Experts at two Midland universities in the UK are starting a new project to develop a photonic “nose” to monitor crops for pest infestations and plant disease. UK-based Aston University in Birmingham is collaborating with Harper Adams University to research and develop technology using light to monitor crop health. New AG International found out more.
The Midlands-based research will be using strawberries to test the new technology. The fruit is worth £350 million to the UK economy but it is vulnerable to potato aphid which has the potential to wipe out an annual harvest.
UK strawberry crops are vulnerable to potato aphid which has the potential to wipe out an annual harvest.
The new project uses recent developments in photonics technology that can analyze low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plants, which indicate their health. This is coupled with machine learning hardware which makes it practical to use artificial intelligence in commercial settings. Better invertebrate pest and plant disease monitoring technologies will significantly help cut crop losses, according to Professor David Webb of Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT).
New AG International asked Professor Webb what type of laser and wavelength would be used to detect the VOCs. “Organic compounds – including those emitted by plants – have strong and distinct, though very broad, spectral "signatures" in the mid-infrared region, which corresponds to wavelengths from two microns up to beyond 10 microns. Until recently, it
has been difficult to effectively utilize this spectral region for practical applications, as the optical sources and detection methods available did not permit rapid, real-time measurements with high sensitivity,” noted Webb. “Current developments in widely tuneable laser and optical frequency comb technologies for the mid-infrared may soon make it much easier to do these measurements, so we believe it is timely to explore how information obtained in this way can benefit agriculture.”
Is it a reflected signal that is measured? “We are looking for absorption spectra obtained by sending the laser light through air near the plants. As the plant is stressed by disease or pests, the make-up of the compounds emitted by the plant changes. We hope to detect and interpret this change with the help of machine learning,” added Webb.
On the nose Electronic noses that use electrochemical sensors can suffer from sensitivity issues, sensor drift/aging effects and lack specificity, according to Webb. “We intend to address this by building on the fast-moving technology of photonics – the science of light – whilst collaborating with scientists in other disciplines.”
The 12-month project is to receive £200,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council. The grant is the maximum amount given from their molecules to landscapes project, which funds interdisciplinary solutions to “real world” challenges.
Scanning on the move The project will eventually look into practical ways for a sensor device to move along strawberry troughs, but not within the early stage of research, noted Webb, who added the aim is “proof of concept” and to assemble a network of stakeholders able to take this and other research to commercialization.
Laser light could also be used to indicated ripeness. “However, in this project we are aiming for earlier detection of disease and pests before it is easily visible,” said Webb.
Interdisciplinary approach Dr. Joe Roberts from Harper Adams University stated that with the
We are looking for absorption spectra obtained by sending the laser light through air near the plants. As the plant is stressed by disease or pests, the make-up of the compounds emitted by the plant changes.
projected increase in the global population, there is increasing pressure on the agricultural sector to achieve higher crop yields.
“Reducing crop losses within existing production systems will improve food security without increasing resource use,” he said. “We intend to establish an interdisciplinary community of agricultural science, optical sensing and machine learning experts to develop novel plant health monitoring platforms that enhance agricultural production through localized pest and disease monitoring to detect hotspots.” ●
UK-based Aston University (pictured) is collaborating with Harper Adams University to research and develop technology using light to monitor crop health.
Photo: Aston University
Harmful fungi cause enormous agricultural losses. But now, researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), working with partners from Germany, France and Switzerland on the DialogProTec project, have developed alternatives that trick the pathogens’ chemical communication with plants.
A fungal infection called esca, known in southern Europe since the Middle Ages, continues to be a threat to wine production in Europe, causing millions in damage to winemakers every year. Conventional plant protection typically involved the use of fungicides to fight fungal diseases like esca.
Dr. Alexandra Wolf from KIT’s Botanical Institute, which coordinates the DialogProTec project, says researchers have developed a completely new approach to battling this disease.
“In nature, organisms interact using chemical signals. We’ve been able to identify some of the signals between the host and the pathogen, and to manipulate them,” says Wolf, who adds that this “biohack” is precise and effective and has a minimal ecological footprint.
To develop the new methods, the KIT-led project founded an interdisciplinary research network including specialists in botany, fungal genetics, microsystem technology, organic chemistry and agricultural sciences. The network used about 20,000 fungus strains from the collection at the Institute of Biotechnology and Drug Research (IBFW) in Kaiserslautern and about 6,000 plant species from KIT.
The DialogProTec research project developed sophisticated technologies for sustainable plant protection.
