Descrizione del progetto
Un modo naturale per proteggersi contro la diabrotica del mais
La diabrotica del mais è un parassita invasivo che rappresenta una minaccia per la produzione di mais in Europa, contro il quale, purtroppo, non esiste una protezione efficace a seguito del divieto dei tossici neonicotinoidi. Per questo motivo l’azienda austriaca LITHOS ha sviluppato e brevettato CornProtect, una soluzione biologica e altamente efficace contro la diabrotica del mais che è anche naturale, non tossica e innocua per tutti gli altri organismi e per l’ambiente. Il progetto CORNPROTECT, finanziato dall’UE, promuoverà la diffusione commerciale del prodotto ottimizzando la formulazione attuale e registrandolo come prodotto fitosanitario dell’Unione. Il prossimo passo sarà quello di aumentare la produzione e convalidare il prodotto nel mercato dell’UE.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagronomyplant protection
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturesustainable agriculture
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compounds
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomology
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Invito a presentare proposte
Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoBando secondario
H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-2
Meccanismo di finanziamento
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinatore
4482 ENNSDORF
Austria
L’organizzazione si è definita una PMI (piccola e media impresa) al momento della firma dell’accordo di sovvenzione.