évora, and co-financed by the “la Caixa” foundation, in collaboration with Banco BPI and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the Promove Program.
The 90 Seconds of Science program, a spinoff of the Master's Degree in Science Communication, coordinated by ITQB NOVA and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - NOVA FCSH, shows the science being done in Portugal in just 90 seconds.
The project “AI4Leafhopper: Automatic Infestation Alert for Leafhopper using Drone Imagery”, led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP), is one of the six winners of the 1st edition of the PULL applications of the Horizon Europe ICAERUS program, in the “Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Challenges” category, focused on end users who can use drones and their services to address commercial and/or rural community challenges. The project will use advanced technologies such as drones to control infestations caused by the green leafhopper in the vineyards of the Alentejo, providing the spatial and temporal indications of the start of the infestation.
The green leafhopper (or cicada) is an emerging pest of great concern, affecting the yield and quality of wine production. However, the solutions for controlling this pest are very limited and inconsistently effective between different years, especially in organic production. In the current context of climate change in the Alentejo region, the green leafhopper represents one of the biggest challenges facing wine producers in terms of pests, with a moderate to high impact on production.
Green leafhopper, scientific name Jacobiasca lybica, one of the main pests of vineyards in the Alentejo, an insect species targeted by the AI4Leafhopper project. (Photo by Christophe Quintin | Flickr)
“AI4Leafhopper aims to develop an innovative system that uses data collected at air and ground level, combining images captured by drones with leafhopper population data collected by conventional traps,” explains iLaria Marengo, the InPP researcher responsible for the project. “The system will be designed to inform the grower about when, where and with what intensity the leafhopper is attacking their vines, predicting the risk of the critical level of symptoms up to two weeks in advance and detecting symptomatic plants in advance,” adds Manisha Sirsat, an InPP researcher also involved in AI4Leafhopper.
Drone flight in the vineyard at the Reynolds Wine Growers estate in Arronches (Photo by InnovPlantProtect)
The digital solutions proposed by AI4Leafhopper will allow wine producers to minimize the costs and environmental impact of pesticide application, reducing phytochemical applications and CO2 emissions thanks to the precise (spatial and temporal) application of these products, as well as reducing the costs of improving wine quality post-harvest. In addition, these solutions will also allow winegrowers to make better use of their working hours and resources, by reducing the time dedicated to monitoring pests and allowing faster decisions on pest control.
In addition to InPP, the AI4Leafhopper project includes the companies Reynolds Wine Growers and João Portugal Ramos, with whom the collaborative laboratory has been working since 2021 and 2023.
To find out more about AI4Leafhopper, visit the project website here.
The AI4Leafhopper project was one of six sub-projects awarded by the ICAERUS Horizon Europe program, as part of the first application focused on end users who can use drones and their services to address commercial and/or rural community challenges. The first edition of the PULL program awarded nearly 50,000 euros to a total of 6 innovative pilot projects.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) is once again taking part in the 60th National Agriculture Fair (2024 edition - FNA 24), under the central theme “Extensive livestock farming”, the form of farming that occupies the largest area of Portuguese territory and the majority of farmers, which will be held from June 8 to 16 at the National Exhibition and Agricultural Markets Center (CNEMA) in Santarém.
InPP will be at its stand in Nave B to show visitors the innovative bio-based and digital solutions it has been developing for crop protection.
The collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) will be welcoming visitors to stand no. 6, located in Nave B, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., to showcase its activities, the various projects underway, the patents already submitted, the apps for agricultural management and the bio-based and digital products and services it has to offer the agricultural sector and the market. Throughout the nine days of the fair, some of InPP's researchers will be at the stand to show visitors the various features of the Elvas CoLAB, which has developed innovation that it hopes will contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems.
“InnovPlantProtect's presence at the National Agriculture Fair is intended to be a space for communication and sharing with farmers and their families, as well as with companies and institutions in the sector, to publicize our activity and our products and to explain the importance of developing a set of bio-inspired and digital technologies in Portugal that are more efficient for crop protection, more environmentally friendly and safer for people,” says Pedro Fevereiro, InPP's executive director.
Biopesticides for the control of fire blight and pyriculariosis and for the control of various fungi and oomycetes and the biostimulant developed by CoLAB for the growth and productivity of horticultural plants, as well as the services available to agricultural producers will be highlighted. Some examples will be microbiome analysis, the development of strategies for obtaining plants that are more resistant to pests and diseases and risk models, molecular identification and diagnosis services, in vitro plant establishment and maintenance services, plant variety genotyping services, the application of artificial intelligence and drones to control infestations caused by the green leafhopper in Alentejo vineyards, as well as the Xyllela fastidiosa bacterium, or GIS-based decision support systems, among many others.
The National Agriculture Fair is one of the largest agricultural fairs in the country, held every year, and where all the players in the agricultural sector are represented. This event aims to be a space for debate, not only on the central theme of this edition of the fair, but also on the main agricultural issues of the moment. Providing interaction and contact between the players and boosting business is another of the aims of this event.
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