With the EUCLID project (Europe China Lever for IPM Demonstration) moving into its third year, 2018 has seen the debut of its Innovation Demonstration Network, which is seen as a crucial step as it takes innovative research work conducted in the lab to the field.
Demonstration trials have been held in three European countries (France, Italy and Spain) and concern three crops (tomato, lettuce and grapevine). Each demonstration offers visitors the opportunity to compare growing programmes incorporating EUCLID innovations with conventional programmes based mainly on the use of pesticides.
The new solutions tested at EUCLID demonstration sites have included alternative options for the management of Tuta absoluta (tomato leafminer) and Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) in tomato, grey mould in tomato and lettuce, Sclerotinia in lettuce, powdery mildew in tomato, various soil pathogens in lettuce and tomato and powdery and downy mildew in grapevine. New solutions from EUCLID’s research have been combined with other solutions to offer complete IPM packages.
Philippe Delval from ACTA, which is coordinating the network, reports: “During the demonstrations days, numerous exchanges with advisers and growers allowed the EUCLID experimenters to gather data and feedback that will help perfecting the project proposals.”
In France, for example, INRA’s Avignon site offered visitors the chance to compare tomato crops grown in four polytunnels closely mimicking those used by local producers. Two of these tunnels followed conventional approaches to health management while two employed innovative approaches. These included soil amendments designed by AgriNewTech (ANT) and Binab, and the use of an ANT foliar fertiliser.
Plant development was increased by 6-7% in EUCLID IPM tunnels, suggesting the ANT and Binab products may have a biostimulant effect, and fruit numbers and fruit weight were boosted. Following artificial inoculation to prompt a severe powdery mildew epidemic in all the tunnels, disease severity was much reduced where ANT’s compost had been used.
In Italy, Agroinnova and ANT organised a visit to the demonstration site for lettuce, inviting participants from the EMPHASIS project’s summer school on ‘Emerging pests and diseases in horticultural crops: innovative solutions for diagnosis and management’ to attend.
ANT’s Massimo Pugliese enlightened students about the production and use of compost for controlling soil-borne diseases, demonstrating the effects of compost produced with different organic materials and the results achieved in nursery and field conditions.
In Spain, IRTA and UdL staged a greenhouse tomato demonstration day attended mainly by pest control advisers. They were able to see firsthand the results of a EUCLID plot compared to a conventional approach. In particular, this has involved the use of Califol against powdery mildew and the introduction of mirid bugs for Tuta absoluta and Bemisia tabaci control.
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