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.
Each year, crop diseases cause devastating losses in agricultural production, threatening food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. In the heart of Alentejo, an innovative project is harnessing the power of genomics to help combat these invisible threats. The AlViGen Project, with the participation of InnovPlantProtect researchers Rute Rego and João Bilro, is paving the way for a new era of crop surveillance and protection.
The Problem and the Solution
“Yellow rust in wheat and olive quick decline syndrome are real scourges for farmers,” explains Rute Rego, a researcher at AlViGen. “These diseases can decimate entire harvests, leading to severe economic losses and compromising food quality.”
But AlViGen is not limited to observing the problem. The team is using cutting-edge technology to detect and identify the strains of fungi that cause these diseases, long before the symptoms become visible.
“We use traps to collect spores circulating in the air,” Rute continues. “These traps allow us to monitor the presence of fungi in real-time, which gives us an important advantage in preventing infections.”
But the magic happens in the laboratory, where the team extracts the DNA from the spores and performs advanced genomic analyses, using powerful DNA sequencing technology based on the metabarcoding method, carried out with cutting-edge technology like the portable Nanopore sequencer.
Rute Rego, a researcher at InnovPlantProtect, analyzes samples of the fungus causing olive quick decline syndrome as part of the AlViGen project.
Unraveling the Genetic Code of Fungi
To better explain what metabarcoding is and its advantage in detecting the presence of species or strains of fungi that cause diseases in crops, the researcher gives the example of a bag full of different types of grains - rice, beans, corn - being analyzed by the reader. “Metabarcoding is like placing a unique label (a ‘barcode’) on each type of grain. Then, you can mix all the grains in a single sample, and by reading the labels, you can identify the quantity of each type of grain present.'”
In the case of AlViGen, this technique allows for the analysis of multiple fungal species simultaneously (in multiple samples), each with its own genetic ‘barcode,’ and to ‘identify exactly which fungi are present, even in small quantities,'” the researcher explains.
And what is the practical impact of this method for monitoring and predicting disease? The AlViGen project researcher can identify, with high precision, the moment when the pathogenic agent begins to appear in the field, which makes it possible to alert farmers in real-time about the risk of disease. Producers can adopt preventative measures and apply the necessary products to avoid infection, contributing to a rapid and effective response in disease prevention.
The Timeline of Fungal Evolution
AlViGen's research is not limited to identifying the microorganisms harmful to crops; it also seeks to understand their evolution and diversity. João Bilro, another researcher on the project, is dedicated to studying the phylogeny of the Colletotrichum fungus, a microorganism responsible for causing olive anthracnose or blight, a disease that affects olive groves in Portugal. This disease mainly affects the olives, which compromises the quality of the olive oil.
“Phylogeny is crucial for understanding how the different strains of Colletotrichum Just as a family tree traces the history of a family, showing how members are related to each other, phylogenetic trees reveal the evolutionary relationships between the different strains of this fungus. Each branch of the tree represents an evolutionary lineage, and the nodes indicate common ancestors. By comparing the DNA sequences of these strains, we can reconstruct their evolutionary history, identifying which are genetically closer or more distant, and thus infer characteristics such as virulence or resistance to fungicides,” he reveals.
This knowledge allows researchers to identify patterns of dissemination and adaptation of the fungus, which is fundamental for developing more effective strategies to contain and/or reduce the damage this fungus causes to Portuguese olive groves.
“One of the challenges of our research is the great genetic diversity of the Colletotrichum,” admits João. “However, by uncovering their evolutionary secrets, we are paving the way for the development of more precise and targeted detection and control methods.”
Left photo: João Bilro, a bioinformatician at InnovPlantProtect, studying the phylogeny of the Colletotrichum fungus within the scope of the AlViGen project; Right photo: Rute Rego and João Bilro discuss ideas about the AlViGen project.
