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

Futuragri project filmed at InPP

April 30, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

Today, April 29, InnovInPlantProtect (InPP) was visited by the Futuragri project team for a series of interviews linking research and innovation to agricultural production.

The interviews included members of our team, as well as two of our partners: the Portuguese Association for Soil Conservation Mobilization (APOSOLO) and the company Reynolds Wine Growers.

The main protagonists of the interviews that form part of two episodes of the series “Agriculture, Past and Present”, promoted by Futuragri, will be not only the work that has been carried out by the InPP and the new technologies that have been used to protect crops from pests and diseases, but also what has been done by our team to combat the green leafhopper, or cicadela, one of the main pests that is affecting vineyards in the Alentejo.

We'll tell you all about it in June! Stay tuned!

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

Image credits: ©️InnovPlantProtect - Inês Ferreira

InPP co-organizes webinar on New technologies for sustainable crop protection

April 24, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

The National Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Producers' Organizations (FNOP), in collaboration with InnovPlantProtect (InPP), is promoting the webinar “New technologies for sustainable crop protection”, on May 8, between 10am and 12pm.

The webinar aims to showcase the new technologies for sustainable crop protection that are being developed. The latest innovations and technological advances in the field of crop protection against pests and diseases will be explored.

From biological solutions to advanced monitoring techniques, participants will be able to discover how new technologies are transforming the way we deal with pests and diseases in a sustainable way.

The panel of speakers includes several members of the InPP team, including: Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of the collaborative laboratory, department directors Cristina Azevedo, Sandra Correia, David Learmonth and iLaria Marengo, and researcher João Colaço.

Participation in the webinar is free, but prior registration is required by filling in the form available here. here.

See the full program in the image.

InPP took part in a roadshow to raise awareness of the Smart Farm Hub project

April 12, 2024
Blog
Ines Ferreira

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in two more seminars on “Technology and Information in Agriculture - Smart Farm Virtual”, promoted by CropLife Portugal, as part of the project Smart Farm Hub, These were held on April 3rd in Cantanhede and on April 11th at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia.

The director of the New Biopesticides department at InPP, Cristina Azevedo, took part in the panel on “Tools for more sustainable production systems”, in which she spoke about biopesticides.

Cristina Azevedo was also one of the speakers at the round table “Technology and Information in Agriculture”, which was attended by Gabriela Cruz, president of the Portuguese Association for Soil Conservation Mobilization (Aposolo), Cátia Pinto, executive director of Smart Farm CoLab (SFColab), Jorge Canhoto, president of the Biotechnology Information Centre (CiB), Manuel António Baptista, farmer and president of the Apibairrada Association, and Albino Costa, farmer and director of Adega Cooperativa Cantanhede. The round table was moderated by João Cardoso, executive director of CropLife Portugal.

On April 11, InPP's executive director, Pedro Fevereiro, traveled to the Instituto Superior de Agronomia in Lisbon, where he marked another step towards the most advanced technologies in the service of agriculture and food production.

The importance of biotechnology for adapting plants to the challenges posed by climate change, the need to make digital and precision agriculture accessible and the importance of research and development into biopesticides for establishing more sustainable production systems have been some of the topics discussed in these initiatives.

A big thank you to CropLife Portugal for the invitation, for the excellent moments of sharing knowledge and experiences and, above all, for allowing us to be with you on this journey!

The seminars, which CropLife Portugal has been organizing in various regions of the country (roadshows) to publicize the SmartFarmHub project and its Smart Farm Virtual platform, will continue over the coming months.

News & Events