Image: DialogProTec, KIT)
The researchers didn’t need to work with entire plants and fungi to identify and exploit the right signals. Instead, they worked with individual cells. A microfluidics chip jointly developed with KIT’s Institute of Microstructure Technology served as the basis for a miniature ecosystem.
“We placed plant and fungi cells on chips a few square centimetres in size so that they can’t come into physical contact but can interact chemically via a microfluidic current,” says Christian Metzger from the Botanical Institute at KIT. “To make this interaction visible, we equipped the genetic material in the plant cells with a gene switch and a fluorescence gene. Whenever a chemical signal activates the immune system, we can measure the green fluorescence.” The gene switches are from wild grapevines, in which the researchers had previously detected an especially active immune response.
During their investigations, the researchers first decoded the chemical communication between fungus and plant that accompanies a fungal attack. One of the things they identified was signal substances that the fungus uses to suppress the plant’s immune response.
“They’re part of a chemical interaction shaped by a long evolutionary process and are produced as soon as the fungus detects specific stress signals from the plant,” explains Professor Peter Nick, who heads the project and the Botanical Institute. The team then identified molecules that could be used to reactivate the immune response. “When we use them for plant protection, the plants can often ward off the fungus. You can think of it as a vaccination for plants,” says Nick.
DialogProTec’s innovative technology is already on its way into practical use and is soon to be tested in the field. In addition to their work on an alternative to fungicides, the project team has also developed new approaches to promoting plant growth or fighting weeds, where signal substances could also replace herbicides in the future.
In addition to KIT, the University of Freiburg, the University of Strasbourg, the Institute of Biotechnology and Drug Research (IBFW) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland were also involved in the research, which was funded by the “Interreg Oberrhein” cross-border EU program. Over the course of the project, a network of agricultural operations (including wine and fruit producers) and industrial companies (plant protection and technology businesses) formed; the researchers will continue to cooperate with it in the future. ●
In nature, organisms interact using chemical signals. We’ve been able to identify some of the signals between the host and the pathogen, and to manipulate them.
ABIM is running 24-26 October 2022 at the Congress Center Basel, Switzerland, and will be looking to build on the strong return as an in-person event in 2021. The 2020 edition was online only.
The programme is built around six sessions open to all delegates with four workshops for IBMA members. There is also a welcome session, the Bernard Blum award, and a keynote presentation session with panel discussion. There is also a poster session, as well as a packed exhibition hall.
The event has been running since 2006 and was held in Lucerne, Switzerland before moving to its current location in Basel in 2013.
Day 1 Monday 24 October begins with group meetings for IBMA members. In the afternoon, proceedings begin as usual with the welcome by the ABIM Executive Board: Lucius Tamm CEO ABIM AG, Head of Department of Crop Sciences, Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland; Jennifer Lewis,
Member of the Executive Board ABIM AG and Executive Director, IBMA Global, Belgium; Karin Sartorius-Brüschweiler, Manager Life Sciences at Economic Development, Office of Economy and Labour, Canton of Basel-Stadt.
The much-anticipated presentation of the Bernard Blum Award follows, supported by New AG International. The Bernard Blum Award is presented annually by IBMA to the most innovative biocontrol product of the year. The award recipients have a high impact in the management of pests or diseases whilst having a low impact on human health and the environment.
This year, the following awards will be presented, and all recipients will be given the chance to present their innovation: • Bronze Award for an innovative biocontrol product • Silver Award for an innovative biocontrol product • Gold Award for an innovative biocontrol product • Award for best innovative product assisting uptake of biocontrol (introduced in 2021)
Day 2 Tuesday 25 October gets under way with Session 1, where there is a discussion on ‘Innovation for IPM and biocontrol’.
Participants currently listed on ABIM website are Alberto Acedo, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Biome Makers, U.S.; Fanny Rolet, CEO Antofénol, France; Dmytro Yakovenko, Head of International Department, BTU-CENTER, Ukraine; Oluwatobi E. Oni, Managing Scientist – Regulatory Strategy (Plant Protection Products), Exponent International Limited, UK; Guido Ramirez Caceres, Business Development and Portfolio Manager, Rizobacter, Argentina.
Running concurrently with this session is Workshop 1 – Registration best practice (IBMA members only). Anne Steenbergh, Scientific Assessor, Dutch board for the authorisation of plant protection products and biocides (Ctgb) / Jacobijn Van Etten, Project Manager, Dutch board for the authorisation of plant protection products and biocides (Ctgb).
Session 2 focuses on ‘Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world’. Panellists include Mark Trimmer, Managing Partner, DunhamTrimmer LLC, United States; Manuele Tamò, Principal Scientist - Entomologist and Benin Country Representative, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IITA, Cotonou, Benin; Lieselot Van der Veken, Founder, Pro Terra Agro; Leila Luci Dinardo-Miranda, Scientific Researcher, Agronomic Institute IAC.
