Their travels have taken them as far afield as the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, as well as numerous presentations in mainland France, delivering days dedicated to viticulture and orchard crops, vegetable production, tropical crops, horticulture and pest control in non-agricultural settings (parks, golf courses etc.). These efforts are designed to help France reach its target of cutting pesticide use by 50%.

We joined them in a day dedicated to viticulture and orchard crops in Montpellier, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, where Philippe explained how these days build on an obligatory e-learning course which all trainers delivering certificates must take. These courses are delivered through a dedicated website, EcophytoPIC (PIC being the French equivalent of IPM, you can read more in French here), and look at tactical alternative methods, as well as providing resources for trainers, including a card game inspired by ENDURE's innovative IPM card game. For an insight into these courses, we take a look at the course dedicated to viticulture (available online soon).

One of the important elements of the thematic days is to emphasise the resources available for trainers to help them deliver their courses more effectively. These include access to ENDURE's IPM Training Guide and in particular methodologies for participatory training, such as Post its, Hum groups, Information hunts and Highlighting hierarchies.

On the day we joined, the format followed the typical pattern, with trainers provided with insights into the latest scientific research being conducted in particular crops. On the day we attended, these presentations included researcher Raphaël Metral, from Montpellier SupAgro, who offered insights in to the region's DEPHY Expé EcoViti work.

The work being conducted around Montpellier is part of a wider network of experimentation, in each of France's principal wine-growing areas, and is dedicated to innovation in viticulture. He explained that working on research stations allowed for a more experimental approach. Important levers for reducing pesticide use include mechanisation, genetic resistance and a rethinking of protection strategies, with a recognition that current systems need to change to achieve production which is both economically and environmentally satisfactory.

The DEPHY experimental networks cover all major crops and Alain Garcia, from CTIFL, France's technical centre for fruit and vegetables, highlighted some of the work being conducted in orchard crops. Here an ESR concept is being followed, E standing for efficiency (the optimisation of treatments), S for substitution (alternative control methods), and R for redesign (using different cropping systems).

A presentation which captured the attention of all the trainers was given by Charles Duby, a wine-grower from the Domaine de l'Arjolle, which is in the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of the Côtes de Thongue. Charles farms as part of a small group of seven producers and has been heavily involved in the production of a diagnostic tool for measuring biodiversity in vineyards.

IRSTEA researchers explain the workings of their EvaSprayViti artificial vine system for measuring spray efficiency

The easy-to-use tool has been employed by wine-makers within the PGI to analyse their vineyards and take practical steps to boost biodiversity. Charles, for example, has been involved in planting 950 trees and bushes, and ponds have been created.

He is driven, he explained, not by a desire to reduce the Treatment Frequency Index (TFI, a measure of pesticide use) but by a drive to produce quality wine every year. Nevertheless, the estate's TFI has been reduced by a wide-ranging and thoughtful approach to crop protection. The Côtes de Thongue has a broad palette of possible grape varieties (unlike some PGIs) and the estate has a dozen varieties with more or less susceptibility to diseases.

Alternative approaches used include the maintenance of grass cover in every second row and careful observation for mildew (the impact of which can fluctuate wildly) and insects (including trapping). Use is made of two 'witness plots', each comprising two rows of 60 vines, which receive no treatments at all, apart from spraying against flavescence dorée, which is obligatory in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. When treatments are necessary, they are applied using high-tech sprayers incorporating recuperation systems.

Trainers agreed that having an expert explain his (or her) approach would be one that would be valuable to them in their day-to-day courses, though the practicalities of achieving this with very busy wine-growers and farmers are difficult. Interestingly, the EcophytoPIC website makes wide use of video interviews with producers.

The day finished with a look at the work of the EcoTech-Viti mixed technology team. This is comprised of experts from the French Institute of Vines and Wine (IFV) and researchers from IRSTEA (National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture) Montpellier, which hosted the day, and Montpellier SupAgro.

Among its research, the team has developed an artificial vine system, EvaSprayViti, which can be used to measure the efficiency of spray equipment. The system effectively measures how much product is deposited on target areas by spraying machinery at three growth stages: early, medium and full growth. The work will help provide advice for improving spraying practices (and to guide grape producers in their investment options) and help develop in partnership new, more environmentally friendly equipment with greater efficacy.

For more information:

• Read more about EcophytoPIC (in French)
• Go to the ACTA website
• Explore ENDURE’s IPM Training Guide 
• Read more about the STEPHY Guide and download a copy 
• Get a more in-depth view of an e-learning course for trainers