InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the conference “Building value together”, organized by our associate FNOP - National Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers' Organizations.
InPP's executive director, António Saraiva, moderated the panel “Sustainability that generates value: The role of ESG in the future of the sector”, which included interventions from Catarina Pinto Correia (VdA), Cristina Câmara (APED), Filipa Saldanha (Crédito Agrícola), Joana Oom de Sousa (Sovena) and Rui Veríssimo Baptista (Companhia das Lezírias).
The opening session was given by Domingos dos Santos, president of FNOP and a member of CoLAB's Board of Directors of our CoLAB.
The meeting brought together producer organizations, farmers, companies, experts and political decision-makers to discuss the current challenges and look to the future of the national fruit and vegetable sector.
With the participation of national and international experts, the conference was a privileged space for sharing experiences and strategic reflection, focusing on the organization of production and the role of public policies in promoting sustainable growth.
Congratulations to FNOP for the initiative and the ability to bring together a panel of excellent speakers, making this conference a relevant and topical milestone for the sector.
In viticulture, every little decision has an impact: on the soil, on the health of the plants and on the quality of the grapes that form the basis of the wine that reaches our table. The future of viticulture may depend on a single biosolution. Or a hundred. In VINNY, an ambitious European project of which InPP is a part, researchers from ten countries are looking for bioactives capable of curbing vine diseases - and, at the same time, reducing dependence on synthetic agrochemicals. What's at stake is not just science: it's the sustainability of this industry.
The aim of the VINNY project is simple but transformative: develop and implement effective, sustainable solutions and adaptable to the needs of winegrowers in various European countries, creating environmentally friendly biopesticides and biofertilizers, and advanced nano-encapsulation technologies, to reduce dependence on conventional chemicals and promote a healthier ecosystem and a better environment and a circular viticulture.
And at the heart of this mission is an essential cog in the wheel: the daily work of the researchers who search for answers invisible to the human eye - as is the case with Tiago Amaro, a researcher at InPP.
Image credits: VINNY Project
Searching for the Guardians of the Vine
The road to these new biosolutions begins in the field, with the vine. The initial work of Tiago Amaro, started in September 2024 and focuses on identifying and isolating microorganisms naturally present in the vines themselves, in samples received from partners in Portugal, Spain, Austria and Denmark.
From grapes, sticks or woody fragments, small microscopic worlds arrive in the laboratory that may contain the natural weapons needed to fighting three major threats to the vineyard, with a direct impact on farm profitability: - A gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) and blue mold (Penicillium expansum): Fungi that cause post-harvest diseases, In the case of wine grapes, this affects the quality of the wine and makes it completely impossible to sell table grapes. - The vine tumors: Caused by bacteria Allorhizobium vitis, This disease affects the plant in the field, causing leaf fall and reduced grape production.
Tiago Amaro, InnovPlantProtect researcher, identifying and isolating bacteria as part of the VINNY project. Image credits: InnovPlantProtect - Inês Ferreira
After isolating the microorganisms, Tiago dedicated himself to creating libraries of bacteria. What is a ‘Bacteria Library’? In the context of the investigation, a bacteria library is an organized and catalogued collection of bacteria isolated from different sources. It allows scientists to test each strain of bacteria against specific pathogens, constituting a vast catalog of potential biological ‘superheroes’ for plant protection.
This rigorous screening, which has already led to the analysis of more than 190 bacteria of this library is the first line of defense. The team selects the best candidates with the potential to be used as biological control agents against the diseases under study.
The Power of European Collaboration
What if the solution to protecting Portuguese vineyards is hidden in a Danish grape? Or in a bacterium isolated in Spain? One of the most exciting aspects of the project is its truly collaborative dimension, where researchers from ten countries are working in parallel, sharing answers, challenges and microorganisms in search of effective biosolutions for the whole of Europe.
“All the solutions found will be shared, all the solutions will be tested by all the partners and it will be possible to build a ‘library of solutions’ against the various vine diseases“ emphasizes researcher Tiago Amaro.
The sharing of bacteria and extracts from different ecosystems (Portugal, Spain, Denmark and Austria) is crucial. An effective bacterium in Denmark could be the key to protecting Portuguese vineyards, and vice versa. This exchange of biological solutions, one of the innovative pillars of the project, makes it possible to exploit the microbial biodiversity beyond national borders. InPP has the fundamental role of testing, in grapes, the solutions discovered by our team as well as by other national and European partners.
This diversity of tests is a bet on the future: microorganisms that don't prove effective against vine diseases could be the solution for pathologies in other crops.
