engenharia genética – 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 on the 90 Seconds of Science podcast

June 11, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

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.

InnovPlantProtect wins European project to help winegrowers fight one of the main pests in Alentejo vineyards

June 5, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

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 at the National Agriculture Fair

June 3, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

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.

News & Events