The Future of Agriculture Starts Here
The AlViGen Project aims to have a significant impact on the agricultural landscape, especially in Alentejo, a region with a strong agricultural tradition. By providing farmers with early detection tools and precise information about the microorganisms that cause crop diseases, the project intends to aid in decision-making, allowing farmers to protect their crops and reduce production losses.
“Our ultimate goal is to empower farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their crops sustainably,” states Rute. “We believe that genomic surveillance is a key tool for the future of crop protection.”
João Bilro agrees and adds, “Continuous research is fundamental to keep up with the evolution of harmful microorganisms and to develop new, consistently effective control strategies. In the future, we hope to expand the scope of AlViGen to include other microorganisms and crops, and to make genomic surveillance an accessible tool for all farmers.”
Science at the Service of Agriculture
The AlViGen Project, supported by the Promove Program of the “la Caixa” Foundation, in partnership with Banco BPI and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), is an inspiring example of how science and technology can be applied to solve real-world problems and transform agriculture. By unraveling the genetic secrets of crop microorganisms, Rute Rego and João Bilro are paving the way for a safer, more sustainable, and resilient agriculture.
The fight against crop diseases continues, but with AlViGen, farmers can finally see the enemy before it becomes visible.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) already has a camera walk-in with temperature control, humidity and exposure to light with photoperiod, to grow plants as part of their projects.
The Department for the Protection of Specific Crops has been using this new equipment since May 10, namely to grow Persian clover and wheat, for the PitSTOP projects, with Fertiprado, and WhYRust, respectively.
The climate chamber walk-in will allow experiments to be carried out under controlled conditions on different crops throughout the year. “Together with the renovation of the greenhouse, this plant growth environment is very important for expanding our response capacity,” explains Paula Oblessuc, director of that department.
“The climate chamber walk-in allows experiments to be carried out under controlled conditions all year round.“
In other words, InPP researchers will be able to carry out more detailed experiments and work on a greater number of projects simultaneously, with a camera that “is maintaining the established conditions very well”, stresses Paula Oblessuc. The PitSTOP project aims to identify the pathogen(s) that is/are attacking Fertiprado's clover meadows and propose a solution to combat the disease(s).
WhYRust aims to combat wheat yellow rust, in particular by identifying resistance genes in the cereal, validating a warning system and developing genomic prediction models to support precision breeding.
The Rector of NOVA University Lisbon doesn't know if the special affection he feels for farmers comes from his “Alentejo rib” and his childhood connected to the land, but he does know that farmers play a crucial role in building a more sustainable world. So it is with enthusiasm that João Sàágua speaks of InnovPlantProtect, a collaborative laboratory led by NOVA, as an ally of sustainability in agricultural production, created to develop innovative solutions to protect crops from pests and diseases.
Text: Margarida Paredes/ InPP Photos and video: NOVA University Lisbon NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA) is the institution that has put the most effort into creating the InnovPlantProtect (InPP) Collaborative Laboratory (CoLab). Why is this project so important to NOVA? Essentially for two reasons. Despite having excellent teaching and research, NOVA University still has a lot of room for growth in terms of knowledge transfer or, if you like, connection to society. In fact, one of the strong points of my candidacy for Rector of NOVA was the desire to increase the University's connection to society, in a visible and concrete way, and InnovPlantProtect is an example of this.
The other reason has to do with the topic itself: agriculture. The sustainability of agriculture and the guarantee of that sustainability based on knowledge and technology are fundamental to the country's development, in particular, but also to achieving the very important SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals. Let's just say that InPP represents NOVA's commitment to sustainable agriculture. I should also add that the enthusiasm with which the mayor of Elvas, Nuno Mocinha, welcomed us and supported the project from the outset has increased our desire to carry out this project and to do it in Elvas.