Left photo: Tiago Amaro, InPP researcher, observing a grapevine leaf, the target crop of the VINNY project, Right photo: Potted grapevine plants in the InPP greenhouse, ready to test the solutions found by the various VINNY partners. Image credits: InnovPlantProtect - Inês Ferreira
The Real Test: From the Lab to the Field
After selection in the laboratory, the next step - the formulation of the most promising bacteria - will be carried out in Portugal and Spain, at the University of Minho and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. But it is in the field-testing phase that the greatest challenge of plant protection science lies, because even brilliant results in the laboratory can fail in the field. Formulation is the process that turns a bacterium into a product - stable, applicable and compatible with the farmer's needs.
Tiago Amaro emphasizes necessary resilience:
Field Uncertainty: Often, promising solutions in the laboratory or greenhouse are not as effective when applied in the field, due to environmental variables (climate, soil, etc.).
The Time Factor: Diseases such as Allorhizobium vitis may take a long time to develop, or the infection may not be relevant in certain years, which makes it difficult to obtain robust conclusions.
The Agricultural Cycle: It is necessary to test the formulation in the field during three to five consecutive years, and recording all the variations observed. With only one harvest a year, this process requires patience and persistence.
In total, from the discovery of a promising bacterium to the creation of a formulated product, proven to be effective and ready for the market, it can take around 10 years - a real test of any scientist's resilience.
Customized solutions: the new requirement of modern agriculture
The final challenge is to ensure that the tests are relevant to the producer's reality. The current trend in the agricultural sector is the search for customized solutions, adapted to the specific conditions of the farms: “There has to be a solution for every field and every farmer”, says the researcher.
This personalized approach requires more science, more rigor and more local knowledge - exactly what VINNY seeks to build.
A Europe united by science and the vine
InPP is part of this consortium, made up of 19 partners from ten countries, The project is led by the University of Minho and funded by the Horizon Europe program.
Together, they seek to answer a question that could shape the future of European viticulture: Will it be possible to find effective biosolutions for all partner countries?
The answer is still being written - in laboratories, in experimental vineyards, in fields in different climates and geographies. And it's made up of small discoveries, many frustrations and a huge commitment to science.
Because protecting the vineyard of the future is not just a technical ambition. It is a cultural, economic and environmental commitment. And VINNY is helping to design that future - one microorganism at a time.
The final workshop highlighted three years of research dedicated to the early detection of pathogens in crops such as wheat and olive groves.
The project AlViGen has reached its final stretch, concluding three years of research focused on the genomic surveillance of agricultural diseases. The results now presented promise to strengthen the Alentejo agricultural sector's ability to respond to emerging phytosanitary threats.
On the day October 23rd, The final project workshop, The event brought together researchers, producers and technicians to share results and reflect on the future of genomic surveillance in Portuguese agriculture.
A pioneering genomic surveillance center
During AlViGen, the Alentejo's first genomic surveillance center, an infrastructure with capacity for early detection of diseases in strategic crops such as wheat and olive grove. This breakthrough marks a decisive step towards a more precise, sustainable and science-based agriculture.
Results and scientific contributions
Using innovative molecular tools, the project team succeeded:
Identify pathogenic fungi before visible symptoms appear on the plants;
Characterizing yellow rust strains, genetically linking them to others known at a global level;
Detecting resistance genes in wheat to the strains currently present in Portugal;
Developing diagnostic methods able to distinguish the different species of the fungus that causes gafa in olive groves.
During the workshop, the potential of the analysis of the airborne fungi community as a tool for early warning for multiple pathogens, allowing for more effective and preventive management of crop diseases.
From research to practical application
The event ended with a debate on how transform AlViGen results in a detection and warning service accessible to the agricultural sector. The initiative reflects the joint commitment between science, innovation and production, with a view to protecting national agriculture from the challenges of the future.
Partnerships and thanks
InnovPlantProtect would like to thank all the partners and funders of the project: University of Évora, John Innes Centre, INIAV, De Prado, CERSUL, Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, Torre das Figueiras Estate, Almojanda, Malheiro Estate, Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV), la Caixa“ Foundation”, BPI Bank e Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
Latest information from the Stenphyliosis Working Group released by INIAV. Controlling the maturation of the future spores of the fungus that causes the disease is crucial to stamping it out.
Monitoring the development of the spores of the fungus that causes stenphylliosis, also known as brown spot disease of the pear tree, indicates that the time has come to remove the leaves from under the tree canopy, recommends the Stenphylliosis Working Group.
The maturity index (MI) of the pseudothecae - structures where the endogenous spores (ascospores) form during the winter - increased by 0.9 in the Alcobaça orchard, 0.8 in the Maiorga orchard, 0.5 in the Picanceira orchard and 0.4 in the Sobrena orchard, between January 25 and February 8, 2021. Compared to the same period last year, the IM in these orchards in Western Portugal is 0.4 lower in Sobrena, 0.2 lower in Picanceira and Alcobaça, and 0.1 higher in Maiorga.
