O InnovPlantProtect (InPP) promotes the seminar “Six years of innovation: The path of CoLABs for the future of the agricultural and agri-food sectors”, on the next day June 11th, from 09h30 until 11h00, in center stage at Espaço InsectERA, located in the Central Cloisters of the National Center for Agricultural Exhibitions and Markets (CNEMA) in Santarém.
The seminar aims to present the practical results and real impact of six Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABs) in Portugal - InnovPlantProtect, Colab4Food, FeedInov, Food4Sustainability, MORE and SmartFarmCoLAB. These interface infrastructures are essential pillars of the National Innovation System (SNI) and play a growing and essential role in the dynamics of innovation for agriculture and agri-food.
The event will be attended by members of the teams and partners of each of the CoLABs, who will talk about their vision of the added value of these interface and innovation entities, from the point of view of those who collaborate directly with them.
The initiative, which is part of the National Agriculture Fair (FNA) 2025, which this year has the theme “Biosolutions” and will be the stage for exploring the innovations that are shaping the future of the sector, brings together different representatives of the innovation ecosystem to show the role of CoLABs in stimulating the transfer of knowledge and making innovation available to agriculture and agri-food in Portugal, creating value and attracting highly qualified human resources to the country.
See the full program in the image below.
The registration for the event is free, but mandatory due to the limited capacity of the space. Guarantee your presence by filling in the available form here.
We look forward to welcoming you for a morning of sharing and debate on the future of innovation in the agricultural and agri-food sectors!
Estamos em contagem decrescente para a Feira Nacional de Agricultura (FNA), uma das maiores feiras agrícolas do país!
É já de 7 a 15 de junho que o InPP vai estar na 61ª edição da Feira Nacional de Agricultura, que se realiza no CNEMA – Centro Nacional de Exposições, em Santarém.
O tema da edição deste ano é “Biosoluções”e pretende destacar a importância das soluções e tecnologias inovadoras no setor agroalimentar e na promoção de práticas mais sustentáveis e eficientes.
A FNA reúne agricultores, empresários e especialistas dos setores agroalimentar, pecuário e agrícola e é um excelente espaço para aumentar a nossa rede de contactos, trocar conhecimentos e apresentar as mais recentes tendências e soluções agrícolas que a nossa equipa tem desenvolvido.
Vai poder encontrar-nos no stand nº.18, à entrada do Espaço dos claustros, dedicado à Agenda InsectERA, entre as 10h e as 20h.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the National Olive Growing Fair (FNO 25) in Campo Maior, from May 23 to 25, presenting its latest biological and digital innovations for crop protection, including projects focused on biopesticides for olive diseases and early detection of fungi that cause gafa, and monitoring insect vectors of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which attacks olive groves. The Elvas CoLAB was present with its own stand to demonstrate its strengths and the impact of its research on agricultural sustainability, inviting producers, technicians and researchers to learn about its innovative bio-based and digital solutions and to actively participate in the discussion of the sector's challenges.
The collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) welcomed visitors at the stand no. 14, located at thematic area at the Campo Maior Municipal Garden, to showcase their activity, the ongoing projects that are developing solutions to the main olive diseases, the patents already submitted, the apps for agricultural management and the bio-based and digital products and services they have to offer the agricultural sector and the market. Throughout the three days of the fair, some of InPP's researchers were at the stand to demonstrate to visitors the various features of the Elvas CoLAB, which has been developing innovation that it hopes will contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems.
InPP announced ValorCannBio project, which is processing biomass that is not used in the medical cannabis industry to develop effective and sustainable biopesticides against gafa and tuberculosis, The project will be carried out in the municipality of Elvas, which is responsible for decimating entire harvests, leading to severe economic losses and compromising food quality. The impact of this project will be felt in the municipality of Elvas, where the project is being developed, but it is expected that it will extend to the entire olive-growing region from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve, where production losses are increasing due to these diseases. O AlViGen project was also one of the protagonists and is using cutting-edge technology to detecting and identifying the strains of fungi that cause gafa, long before the symptoms become visible. The project team has used traps to collect spores that circulate in the air to monitor the presence of fungi, which can give farmers an important advantage in preventing infections and protecting their crops, reducing production losses.