Is this CoLab “the apple of your eye”? I ask because NOVA, despite having eleven Collaborative Laboratories, has only led two projects, including this one. It's true, we lead two CoLabs - this one and another in the health area - and we participate in nine others, but InPP really has all the conditions to be the “apple of my eye”. Firstly, because of its area of activity. Contributing to making the Mediterranean diet sustainable is very important to us, because we know that in doing so we are also supporting the country's development. Secondly, as the son of a woman from Alentejo, I consider this project's contribution to territorial cohesion to be crucial.
The InPP was approved by the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology with the highest grade, after evaluation by an international team, and its work is already underway. What is NOVA's role in this project at the moment? Our presence at InPP is permanent. It's visible in the Board of Directors, chaired by NOVA, and in the Management - the CEO, Professor Pedro Fevereiro, came from ITQB NOVA, a University Institute. In addition, in terms of research, we have joint projects that have already been submitted for funding. Another important aspect is the dual affiliation, which allows researchers from this University to also work at the CoLab for five years.
“I think the most important impact of the InPP will be the creation of economic and social value.”
As an entity that trains researchers, and given that this project was led by the GREEN-IT research unit of NOVA's Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology, in cooperation with other NOVA research units (CTS FCT NOVA, NOVA LINCS, FCT NOVA and MagiC NOVA IMS), is there any link between NOVA and InPP in terms of hiring highly qualified human resources? There is strategic collaboration and exchange between researchers on both sides and also intense collaboration between several NOVA professors, from the various research centers you mentioned, at the InPP. But the InPP is hiring its own body of researchers, solid and with a high international profile, who will certainly also work on projects involving NOVA professors and researchers. I want to emphasize that I consider this aspect: progressively, the Elvas community is growing with people who work at the InPP and who make their living and have their family in Elvas.
“Given the particular nature of this CoLab, our expectation is that funding will come from its ability to innovate and even export innovation.”
What are the challenges facing a CoLab like InPP, the only one in this area in Portugal? I would point to three fundamental challenges, the first of which is financial sustainability. CoLab has significant funding from the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, strong support from the Elvas local authority, which was crucial in launching this laboratory, and significant support from its various associates. But it will have to generate enough wealth in five years to guarantee its own financial sustainability.
Given the particular nature of this CoLab, our expectation is that funding will come from its ability to innovate and even export innovation. If InPP manages to develop products (such as biopesticides and plants resistant to pests and diseases) and services (such as forecasting and monitoring pests and diseases, among others) of sufficient quality and importance, it can not only guarantee its sustainability through the sale of these products and services, but also increase Portugal's export capacity in the area of knowledge in sustainable agriculture.
Another challenge, which I think has already been met, is attracting highly qualified human resources. As Elvas is not a major metropolis, it might have been difficult to attract an international scientific community and their families to the city, but it turned out not to be.
“In fact, InPP has all the conditions to be the ‘apple of my eye’.”.
In terms of fundamental knowledge, a lot of science has been funded and a lot of progress has been made in molecular-based technologies and tools, but the application is still residual. Do you believe that the InPP will reduce this gap? I think so. One of the ways of reducing this gap is precisely related to one of the great challenges of Collaborative Laboratories, which is to increase export activity and the sale of products and services. The government has launched this initiative at a good time, and it's only fair to point this out.
I think the InPP has made a good start in this respect, having two multinational companies as founding members - Bayer and Syngenta - for whom this project is not merely commercial, but involves resources and knowledge. For this reason, their integration into this project had to be authorized by their parent companies in Germany, which shows the great commitment of these multinationals to InPP. In addition, we also have an impressive group of farmers from the region, who are the real lifeblood of the area, and who are represented on InPP's Governing Bodies through their associations.
InPP works on the protection of Mediterranean crops, but multinational companies invest more in corn, rapeseed, cotton and soy, because these are the crops that sell the most in the world. Aren't you worried about a lack of investment from companies? Honestly, no. Mediterranean crops are an increasingly valued niche, first and foremost olive oil, for which demand is increasing significantly, but also fruit, vegetables and cereals. The Mediterranean diet has established itself as a healthy diet, and has taken on a leading role thanks to the widespread concern of the population about food, the problems of obesity and malnutrition, which is very much the result of the knowledge of the link between food, health and well-being. I have no doubt that the products of the Mediterranean diet will be booming in Europe, the United States and other territories. Again: a good export opportunity.
