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 attended the 1st General Assembly of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact

June 1, 2023
Blog
Ines Ferreira

The 1st General Assembly of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact consortium, led by Inovamar and funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), took place in the auditorium of the Oceanário de Lisboa on May 29, 2023, with the presence of 80 of the consortium's 83 participating institutions. The event was marked by the presence of the Minister for the Economy and the Sea, António Costa Silva, who reiterated the commitment to the path of sustainability through the sea and, in particular, the blue bioeconomy, as well as the Secretary of State for the Sea, José Maria Costa.

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) is taking part in the Vertical Algae - Algae Production and Processing project, led by Necton, and integrated into the mobilizing agenda of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact, coordinating the activity linked to agriculture, in partnership with the GreenCoLab, The company was represented at the General Meeting by InPP's executive director, Pedro Fevereiro, who also represented Fertiprado due to its inability to attend.

The Vertical Algae consortium, which involves a total of 38 entities, including companies, universities, collaborative laboratories (CoLABs) and R&D centers, will have funding of 44 million euros, and aims to provide the national algae sector with the necessary capacity and competitive advantages, based on new sustainable products, processes and services, to compete in global markets and raise the national brand in the European blue bioeconomy.

Vertical Algae is co-financed by the NextGenerationEU program, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), and is the largest initiative of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact agenda.

InPP marca presença na Feira Nacional da Agricultura

May 30, 2023
Blog
Ines Ferreira

O InnovPlantProtect (InPP) volta a participar na 59ª Feira Nacional de Agricultura (edição de 2023 – FNA 23), subordinada ao tema central “Superalimentos que estão a mudar o mundo – o Ovo” e toda a importância que este alimento representa não só para o setor agrícola mas também na cultura gastronómica e hábitos alimentares dos portugueses, que se realiza de 3 a 11 de junho, no Centro Nacional de Exposições e Mercados Agrícolas (CNEMA), em Santarém. O InPP abre portas aos visitantes, dando a conhecer as soluções inovadoras de base biológica e digital que tem disponíveis para a proteção de culturas.

O laboratório colaborativo (CoLAB) vai receber os visitantes no stand n.º 6, localizado na Nave B, entre as 10h00 e as 20h00, para dar a conhecer a sua atividade, os vários projetos em curso e os produtos e serviços de base biológica e digital concretos que têm para oferecer ao setor agrícola e ao mercado. Ao longo dos nove dias da feira, alguns dos investigadores do InPP estão no stand para demonstrar aos visitantes as várias valências do CoLAB de Elvas, que tem desenvolvido inovação que espera contribuir para a sustentabilidade dos sistemas agrícolas.

Outros temas e serviços em destaque serão a análise de microbioma, o desenvolvimento de modelos de risco, os serviços de identificação e diagnóstico molecular, a aplicação da inteligência artificial e da análise de imagens de drone em montado para desenvolver ferramentas de deteção precoce do fungo Phytophthora cinnamomi, a monitorização e diagnóstico da cigarrinha-verde na vinha, bem como da bactéria Xyllela fastidiosa, os sistemas de suporte à decisão baseados em SIG, entre muitos outros.

A FNA é uma das maiores feiras agrícolas do país, promovida anualmente, e onde estão representados todos os intervenientes do setor agrícola. Este evento pretende ser um espaço de debate, não só do tema central desta edição da feira, mas também das principais questões agrícolas do momento. Proporcionar a interação e o contacto entre os intervenientes e potenciar os negócios é outro dos objetivos deste certame.

Mais informações sobre a FNA 23 here.

InPP visita Ascenza

May 24, 2023
Blog
Ines Ferreira

O InnovPlantProtect (InPP) esteve em Setúbal para uma visita às instalações da Ascenza Corporate na passada terça-feira, dia 23 de maio.

O diretor executivo do InPP, Pedro Fevereiro, e os diretores de departamento do InPP, Cristina Azevedo, Sandra Correia, Ricardo Ramiro e David Learmonth, ficaram a conhecer a Ascenza, uma empresa com uma longa experiência no setor da proteção das culturas agrícolas, que está empenhada em trabalhar novas soluções para tornar este setor ainda mais sustentável, eficaz e eficiente.

A visita pretendeu potenciar sinergias e unir esforços entre as duas entidades.

Já no passado dia 5 de abril, o InPP recebeu a visita da Ascenza, em Elvas, com o objetivo de iniciar conversações e discutir propostas de colaboração entre as duas instituições.

Esperemos que o futuro traga novos e entusiasmantes desafios para todos e que estimule a colaboração entre a inovação desenvolvida pelo nosso CoLAB e o setor agroindustrial.

Um agradecimento especial à Ascenza pelo convite.

News & Events