Agrochemicals

Futureco Bioscience joins PALVIP project for biocontrol of Mediterranean crops

Futureco Bioscience is now part of the team involved in the PALVIP project (Alternative Protection of the Interregional Vegetable Productions of the Pyrenees), a cross-border investigation and experimentation project Catalonia – Roussillon, to develop biocontrol products adapted to Mediterranean crops. PALVIP associates universities and technical structures such as The Chamber of Agriculture of the Eastern Pyrenees (CAEP), the Catalan Institute of Vineyard and Wine (INCAVI), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the University of Girona (UdG), the University of Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD) and Futureco Bioscience.

The purposes of the PALVIP project are to characterize the biological control products adapted to the Mediterranean crops such as wine, fruits and vegetables; to collect and disseminate information to guide farmers on the use of these products; and to promote the development of the biocontrol industry and sustainable agriculture.
 
The PALVIP team has selected biopesticides based on microorganisms and botanical extracts to test their effectiveness through field trials (CAEP, INCAVI), their environmental impact (UPVD, UdG and Futureco Bioscience) and their effect on plants (UdG and UAB). These trials will be carried out in vine against mildew, powdery mildew and Botrytis; peach against brown rot; apricot tree against the drying of flowers caused by Monilia laxa; cherry against flies and in horticultural fields against weeds.
 
The impact of the whole treatment on the quality of the wine as also the environmental impact of the biological control products will be investigated, using an innovative approach based on transcriptomics, metabolomics (LC-MS), and environmental metabolic footprint (EMC). These techniques allow the analysis of the molecular interactions between components of complex mixtures of soils, leaves and fruits, the gene expression of proteins and hormones linked to the metabolism or the stress response of plants, and provide information on the residues of the products, the formation of by-products and the effect on biodiversity.