Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Plant pest prevention through technology-guided monitoring and site-specific control

Project description

Sensing volatiles to monitor and manage invasive pests in agriculture and forestry

Pest invasions are projected to increase as the climate changes. This poses a major threat to food systems. Preventing outbreaks and early detection are a top priority in Europe. In this context, the EU-funded PURPEST project will develop and demonstrate an innovative sensor platform that can rapidly detect five different pests during import and in the field to stop their establishment and reduce pesticide inputs by at least 50 %. The sensor is based on detection of pest-specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by pests and/or host plants invaded by pests. The project will determine the VOC signature of plants attacked by Phytophthora ramorum and other Phytophthora species, the fall armyworm, the cotton bollworm, the brown marmorated stink bug and the pine wood nematode under different abiotic stress conditions.

Objective

The EU requires rapid and effective actions based on innovative detection concepts targeting quarantine, priority and other serious pests. Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems are threatened by increasing pest invasions due to climate change and a growing demand for high quality, pest-free food. The goal of PurPest is to develop, validate and demonstrate an innovative sensor platform that can rapidly detect five different pests during import and in the field to stop their establishment and reduce pesticide inputs by at least 50%. The sensor concept is based on detection of pest-specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by host plants invaded by one or several pests. PurPest will determine the VOC signature of Phytophthora ramorum, the Fall armyworm, the Cotton bollworm, the Brown marmorated stinkbug and the Pinewood nematode under different abiotic stress conditions. The VOC database will be exploited to optimize existing and develop new sensor concepts to detect pest-specific VOCs, starting from proof of concept (TRL3) to demonstration in field trials (TRL6). Non-invasive, reliable and rapid pest sensing platforms will increase pest screening efficiency from currently 3% to 80% of plant imports. Preventing outbreaks of new pests and site-specific pesticide use by early detection are the cornerstones of sustainable and integrated pest management (IPM). PurPest will evaluate the socio-economic and ecological impact of 5 pests and how the new detection concept affects these impacts. Direct communication with stakeholders via the advisory board, workshops and webinars is part of PurPest’s multi-actor approach to affirm involvement of all interest groups along the value chain The PurPest project is a strong multidisciplinary consortium with expertise from 10 countries, 7 universities, 5 research institutes, 4 SMEs and 2 governmental agencies.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

NIBIO - NORSK INSTITUTT FOR BIOOKONOMI
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 072 587,50
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 072 587,50

Participants (14)

Partners (3)

My booklet 0 0