Descripción del proyecto
Nueva aplicación para supervisar la invasión del escarabajo japonés en Europa
El escarabajo japonés («Popillia japonica»), uno de los insectos más invasores de Norteamérica, supone una gran amenaza para cientos de especies de plantas. Esta grave plaga para la agricultura, la horticultura, el césped y los paisajes también supone un riesgo para la salud de las plantas en Europa. El insecto, que fue introducido por accidente en Europa continental en 2014, puede trasladarse con rapidez y establecerse en una amplia variedad de climas diferentes. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos IPM-Popillia ofrecerá instrumentos de supervisión rápidos y fiables, además de una herramienta de ciencia ciudadana basada en una aplicación para maximizar la implicación y la sensibilización públicas respecto a esta plaga invasora. Un conjunto de herramientas respetuoso con el medio ambiente, IPM-Toolbox, proporcionará métodos para controlar al escarabajo japonés en las zonas infestadas y en los límites de las zonas de expansión actuales.
Objetivo
The Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica, is one of the worst invasive pests of North America. Costs to control the pest in the US exceed $450 million per year. P. japonica was detected near Milano in 2014, and is now starting to spread in Europe. It is an enormous threat to Europe, since (1) it can feed on more than 300 host plants, including many important crops, (2) it is a good flyer and can be relocated via movement of goods and people, (3) climate suitability puts at risk an area ranging from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, and from the Mediterranean to Great Britain and Southern Scandinavia. EFSA and the JRC of the European Commission nominated P. japonica a candidate high priority pest in the EU in the new EU Plant health Law.
IPM-Popillia has the aim to counteract this invasion. The project will provide fast and reliable monitoring tools, including an app-based citizen science approach to rise public awareness. Its main deliverable will be an IPM-Toolbox for control of P. japonica, relying exclusively on environmentally friendly control measures. Several teams of the consortium will collaborate in the core of the recent outbreak area, doing practical research in an European environment that can be applied immediatedly. The ambition of IPM-Popillia is to show that it is possible to control the new pest, and meet the requirements of quarantine regulations, and at the same time respect the environment and the principles of the sustainable use directive.
IPM-Popillia will provide an integrated pest management strategy against P. japonica at a very early timepoint of the invasion process. So far, the new pest is still confined to one single and comparatively small area of about 6’000 square kilometres on mainland Europe. This timeliness is exceptional when compared to previous invasions into Europe, and will significantly enhance chances for successful containment, provided that the starting signal is given NOW.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-SFS-2019-2
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
3003 Bern
Suiza