Overall objective of the project:
Investigations on plant extracts and natural substances for control of oomycetes; in depth trials with effectice compounds/extracts (optimization of extraction procedure, effective concentration, time of application etc.); testing under practical conditions.
Overall objective of the project:
The development and validation of suitable methods for the molecular identifcation and biological characterization are a prerequisite fore testing the efficacy of biological control measures.
Cooperation partner: Institut für Pflanzenschutz in Gartenbau und Forst (JKI) Institut für Strategien und Folgenabschätzung (JKI)
Overall objective of the project:
Durch Befragung der Pflanzenschutzdienste und der Hersteller bzw. Vertreiber biologischer Pflanzenschutzprodukte und unter Hinzuziehung anderer verfügbare Quellen wird der Umfang des Einsatzes biologischer Pflanzenschutzverfahren in Deutschland abgeschätzt. Der Bericht wird periodisch im Rahmen des Nationalen Aktionsplans (NAP) erstellt.
Cooperation partner: Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL), Frankfurt/M Edmund Mach Foundation Universität Hohenheim Institut Technique de l'Agriculture Biologique, Frankreich International Federation of Organic Agriculture Trifolio-M GmbH Scotland's Rural College University of Copenhagen Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei Norsk Institut for Ökonomie SubstainTec GmbH Biologische Produkte für die Landwirtschaft
Overall objective of the project:
The project will foster the development and adoption of cost-efficient and environmentally safe tools and technologies to reduce the use of copper and mineral oil in plant protection, and to provide solutions to support livestock health and welfare. The project will further identify sustainable sources for plant nutrition. The products and management practices will be evaluated in different pedo-climatic and farming conditions in the EU and Mediterranean third countries. RELACS will also develop implementation roadmaps for the developed solutions.
Cooperation partner: International Atomic Energy Agency
Overall objective of the project:
Mass rearing of codling moth (Cydia pomonella) is crucial for the implementation of SIT programmes for codling moth control as well as in mass rearings for the production of baculoviruses used in codling moth control. Covert and overt infections of mass reared codling moth with Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) are a major threat to SIT programmes. The identification and establishment of codling moth colonies resistant to CpGV isolates offer a novel possibility of using these strains in SIT rearing facilities. A prerequisite for using CpGV-resistant colonies is the stability of the expressed resistance. The proposed research will determine the stability of CpGV resistance in selected CpGV-resistant codling moth strains and will characterize the trancriptional activity of CpGV and codling moth genes in uninfected and infected codling moth colonies by next-generation RNA sequencing. In addition, diagnostic methods for detecting the pathogen load in codling moth (and others) colonies will be advanced.
Cooperation partner: Wageningen University, Applied Plant Research Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes University of Copenhagen National Institute of Agricultural Research Universitat de Valencia University of Exeter United Kingdom Research and Innovation
Overall objective of the project:
Mass rearing of insects is a rapidly expanding industry due to improved mechanization and creasing interest in the use of insects for a variety of purposes, such as sterile insect techniques, food and feed, waste management and biocontrol of insect pest species. However, expertise is urgently needed to address emerging problems with infectious disease outbreaks in mass reared insects. Therefore, we propose the InsectDoctors joint doctoral program to build a durable European framework to educate experts in insect pathology in order to overcome the shortage in properly educated experts in Europe, and beyond. The research of InsectDoctors will expand our understanding of emerging pathogens and will provide necessary tools for disease management in industrial insect rearing. The complementary expertise of the participating institutes and companies leads to an ambitious and exiting program, providing interdisciplinary training and research in pertinent areas of insect pathology (bacteriology, mycology, virology) and entomology (immunology, physiology). In an overarching raining program, novel advanced courses will provide students with technical, scientific and transferable skills. This interdisciplinary approach, crucial to provide insight in the complexity of insect-microbe interactions in a range of farmed insects, can only be achieved by joining forces between European universities. Furthermore, this joint doctoral program aims to build durable partnerships for doctoral training in insect pathology, thereby overcoming national and interdisciplinary boundaries in doctoral research. By requiring equal excellence from all participants in this training program we will contribute to high level PhD education across Europe. In short: InsectDoctors will provide the curable framework, the people, the scientific knowledge and the tools to assist the upcoming insect industry to diagnose and mitigate infectious diseases in their mas reared insects cultures.