BIOBESTicide
BIO-Based pESTicides production for sustainable agriculture management plan
Project details
- Type of project
- Innovation Action - Demonstration
- Project focus
- Crop protection & fertilisation
- Feedstock origin
- Agri-food waste
- Feedstock type
- Food industry sidestreams
- Project period
- 1 May 2020 - 31 October 2023
- Status
- Completed
- CBE JU Contribution
- € 3 069 653,00
- Call identifier
- H2020-BBI-JTI-2019
Summary
Agriculture faces the ongoing challenge of maintaining high productivity while reducing its reliance on chemical pesticides. Growing concerns about the environmental and health impacts of conventional plant protection products, combined with increasingly strict regulations, have strengthened the need for effective and sustainable alternatives. Biological control agents (BCAs) offer one such alternative, using naturally occurring organisms and their interactions with plants and pathogens to help manage crop diseases.
This need is particularly evident in European viticulture, where Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTDs) remain a major threat to vineyard productivity and longevity. These diseases affect the woody tissues of grapevines, progressively weakening plants and often leading to their premature removal. The availability of effective biological solutions for preventing and managing these diseases remains limited.
The BIOBESTicide project set out to address this gap by developing a bio-based plant protection product using Pythium oligandrum strain I-5180. This naturally occurring oomycete has the ability to stimulate plants' own defence mechanisms, offering a different approach to disease management. The project also explored the use of beet sugar industry by-products, particularly molasses, as a sustainable resource for producing the active biological agent.
The project successfully advanced the production process and evaluated the biopesticide under different viticultural conditions. Field trials carried out between 2021 and 2023 in six European countries demonstrated encouraging results, including reductions of up to 78% in vine wood necrosis symptoms. The product also showed promising performance in nursery and field applications, highlighting its potential as an alternative to existing approaches to Grapevine Trunk Disease management. BIOBESTicide demonstrated the potential of Pythium oligandrum as a bio-based solution for protecting European vineyards. By combining biological disease control with the valorisation of sugar industry by-products, the project contributed to the development of a more sustainable approach to viticulture and laid the foundations for further product development and regulatory approval.
Biopesticide production: develop a demonstration plant capable of producing 10 tonnes per year of a high-quality biopesticide based on Pythium oligandrum strain I-5180 for use against Grapevine Trunk Diseases.
Product formulation and distribution: optimise the biopesticide formulation to maximise product performance and stability, while developing efficient logistics and distribution solutions to minimise losses and costs.
Product efficacy: demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed biopesticide through controlled-environment and field trials, under both natural and artificial pathogen inoculation conditions.
Regulatory compliance: ensure that the developed products meet European Plant Protection Products (PPP) requirements, supporting the approval of Pythium oligandrum strain I-5180 for use in Europe.
Sustainable value chain: demonstrate the environmental, economic and social sustainability and feasibility of the entire production and distribution value chain, showcasing its potential to relevant stakeholders.
Results
Field validation: tested the Pythium oligandrum-based biopesticide in field trials between 2021 and 2023 across six European countries, demonstrating its potential under different viticultural conditions.
Reduction in disease symptoms: achieved reductions of up to 78% in vine wood necrosis symptoms, highlighting the biopesticide's potential to protect vines against Grapevine Trunk Diseases.
Effective biocontrol: demonstrated promising efficacy in nursery and field conditions, with results comparable to existing biocontrol products on the market.
Plant defence stimulation: demonstrated that Pythium oligandrum stimulated the natural defence mechanisms of vines, offering an alternative approach to disease management.
Sustainable production: developed expertise in producing high-quality oospores using molasses-based culture media, supporting a more sustainable production process for bio-based plant protection products.
Pathway to market uptake: advanced the development and regulatory preparation of the biopesticide, laying the groundwork for its future approval and adoption in European viticulture.
Impacts
Alternative to chemical pesticides: provided the European viticulture industry with an innovative bio-based alternative to chemical pesticides for the management of Grapevine Trunk Diseases.
Cross-sectoral collaboration: established new interconnections within the bio-based economy, strengthening links between the agri-food sector and biopesticide producers and created new opportunities for cross-sectoral cooperation.
New bio-based value chain: created a novel value chain based on the sustainable use of beet sugar by-products as feedstock for the production of bio-based products for specific market applications.
Innovative plant protection: developed a disruptive bio-based solution for pest and plant disease management, contributing to the diversification of sustainable plant protection products.
Environmental protection: reduced reliance on chemical pesticides and their potential impacts on soil, groundwater and surface water, while helping to prevent vine losses caused by Grapevine Trunk Diseases and preserve local ecosystems.
Consortium map
Project coordination
- GREENCELL Saint-Beauzire, France
Consortium
- MERCIER FRERES SARL Vix, France
- PNO CONSULTANTS Paris, France
- FUNDACION TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION DONOSTIA/SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain
- LAMBERTI SPA Albizzate, Italy
- EURION CONSULTING Cazevieille, France
- PNO INNOVATION SRL Roma, Italy
- STOWARZYSZENIE ZACHODNIOPOMORSKI KLASTER CHEMICZNY ZIELONA CHEMIA SZCZECIN, Poland
- NORDZUCKER AG Braunschweig, Germany
- INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT Paris, France
- INSTITUT FRANCAIS DE LA VIGNE ET DU VIN Le Grau-du-Roi, France
