Descripción del proyecto
Una manera natural de protegerse contra el crisomélido del maíz
El crisomélido del maíz es una plaga invasora que representa una amenaza para la producción de maíz dulce europea. Desafortunadamente, tras la prohibición de los neonicotinoides tóxicos, no existe ninguna protección eficaz. Por esta razón, la empresa austriaca LITHOS ha desarrollado y patentado CornProtect, una solución biológica y muy eficaz contra el crisomélido del maíz. Además, es natural, no es tóxica y es inocua para todos los demás organismos y para el medio ambiente. El proyecto CORNPROTECT, financiado con fondos europeos, fomentará el despliegue comercial del producto, optimizando la formulación actual y registrándola como producto fitosanitario de la Unión Europea. El siguiente paso será aumentar la producción y validar el producto en el mercado europeo.
Objetivo
The Western Corn Rootworm (WCR) is a pest that has turned into a major threat to Europe’s corn production. WCR has
spread to most of South East and Central Europe, affecting now 7 million hectares (37% of the European corn cultivation).
With an average yield/hectare of €1,800 and damage potential between 20 and 80%, possible yield losses amount to
€2,52-10,08 billion.
After the ban of the highly toxic neonicotinoids within the EU, there is currently no effective protection against the WCR. Due
to a lack of other solutions, today some unspecific chemical pesticides are marketed and used against the WCR with very
limited effectiveness. To make it worse, these products are toxic and harmful for the environment and for beneficial insects
(like bees).
LITHOS has developed and patented CORNPROTECT, a biological and highly effective solution for protecting corn against
WCR. It works target specific due to the release of the specific pheromone of the WCR. As a natural solution it is absolutely
non-toxic and harmless for all other organisms and the environment. The specific combination of the pheromone and a
highly porous mineral (zeolite) as a carrier allows a slow release of the pheromone and mating disruption over the active
period of WCR adults. It’s also easy to use and affordable (costs to farmers are € 50/hectar, similar to conventional
solutions). CORNPROTECT can be used in conventional and organic farming.
The main objective for LITHOS in this phase 2 project is to bridge the remaining gap to commercial deployment by
optimizing the current formulation, registering CORNPROTECT as EU plant protection product, scaling up existing
production, and validating the product in the EU market.
Ámbito científico
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagronomyplant protection
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturesustainable agriculture
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compounds
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomology
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-2
Régimen de financiación
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinador
4482 ENNSDORF
Austria
Organización definida por ella misma como pequeña y mediana empresa (pyme) en el momento de la firma del acuerdo de subvención.