O SNM_XylellaVt project, The SNM_XylellaVt project, led by DRAPCENTRO and in which InPP actively participates, was also highlighted at FNO. SNM_XylellaVt is monitor the insect vectors of the bacteria Xyllela fastidiosa, in particular the foam leafhopper, the insect responsible for transmitting the bacterium, which attacks various agricultural and forestry crops, and in particular olive groves. The project team is developing new tools, such as risk prediction models which, in the presence of the bacterium, whether in plants or insect vectors, will allow the National Agricultural Warning Service (SNAA) to alert, in real time, about the economic attack levels (EAL) for these insects, thus allowing prevent infection of the main crops. As part of this project, the team has also developed an online platform where citizens can report the sighting of foams, which are signs of the presence of the insect vectors of X. fastidiosa, This will help to map its temporal and spatial distribution and to plan measures to combat this bacterium.
The FNO, organized jointly by the Campo Maior City Council and the Centre for the Study and Promotion of Olive Oil in the Alentejo (CEPAAL), is an event that aims to enhance national olive growing, and in particular Portuguese olive oil, boosting the local economy and bringing together professionals from the sector - producers, technicians, or researchers - from all over the country to discuss challenges and trends in the Portuguese olive and olive oil sector.
Insect vector of Xylella is attracted or repelled by different aromatic plants depending on the sex of the adult and its distance from the source of essential oils.
Lavandula angustifolia Photo: JLPC/ Wiki
It was already known that the nefarious Xylella fastidiosa “liked” Lavandula spp.; after all, it was in a lavender plant that the presence of the bacterium in Portugal was confirmed for the first time in January 2019. A team of scientists has since concluded that the males of the insect vector of the Xylella in Europe are attracted to the essential oils of lavender over long distances.
“Sustainable vector control is an essential part of pest management strategies.”, remember those responsible for the European XF-ACTORS project. The results of this study could contribute to the development of innovative approaches and tools to control the insect, as alternatives to the use of synthetic pesticides Philaenus spumarius, vector of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe - essential to control the spread of the bacteria.
Lavandula angustifolia Photo: Norbert Nagel/ Wiki
The team found that the peripheral olfactory system of the P. spumarius captures the volatile organic compounds present in the essential oils of pelargonium (also known as geranium or sardinia). Pelargonium graveolens, from Cymbopogon nardus (a relative of lemongrass), which produces citronella, and the Lavandula angustifolia (before officinalis), lavender. But the effect of this detection depends on the “dose” and the distance.
At any distance, both lavender and pelargonium repelled the females. Males, on the other hand, were attracted to geranium and repelled by citronella. At close range, both lavender and citronella were repellent to both females and males.
You can consult the original scientific article here.
In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, some of InnovPlantProtect's women researchers share the reasons they became scientists.
“I became a scientist for the thrill of being able to discover something new every day and a plant scientist in particular with the dream of producing plants resistant to pathogens, avoiding the need for chemical pesticides. A win-win solution to reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture and the production costs to small farmers.”
Cristina Azevedo, PhD researcher, Head of the New Biopesticides Department
Cristina Azevedo
Cláudia Rato da Silva
Manisha Sirsat
“Ever since I was a child, I always felt drawn to nature, particularly at the beach, where I would explore sea life, but also at my grandparents’ vegetable garden, where I loved to play. The fact that my mother is really passionate about nature, particularly about plants and birds, also played a role when I decided to apply for Biology. On top of that, there's my desire to understand the world around me; being a scientist allows me to ask questions and work towards an answer, and that moment when you discover something new in the lab is still beyond thrilling.”
Cláudia Rato da Silva, PhD researcher, Protection of Specific Crops Department
“I have had a passion for technology and science since childhood, so I decided to pursue my career in a computer science discipline in which Artificial Intelligence is one of the great research fields, which could help to solve complex problems of nearly every field. ‘The human brain cannot deal with terabytes but Machine Learning can!’ Hence I was inspired to do research in this field.”
