aniversário – InnovPlantProtect

NEWS

InPP joins BioLivingLABS project - Bioeconomy at the service of the sustainability of inland territories

September 22, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News, Project
Ines Ferreira

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) recently received approval for an application submitted to COMPETE2030-2024-6 - Collective Actions - Transfer of scientific and technological knowledge - BioLivingLABS - Bioeconomy at the service of the sustainability of inland territories, led by MORE CoLAB - Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, Associação, in partnership with the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB) and AQUAVALOR.

BioLivingLABS aims to promote the economic valorization of research and development (R&D) results obtained by various institutions in the North, Center and Alentejo. To this end, it will create an experimental demonstration network, the so-called Living Labs, The project will be held in the innovation hubs of Mirandela, Douro, Covilhã and Elvas. In addition, demonstration actions, workshops, an inland innovation catalog and training on intellectual property protection will be developed with the aim of encouraging the incorporation of innovative solutions in the business sectors of these regions.

Scheduled to begin in October and lasting 24 months, the project has a total eligible investment of over 740,000 euros, financed by COMPETE2030 - Thematic Program for Innovation and Digital Transition. For InPP, this project is a strategic opportunity to strengthen its mission as a center for technology development and transfer, boosting the practical application of scientific knowledge to promote sustainable development.

This initiative confirms InPP's commitment to open and sustainable innovation, integrating science, technology and regional development to respond to the challenges and potential of the interior of the country.

InPP took part in an Open Day dedicated to the cereals of Baixo Mondego

September 19, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News
Ines Ferreira

On September 18, the executive director of InnovPlantProtect (InPP), António Saraiva, the director of the New Biopesticides Department, Cristina Azevedo, and researcher Luís Grilo attended the Open Day “The Cereals of Baixo Mondego”, promoted by the Centro Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Centro), at the Bico da Barca Experimental Unit in Montemor-o-Velho.

The event highlighted the latest innovations from the Coimbra Innovation Hub, from new technologies applied to maize and rice, to fertilization strategies, protection and the use of biostimulants on these key crops in the Baixo Mondego region.

Our team also monitored trials with biofungicides, including the product I21, developed with our collaborative laboratory to combat pyriculariosis in two rice varieties, which is being patented.

In an interview with Voice of the Countryside, Cristina Azevedo shared the work we have been doing in the area of biosolutions.

(Re)watch the interview here.

Image credits: InnovPlantProtect and Voz do Campo magazine

Maize in Portugal: phytosanitary challenges and new emerging threats

August 19, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News
Ines Ferreira

Maize continues to be the Portugal's most important arable crop, The sector has a significant impact on food safety and the national agri-food industry. Involving thousands of producers and generating tens of millions of euros a year, the sector is currently facing increasingly complex phytosanitary challenges.

Among already known pests and emerging diseases, there are risks ranging from cartridge caterpillar until Maize Rugose Dwarfism Virus (MRDV), The presence of this virus is increasing in Portugal. This virus, transmitted by the corn leafhopper, can seriously compromise production and is found in the climate change increasingly favorable conditions for its spread.

However, it's not just MRDV that's worrying. There are new threats that require vigilance, such as the coleopter Diabrotica virgifera or the MDMV virus (Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus), already detected in neighboring countries, and also toxic weeds, such as the winter fig (Datura stramonium), which in addition to impacting productivity pose public health risks.

Faced with this reality, the answer is integrated and sustainable strategies, matching:

crop rotation and good agricultural practices;
careful use of insecticides to avoid resistance and environmental impacts;
resistant or tolerant varieties, where available;
research and technological innovation, including new digital tools for early detection.

As the InnovPlantProtect researcher points out, Nuno Faria, in the article entitled “The main emerging pests and diseases of the maize crop in Portugal”, available in the August edition of Voz do Campo magazine: “The phytosanitary panorama of maize in Portugal requires continuous vigilance, investment in research and the application of integrated and sustainable strategies capable of responding to an increasingly dynamic and unpredictable reality.”

To find out more about the main current risks and mitigation measures, read the full article published in the August issue of Voz do Campo magazine (pages 88-89), available on newsstands and online.

EVENTS

InPP participates in webinar on Innovation in pest and disease forecasting models promoted by COTHN

July 15, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

How are innovations being made in the monitoring, diagnosis and management of plant pests and diseases? What decision support platforms are being used at national level? And which smart traps are being applied in the field?

These are some of the questions that will be answered in the webinar “Innovation in pest and disease forecasting models”, promoted by the Centro Operativo e Tecnológico Hortofrutícola Nacional (COTHN), which will take place on July 19, starting at 2pm, and where these and many other topics will be discussed!

The director of InPP's Monitoring and Diagnostics Department, iLaria Marengo, will be one of the speakers at the webinar that will present the Xylella Monitoring platform, which is being developed by our team as part of the SNM_XylellaVt project - National System for Monitoring Insect Vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

Participation in the session is free, but prior registration is required here.

See the full program in the image below

The webinar will be held as part of the CALL4EARTH project, promoted by COTHN and funded by the PDR2020.

Webinar on the agronomic use of organic insect fertilizer takes place on July 24th

July 11, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

The Insectera Mobilizing Agenda continues at a good pace and the InFrass axis, led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP), is no exception!

The webinar New BioIndustry: “Agronomic valorization of organic insect fertilizer” will take place on July 24 at 11 a.m., bringing together the InPP, academia, insect-producing companies and government authorities to discuss the development and use of organic fertilizers generated from insects that will generate new product lines and innovative processes.

Sandra Correia, director of the Department for the Protection of Specific Crops at the InPP, will be one of the speakers at the webinar presenting the InFrass axis, led by the InPP.

Participation in the session is free, but prior registration is required.

Find out how we're helping to improve the health of plants and soil!

See the full program and register here.

InPP, APOSOLO and Reynolds Wine Growers featured in series on the past, present and future of agriculture, promoted by the Futuragri project

July 8, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) and our partners Associação Portuguesa de Mobilização de Conservação do Solo (APOSOLO) and Reynolds Wine Growers are featured in two episodes produced as part of the series “Agriculture: Past, Present and Future”, promoted by the Futuragri project, led by INOVA+.

The first episode of the series “Agriculture: Past, Present and Future”, with the participation of Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of InPP, and Gabriela Cruz, president of the APOSOLO Board, shows the biological and digital solutions that have been developed by the collaborative laboratory and the new technologies that have been used to protect crops from pests and diseases.

The second episode, featuring Nuno Faria, a researcher in the InPP's pest and disease monitoring and diagnostics department, and Nélson Martins, head of viticulture and oenology at Reynolds Wine Growers, shows what the InPP's team of researchers has been doing to combat the green leafhopper, or cicadela, one of the main pests affecting vineyards in the Alentejo.

Watch the full first episode and second episode on the project's YouTube here.

Futuragri is a project funded by the European Union (EU) and led by INOVA+, which aims to inform and enlighten the national population about the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and play a fundamental role in the agricultural panorama in the EU and particularly in Portugal.

News & Events