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

Biocontrol of Xylella and its vector in olive trees for integrated pest management

Project description

Biopesticides for olive and almond cultivations

Olive and almond trees in the Mediterranean are threatened by the plant-pathogenic Xylella bacterium and its spittlebug transmitter. New biopesticides are needed to fight the bacterial threat, reduce the impact of chemical pesticides, and render olive and almond cultivations sustainable. The EU-funded BIOVEXO project will develop innovative biopesticides that decrease chemical pesticide input and provide higher protection to the plant. The biopesticides will be tested at large pilot scale for real-life estimation in two major European regions infested by Xylella: Apulia in Italy and Mallorca in Spain. The biopesticides will be proved in a combined and integrated approach on traditional and recently planted olive plantations in both areas and on almond trees in Mallorca.

Objective

BIOVEXO demonstrates a set of new and innovative biopesticides targeting the plant-pathogenic Xylella bacterium and its transmitting spittlebug vector, to fight a disease that seriously threatens olive and almond production in the European Mediterranean region. BIOVEXO’s biopesticides will reduce the input of chemical insecticides and will sustainably increase and secure European olive cultivation in its valuable socio-economic context. The biopesticides will be tested for use in curative and preventive approaches. We introduce six promising candidate biocontrol solutions acting either against Xylella or its vector, which include two bacterial strains, a microbial metabolite, two plant extracts, and an entomopathogenic fungus. Following small-scale on-field validation and improved formulation, BIOVEXO will upscale production of best-performing biopesticides (minimum two Xylella- and two vector-targeting ones) to large pilot scale for real-life evaluation in two major Xylella outbreak regions in Europe (Apulia, Italy and Mallorca, Spain) representing distinct pedoclimatic conditions. Then, BIOVEXO’s biopesticides will be demonstrated in a combined and integrated approach (IPM) on traditional and newly planted olive orchards in the two areas. Additional testing is done on almond trees in mainland Spain and Mallorca. The BIOVEXO consortium coming from academia, large industry, SMEs and associations contributes complementary expertise all along the value chain including practical knowledge and hands-on experience by participating olive growers and farmer associations. BIOVEXO will provide a mechanistic understanding of the biopesticides’ mode of action to support final product development and will ensure environmental and economic sustainability by performing LCA and risk, toxicity, and pathogenicity analyses. Thorough evaluation regarding regulatory compliance will prepare BIOVEXO’s biopesticides for smooth market entry post project.

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.

IA - Innovation action

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) H2020-BBI-JTI-2019

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

RTDS - VEREIN ZUR FORDERUNG DER KOMMUNIKATION UND VERMITTLUNG VON FORSCHUNG, TECHNOLOGIE UND INNOVATION (RTDS VEREIN, ENGL. RTDS ASSOCIATION)
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.

€ 868 741,04
Address
STROZZIGASSE 2 / 2. STOCK
1080 WIEN
Austria

See on map

SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Other
Links
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.

€ 868 741,04

Participants (11)

My booklet 0 0