Manisha Sirsat, PhD researcher, Department of Data Management and Risk Analysis
Cláudia Almeida Silva
Cátia Patrício
Ana Cláudia Silva
“When I was younger, I used to ask my parents ‘Why this happens?’ or ‘Why this works the way it does?’ Most of the questions were ‘Why?’ and my parents didn't know how to answer, so they encouraged me to go look for it. From then on, I didn't ask my parents anymore. I would search for the answer. That feeling did not disappear as I grew up. So, during my school years, I always searched for the answer to the question ‘Why?’. When I was in 12th grade, I had to choose my college degree and it was very difficult to choose between all the available courses, but I knew that it would be related to science, because 99% of the questions that you ask, Science can answer it. And that was the moment that I decided to become a scientist - to search for the answers to my questions. Science is a part of our life, Science is in everything, with Science you can change the world.”
Cláudia Almeida Silva, MSc researcher, Department of New Formulations and Matrices for the Application of Biopesticides
“I decided to become a scientist when my father got sick, and I knew that I should contribute to science to help answer the questions that still had no answers. This profession showed me that there are many things that we already know but, on the other hand, there is much more that we need to discover and learn. The idea that small discoveries that you can make can lead to the solution of big problems is gratifying to me.”
Cátia Patrício, MSc Researcher, Department of New Biopesticides
“As an undergraduate, I started collaborating in a Nematology laboratory at the University where I was studying. There began my passion for science, and particularly for phytopathology. Since then, I have been gaining more knowledge and working in this topic, and it is a great pleasure for me to be able to keep on following this career at the InnovPlantProtect CoLab, with such a prodigious team of women and men scientists.”
Ana Cláudia Silva, MSc Researcher, Department of New Biopesticides
Maria Miguel Pires
Diana Pimentel
Jordana Branco
“I didn't always want to become a scientist. One thing I did know was that I had been forever fascinated with my surroundings, nature at its finest. And there was this random driving force that made me question things, as although I felt an overwhelming need to pursue all the answers. Why is everything the way it is? Why is that leaf falling from the tree? Questioning, and an overall endless curiosity, that's what made me become ‘sort-of-a-scientist’”.
Maria Miguel Pires, MSc Researcher, Department of New Biopesticides
“Since childhood, I have always been fascinated with nature, how plants survive on rainy days, how the dough rises, how the grape juice that I could drink turns into something that I was not allowed to... at the end of the day, how life makes sense! So, I wanted to know more and more, and that curiosity made me pursue life sciences.”
Diana Pimentel, PhD researcher/ Biostatistics Technician, Department of Data Management and Risk Analysis
“Isn't it fascinating how the tiniest organisms can affect a whole ecosystem? And, even more so, to understand how they work and how we can fight or improve them? This feeling was what made me pursue a scientific career. Science is non-stop challenges but is also non-stop knowledge and progress.”
Jordana Branco, MSc researcher, Department of New Biopesticides
Diana Sousa
“I have always loved nature and helping people, in order to always contribute to a more sustainable world and better health for all people. I confess that I was also fascinated by the investigation, due to CSI. Ahahah And that's why I became a scientific researcher, always ready to promote a better world.”
Diana Sousa, MSc researcher, Department Protection of Specific Crops
XfSTOP aims to develop a solution to protect olive groves against the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. The project is led by InnovPlantProtect's New Biopesticides Department - Department 1, headed by researcher Cristina Azevedo.
The team is now starting laboratory work, with the aim of trying to isolate peptides (small amino acids) that inhibit the growth of the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. “We have established collaboration with researchers in different countries, through which we have obtained genomic DNA from different isolates [strains] of Xylella, and we are in the process of isolating the genes that code for the virulence proteins against which we want to select the peptides,” explains Cristina Azevedo.
Isolation of Xylella fastidiosa (strain LM10)
The director of Dep. 1 said that the team is also “starting to isolate bacterial endophytes [organisms that live inside a host] present in the xylem of olive varieties grown in the Alentejo region (Cobrançosa and Arbequina) and of an Italian variety that is resistant to Xylella (Leccino), from the Herdade de Reguengo, belonging to INIAV, Elvas center”.
The project's acronym, XfSTOP, stands for “Integrated approach to disease management for the biocontrol of Xylella fastidiosa in olive trees”. The olive tree is of enormous economic importance in Portugal, particularly in the Alentejo. The biopesticide to be developed will use a microorganism capable of coexisting in the same environment as the olive tree. Xylella, The plant will then produce a biological compound capable of eliminating the bacteria. This mechanism will be sustainable, environmentally friendly and non-toxic.
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