Workshop 2 will run concurrently for IBMA members, with David Calvert, Director, iFormulate Limited, United Kingdom leading a workshop on formulating for biology.
Session 3 on 25 October features ‘The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol’. Panellists include Andrew Owen-Griffiths, Head of Unit Plants and Organics, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission, Ireland; Barbara Edler MUCF Coordinator European Minor Uses Coordination Facility (MUCF), France; Rüdiger Hauschild, Managing Director Biocontrol APIS Applied Insect Science GmbH, Germany.
Workshop 3 focuses on ‘IP protection and patents’ (for IBMA members only). This will be led by law firm Appleyard Lees: Barbara Fleck, Partner and Biotech Patent Attorney, Appleyard Lees; Dan Bailey, Associate, Appleyard Lees.
Keynote session In the latter part of the afternoon, the day moves to the keynote speech and panel discussion. Bernard Lehmann, Chairperson, HLPE-CFS Committee (UN High Level Panel of Experts on World Food Security), Italy, will present on ‘Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet’.
Session 4 on day 2 will look at ‘Case studies on company transformations from chemistry to biology’, led by Mike Frank, President and COO Crop Protection, UPL Corporation, UK.
And running concurrently for IBMA members: Workshop 4: ‘The role of biocontrol in sustainability and SDGs’ (for IBMA members only).
Day 3 26 October 2022 begins with Session 5: ‘Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology’. Participants include Andrew Owen-Griffiths, Head of Unit Plants and Organics, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission, Ireland; Robert Finger, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Policy, ETH Zürich, Switzerland; Susanne Sütterlin, Manager of the Phytosanitary and Crop Protection Team, Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Netherlands; Marcelo A. Boechat Morandi, Senior Researcher, Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Brazil.
The final session, Session 6, focuses on ‘Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute’. Participants include Salome Hofer, Head of Sustainability Coop Group, Switzerland; Lesley Mitchell, Associate Director for Sustainable Nutrition, Forum for the Future; Nikki Hulzebos, Program Manager Sustainability & Certification, Fresh Produce Centre, Netherlands; Jeroen Weststrate, Junior Sustainability & Data Specialist, Fresh Produce Centre, Netherlands. ●
To join as a delegate, visit the ABIM website HERE
For more than 30 years, Ron Mittler has studied a chemical compound called reactive oxygen species, and his ongoing work is uncovering a new view on its importance.
The plant scientist from the University of Missouri (MU) has discovered a new way of measuring stress in plants, which comes at a time when plants are experiencing multiple stressors from heat, drought and flooding because of extreme weather events.
The discovery involves a once maligned collection of molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are produced by anything that uses oxygen, like animals, people and plants. But Mittler uncovered a redeeming quality of ROS — their role as a communication signal that can indicate whether plants are stressed out.
“When stressors from heat and drought are added together, plants don't have ground water to draw from, so they close the stomata [leaf pores], and this makes the leaves become really hot,” said Mittler, whose appointment is in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “This is why the combination of drought and heat is really dangerous, because the leaf temperature is much higher than with a plant subjected to just heat. The change can be anywhere between two and four degrees, and that can make the difference between life and death.”
Plant stress is also tied to crop loss, but existing analytical research on the subject has typically focused on how crops react to just one stressor. However, Mittler said a plant’s survival rate will dramatically decrease as the number of stressors continues to increase to three to six different stressors. The key, he said, is to keep ROS levels in check. Either too much or too little can be damaging, but an optimum level of ROS can be considered safe for life.
Born and raised in Israel, Mittler wanted to be a veterinarian while growing up. But, after enrolling at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he recalls spending a summer in the late 1980s as an undergraduate student working in an agriculture lab, where he got “hooked” on science — particularly the role of ROS in plants. Mittler has been studying ROS ever since.
“At the time, we were trying to identify why certain cell lines were more resistant to salinity than others,” he said. “That was my first-ever scientific research problem. But then I started to work on desert plants, and from there on reactive oxygen species and blue green algae.”
The paper “Reactive oxygen species signaling in plant stress responses” was published in Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, a journal of Nature. Other authors include Sara Zandalinas and Yosef Fichman at MU; and Frank Van Breusegem at Ghent University in Belgium. ●
MU plant scientist Ron Mittler has discovered a new way of measuring stress in plants.