“Mediterranean crops are an increasingly valued niche, first and foremost olive oil, for which demand is increasing significantly, but also fruit, vegetables and cereals.”
Current EU legislation does not favor the use of New Genomic Techniques in Mediterranean crops. If the EU is not prepared to accept innovative solutions such as those that InPP is trying to develop, for example plants resistant to pests and diseases, what will be the alternative? This is one of InPP's lines of activity, but not the only one. The European Union has yet to take a definitive stance on the matter, but if the plant breeding part of the project faces the difficulties you mentioned, the alternative is to sell the products in many other possible markets outside the EU. Furthermore, genomic techniques are not all the same, nor do they all respond to the same motivations; in the case of the InPP, sustainability and respect for the environment are also the motto here. In any case, as I said, we have other lines of activity, “all our eggs are not in one basket”.
What do you think will be the most important impact of the InPP? I think it will be the creation of economic and social value. InnovPlantProtect will have a very important impact on Elvas, because by building a new community of national and foreign researchers it will contribute to territorial cohesion and development and to the socio-economic fabric of the city - I've heard that it's already difficult to find vacant housing.
The second impact will be visible in agricultural activity, as the InPP will develop products and services for crop protection, and the third will be on exports, as these products and services will also be made available on foreign markets.
“Given the particular nature of this CoLab, our expectation is that funding will come from its ability to innovate and even export innovation.”
JOÃO SÁGUA
Rector of NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA) since September 2017, he previously held the position of Vice-Rector of NOVA for Academic Affairs and International Relations (between 2014 and 2017). He holds a PhD in Contemporary Philosophy and is a Full Professor at NOVA's Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FCSH/NOVA). He has been teaching at NOVA since 1980, accumulating a long experience as a teacher at all levels of education: bachelor's, master's and doctorate, in Portugal and abroad. In addition to an intensive teaching and research activity, he has held various management positions, namely at FCSH/NOVA, where he was Director (between 2005 and 2013) and Chairman of the Scientific Council (between 2009 and 2013).
Interview published first hand by Rural Life, March 2021 edition.
“I feel much more comfortable discussing these issues today in Portugal than I did ten years ago,” said the executive director of InnovPlantProtect (InPP) today, May 26. The question on the table was: “Are the new genomic techniques (NTG) one of the tools to achieve the goals of the Farm to Fork Strategy?”. For Pedro Fevereiro, who was speaking at one of the “workshop of solutions” entitled “NTG - a sustainable tool for tackling climate change”, organized by the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA), there are three types of public when it comes to perceptions of NTG.
Part of society “associates these technologies with a greater impact on diversity and ecosystems, and reacts almost emotionally to the application of NTGs,” says February. Then, “there is a public that has difficulty understanding them and associates them with the loss of the traditional component of their production.” There is also, in his opinion, another public who, once they have been enlightened about the new plant breeding techniques, “tend to understand that they are nothing more than a natural process in which we are adjusting the crops we eat to the needs we have as a global society”.
The session was moderated by Cristina Nobre Soares and shared with the member of the European Parliament Álvaro Amaro, agronomist Manuel Chaveiro Soares, Rui Barreiras, from Nature Association Portugal/ WWF and keynote speaker Andreas Weber, director of the Plant Biochemistry Institute of[RF1] Heinrich Heine University in Germany.
Pedro Fevereiro was convinced that “we will be able to develop new technologies, based on the knowledge that is being accumulated, which will enable us to respond more efficiently to the challenges that lie ahead” - such as feeding the population and ensuring that production can withstand the climate impacts that are already present in Mediterranean territories.
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