Project description DEENESFRITPL Increasing the efficacy of biostimulants to aid crop performance Biostimulants are known for being an environmentally friendly alternative to current fertilisers and plant protection products in the market. They can help plants grow by enhancing nutrient uptake as well as protect the health of crops by improving their tolerance to stress. The EU-funded NANOSTIMULANTS project aims to increase the effectiveness of biostimulants by developing a Nanostimulant – a nanoparticle that encloses a biostimulant. Key to achieving this will be advanced nanoencapsulation techniques. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective A biostimulant (BS) is understood as any compound, microorganism or mixture of them, with the exception of fertilizers and pesticides1. BSs are commonly ecofriendly substances and inert for the ecosystems, their utilization is widely reported in the literature as enhancing tolerance against stress or increasing yield in the field2. Regarding plant health, BSs are presented as a good alternative to achieve the yearly EU goals announced in the communication: “A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system” 3. A good example of this way of thinking is the research conducted by the experienced researcher (ER) of this proposal, through utilizing L-pyroglutamic acid 4 (Pyr), which is able to save 30% of water requirements, reaching higher yields. However, to be effective, weekly treatments of 500 g per hectare are required. These involve an extra cost per hectare of 20€ each week to reduce watering by 30% with some losses in yield. One of the main reasons is probably the easy degradability of BSs. Indeed, application of pure bioactive compounds is also very limited due to their fast release, low solubility, and poor bioavailability5. An alternative to counteract these disadvantages is nanoencapsulation6. The present proposal is a novel interdisciplinary approach to this, which aims to multiply BS effectiveness by constructing a Nanostimulant (nanoparticle that encloses a BS). It updates traditional BS applications in the field by using the most advanced nanoencapsulation (NE) techniques. Fields of science agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagronomyplant protectionagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturesustainable agriculture Keywords Biostimulants Agroindustrial Food security Climate change water deficit Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2020 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator Universidade da Madeira Net EU contribution € 147 815,04 Address Praça do município 9000-081 Funchal Portugal See on map Region Região Autónoma da Madeira Região Autónoma da Madeira Região Autónoma da Madeira Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
