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

InnovPlantProtect em destaque na revista Mais Alentejo

August 11, 2023
Blog
Ines Ferreira

“A Indústria desta área [da proteção das culturas] precisa de se reinventar, de alguma maneira, de desenvolver um novo conjunto de produtos que estejam mais adequados com as estratégias europeias e internacionais, em que têm de ser mais sustenteáveis, mais amigos do ambiente, de serem mais específicos para a praga ou doença em que estão a atuar, menos tóxicos e menos agressivos”, alerta Pedro Fevereiro, diretor executivo do InnovPlantProtect (InPP).

Na revista Mais Alentejo, uma reportagem exclusiva intitulada “Para os braços da investigação”, realizada pelo jornalista Gonçalo Guedes, ao diretor executivo do InPP, dá a conhecer o laboratório colaborativo (CoLAB), os pedidos provisórios de patentes submetidos pelo CoLAB contra as doenças da piriculariose do arroz e do fogo bacteriano em pereiras e macieiras, bem como o modelo de financiamento disponível que tem permitido desenvolver as novas soluções fitofarmacêuticas, sem esquecer a equipa de 45 “mentes brilhantes”, das mais diversas zonas do mundo, que torna tudo isto possível.

Leia a reportagem na íntegra na edição de agosto da Revista Mais Alentejo, disponível a partir de hoje nas bancas espalhadas por todo o país.

Capa da edição de agosto da Revista Mais Alentejo, disponível a partir de hoje nas bancas espalhadas por todo o país (à esquerda). Primeira página da reportagem “Para os braços da investigação” presente nesta edição da Revista Mais Alentejo (à direita).

InPP wins new project to encourage innovation, greater efficiency and valorization of cereal production in Portugal

August 7, 2023
Blog
Ines Ferreira

The +Valorcer project - Enhancing the organization of cereal production in Portugal, which began in April 2023, is led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP) and funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan program (PRR), and aims to boost cereal Producer Organizations by bringing new perspectives, advanced technologies and modern methods of process optimization and management.

The +Valorcer project has as its partners the National Association of Maize and Sorghum Producers (ANPROMIS), the National Association of Cereal Producers (ANPOC), NOVA University Lisbon e CONSULAI, The project involves more than 17 producer organizations in the cereals sector, including rice, which account for around 90% of the country's marketed production. The project also involves more than 12,500 farmers throughout the country.

In Portugal, there are numerous organizations with quality systems in place, but there is still a lot to be done in the area of digitizing processes, in the commercial aspect and in valuing the end product with the industry and the end consumer.

Thus, the main objective of the +Valorcer project is to encourage innovation, increase management efficiency and enhance the value of national cereal production, through an advanced training program in the areas of human resources and the creation of a system of blockchain.

To this end, in July 2023, the first phase of the project ended, consisting of a technical visit by the project's promoters to all the Producer Organizations involved in the project, to diagnose the needs and interests of each one of them, both from the point of view of implementing their management processes, as well as their training needs, using a methodology of design thinking.

At the end of this project we will certainly have a much more competitive cereal sector, capable of meeting the growing challenges it faces, both from an environmental and economic point of view, thus reflecting the strong dynamics and mobilizing capacity that characterize it.

Stay tuned for news!

Alunos da Portalegre Green Academy visitaram o InPP

July 14, 2023
Blog
Ines Ferreira

No passado dia 11 de julho, terça-feira, o InnovPlantProtect (InPP) recebeu 50 alunos de todo o país, na faixa etária dos 16 aos 18 anos, no âmbito da iniciativa Portalegre Green Academy.

A iniciativa organizada pelo Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre e pelo Fórum Estudante, tem como objetivo principal envolver os alunos do ensino secundário nas questões ambientais através da transmissão de conhecimentos sobre sustentabilidade e emergência climática.

No InPP, os alunos ficaram a conhecer o laboratório colaborativo por dentro, assistiram a breves apresentações realizadas pelos investigadores do InPP e visitaram os laboratórios. Os visitantes tiveram ainda a oportunidade de estar à conversa com os investigadores, que responderam a todas as perguntas e curiosidades, e poderam descobriram a ciência, tecnologia e inovação que têm sido desenvolvidas por terras elvenses.

Já no auditório do INIAV, os alunos puderam participar num quiz que pretendeu dar a conhecer o que são pragas e doenças, quais as estratégias que podemos utilizar para geri-las e os vários impactos das pragas e doenças para a agricultura e para a sociedade.

Na terceira edição deste evento, que decorreu de 10 a 14 de julho, os alunos passaram cinco dias ligados à natureza a adquirir conhecimentos através de atividades práticas e a adotar comportamentos que podem fazer a diferença no futuro.