Novel plant protection product to tackle fungus in Europe's vineyards
In European vineyards, the grapevine fungal diseases downy mildew and botrytis reduce both yield and wine quality. Due to legislative changes limiting the use of copper-containing fungicides, traditional and organic farmers need alternative solutions. To address the problem, the EU-funded PROECOWINE(opens in new window) (Development of a process to generate a novel plant protection product enriched with micronutrients to replace copper in organic viticulture) project set out to develop a novel, nutrient-enriched biofungicide to combat common grapevine fungal diseases. Project partners successfully cultivated several microalgae strains against downy mildew and botrytis under different conditions. They screened the strains for antifungal activity and identified the two most capable microalgae strains with over 90 % fungicide efficiency control in tackling downy mildew and botrytis. The two strains and their antifungal activity were validated in a series of greenhouse and field experiments. The PROECOWINE team devised effective and economically viable methods for high microalgae density growth. It scaled up the manufacture, processing and storage of microalgae preparations for application as a fungicide. Researchers evaluated downstream methods required to activate antifungal activity to determine the most cost-effective process for product manufacturing. They established the ideal formulation of microalgae concentrate, resulting in products with enhanced shelf life. The antifungal activity of the developed products was monitored. Results showed that the products keep pathogens at bay and do not negatively impact plants. Thanks to PROECOWINE, the innovative microalgae plant protection product should increase vineyard productivity by up to 30 %, and decrease production costs per unit by up to 20 %. This in turn will increase the competitiveness of EU wines and support the development of organic markets.