The data can be found in 2nd Information from the Stenphilosis Working Group (Stenphilosis WG), coordinated by INIAV, in which it is considered important to “remove/destroy the leaves under the canopy before the pseudothecae mature and the ascospores are released (IM=7), so that the primary inoculum of stenphyliosis is minimal and, as a result, the incidence of the disease is reduced”.
Those responsible for the Stenphyliosis WG point out that, at this time, the ascospores won't necessarily infect the pear trees, “but they will infect the vegetation in the soil and, possibly, the organic matter on the surface of the soil” - where the inoculum will be produced during the spring.
On February 8, the orchard with the highest IM was Maiorga (IM=4.7, n=103), followed by Alcobaça (IM=4.2, n=90), Picanceira (IM=4.1,0 n=94) and Sobrena (IM=3.9, n=102). The IM of the Maiorga orchard, very close to stage 5, means that there are ascospores in formation and mature ones.
A stenphylosis, caused by the fungus Stemphylium versicarium, is a disease that affects the production and quality of the rock pear, and for which there are still no phytopharmaceuticals capable of effectively neutralizing it.
How are we going to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50%? This was one of the questions discussed in the online debate on the Farm to Fork strategy organized today by Syngenta, which presented its Good Growth Plan 2.0, a plan of commitments for sustainable agriculture by 2025.
Two billion dollars is how much Syngenta is going to invest in sustainable agriculture under its new commitment plan until 2025, the Good Growth Plan 2.0. The company will also make two technologies available per year and develop specific commitments for Portugal and Spain, Felisbela Torres de Campos said today. The Head of Regulatory & Business Sustainability Portugal was speaking at a online debate promoted on 25/2/2021 by Syngenta, an associate of InnovPlantProtect (InPP), where the new Good Growth Plan of the company was presented and the European Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy was discussed.
Felisbela Campos explained to the InPP blog that the two technologies “can be used in various areas, such as new molecules, biopesticides, apps monitoring, digital tools, etc.” With regard to the specifics of Portugal and Spain, the company is “still developing local commitments, but the areas in which we already have concrete projects underway are biodiversity, soil conservation, carbon neutrality, and the safe and sustainable use of plant protection products”.
The head of Syngenta also stressed that the main objectives until 2025 are to accelerate innovation for agriculture and nature, working towards carbon-neutral agriculture. And that in the period relating to the first Good Growth Plan, between 2013 and 2020, there was an increase of 20% in crop productivity in Portugal and Spain.
In the debate, the various speakers said “yes” to F2F, which aims, among other things, to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50%, something that, in the words of José Diogo Albuquerque, CEO of the Agroportal, This worries farmers because of the risk of an increase in pests and a reduction in production.
Nuno Canada, president of INIAV, also a partner at InPP, recalled that the F2F “has tools to better manage the transition and adaptation” needed and that knowledge, innovation and science “make it possible to overcome” the challenges that lie ahead. He also argued that the European Commission “has created a set of financial instruments for this area, more robust than in the past, to innovate in agriculture and food” - instruments that the sector must be able to use.
The president of INIAV recalled that of the 26 collaborative laboratories that have been set up in Portugal, six are in the agri-food sector, which he considered to be very significant and exemplary of the improvements that have taken place in the national agricultural education and research ecosystem, as well as the “very significant journey” that has been made towards bringing the entities that produce knowledge closer to those that use and apply it.
For the director general of Office of Planning, Policy and General Administration, According to Eduardo Diniz, “the main debate is not about the objectives of the Green Deal [the European Green Deal that the F2F is part of], it's about being aware that they require the introduction of innovation and technology, which requires investment and income in the sector.”.
As for the use of biopesticides, Eduardo Diniz believes that there is still a long way to go, from the point of view of research and regulation, and that they will always be a complementary strategy in the fight against pests and diseases, not a total alternative. For his part, Nuno Canada mentioned the case of InPP, based at the INIAV center in Elvas, which aims precisely to develop biopesticides for crop protection and the post-harvest phase.
Gene in common wheat that promotes the fungal diseases yellow rust and black rust identified.
A team of researchers from John Innes Centre identified a common wheat gene (Triticum aestivum), which acts as a promoter of yellow rust and black rust, fungal infections that attack this breadmaking cereal worldwide, in a very destructive way and with great economic impact.
Disrupting the function of this gene makes wheat more resistant to these diseases, according to a published news on the website of that international center of excellence in Plant Science.
In a study published in The Plant Cell, The scientists conclude that the gene, called TaBCAT1, is activated (becomes expressed) at an early stage of yellow rust infection - caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici. When these fungi attack, they activate (induce) and deactivate specific genes to prevent the wheat from defending itself. If successful, the plant is unable to eliminate the invader and ends up getting sick.
Eliminating this gene in mutant plants drastically reduced infection. “We were amazed to see that removing just this one gene in our mutant plants makes them alert their defense responses even before they are attacked,” says Pilar Corredor-Moreno, first author of the study.
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