EUCLID project (Europe-China Lever for Integrated Pest Management Demonstration) reveals demonstration sites

The EUCLID project (Europe-China Lever for Integrated Pest Management Demonstration) is now entering its second year, with work on testing new products and technologies getting underway at its range of demonstration sites this spring and summer.

EUCLID, which is focusing on grapevine, leaf vegetables and tomatoes, has identified a range of sites which will test the project’s technical innovations integrated into IPM packages. In addition, these sites will host visits from stakeholders, advisers and farmers to exchange views on the use of these techniques.

Some six sites are being used for grapevine, for example, across France, Italy and Spain. These include the Loire Valley vineyard managed by ENDURE partner ACTA and the French Wine and Vine Institute, where Cabernet Franc and Chenin grapes face a range of pests and diseases, including berry moths, leafhoppers, downy and powdery mildew and botrytis.

Three demonstration sites in Italy and Spain are being used for IPM investigations in lettuce crops. These include the Agroinnova and AgriNewTech nursery in Italy, where the above diseases are again a problem, in addition to leaf spot and problems caused by thrips and aphids.

Four sites are being used to demonstrate work in tomato crops across France, Italy and Spain, including the site run by INRA (France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research) in southern France. Here, tomatoes are being grown in unheated polytunnels, with the main threat to the crop coming from mites and powdery mildew.

This testing of new IPM measures includes the use of biofertilisers and biostimulants to help combat plant diseases in tomato and grape crops. Experimental trials conducted during the first year of the project have shown that foliar fertilisers containing humic acids, amino acids, plant hormone-like substances, plant elicitors and rapidly available sources of meso and micronutrients are effective in the control of foliar pathogens such as powdery and downy mildew. These measures will now be tested in field conditions.