Photo: MU
Microbial communities naturally living on the leaves and stems of tomato plants can be manipulated to suppress diseases that reduce productivity, according to researchers, offering hope that growers someday can apply these mixtures of bacteria and fungi to protect plants and improve harvests.
In a new study at U.S.-based research university Penn State that involved a greenhouse full of four lines of young tomato plants representing different treatments and control groups, researchers repeatedly “passaged” or transferred microbes – initially gathered from leaves of healthy tomato plants in the field – from one plant to another,
which were subsequently inoculated with the bacterial speck pathogen.
After multiple transfers or passages of the microbes, disease symptoms such as brown-to-black lesions on leaves began to wane and, by the ninth passage, declined by nearly half.
According to Kevin Hockett, assistant professor of microbial ecology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, who is a co-author on the research paper, the discovery has implications beyond tomato and even vegetable plants. The goal, he said, is to develop a process that enables growers to employ microbial communities in the field.
“We’re trying to find a way that we can use the natural ecosystems in
the fields to benefit farmers and prevent plant diseases, and I think there’s a lot of potential here going forward,” said Hockett. “We’re working with bacterial diseases now, but I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t test this with fungal diseases as well as other bacterial diseases in other vegetable crops. This may be an approach that can be applied widely and change the way we think about biological controls, even for other crops.”
The suppressive effects of microbial communities in the soil on plant diseases are well known, noted lead researcher Hanareia Ehau-Taumaunu, who graduated in August with a doctoral degree in plant pathology, but this was the first study to show that microbial communities could play a similar role in the above-ground portion of plants, in the “phyllosphere.”
To develop phyllosphere microbial communities capable of suppressing bacterial speck of tomato – caused by a pathogen called Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, or Pto – Ehau-Taumaunu and Hockett sprayed hundreds of plants with the meticulously prepared microbe applications followed by pathogen inoculation – and then measured the severity of plant disease that developed. Those plants with the lowest disease severity then were selected as the microbial community source in the next round of inoculation.
“The successive passaging of the microbial community between tomato plants was analogous to season-to-season transfer of microbes repeatedly exposed to Pto, enabling ecological and evolutionary processes to occur across a short time,” Ehau-Taumaunu said. “The disease buildup in the phyllosphere ultimately resulted in disease suppression as a normal ecological response to pathogen pressure.”
The study included a growth chamber component in which researchers heat-treated the microbial communities to see if bacterial speck disease would be affected. Elimination of the microbial community is a common test of disease suppression. That experiment demonstrated that when microbial communities were eliminated, symptoms of bacterial speck disease worsened, indicating members of the community were instrumental in disease suppression.
In findings recently published in Phytobiomes Journal, the researchers reported that overall, greenhouse passaging resulted in an increase in disease severity for all passage lines from the initial passage, which peaked at passages four or five, followed by a sharp decline that was maintained through the ninth and final passage of the study.
The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, the College of Agricultural Sciences, and the Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences at Penn State supported this work. ●
Photo: Penn State. Creative Commons
Researcher Hanareia Ehau-Taumaunu examines tomato plant leaves in a greenhouse, looking for bacterial speck disease. The goal of her research is to develop a process that enables growers to employ microbial communities in the field.
The key to combating vascular wilt in tomatoes, caused by a type of Fusarium oxysporum and considered the main disease in its cultivation, could be in a bacterium from the coral reef of the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina.
When bacteriologist Diana Vinchira, Master of Science, Microbiology and PhD in Biotechnology from the National University of Colombia (UNAL), was finishing her master's project, she began to work with the Group of Marine Natural Products and Fruits of Colombia of the Department of Chemistry. This group had just collected microorganisms in the coral reefs of Santa Catalina and Providencia, in the Colombian Caribbean, and wanted to study them in order to generate a biotechnology -based product.
The bacteriologist was offered to continue the research to find a biocontrol against the fungus F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL). This pathogen is known for causing vascular wilt in tomato crops.
The research group took the entire collection of 200 microorganisms and tested them in the laboratory to find those that prevented Fusarium fungi from growing. Since these bacteria came from marine organisms, it was not known whether they would work, whether they would adapt to soil conditions, whether they would be harmful to plants in any way, and whether a product could potentially be developed.
“With this microorganism, a scaling process is being carried out to move from the laboratory level to the pilot plant and generate a prototype – together with the company Biocultivos – which would be the product to be used on an industrial scale,” noted Vinchira.
The next step would be registration with the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), validation in the field (it has only been tested in nurseries) and marketing the product in the country.
First, the researchers noticed the bacterium Paenibacillus sp. produced metabolites that are known to inhibit fungal growth.
“When a bacterium is in the same space with another microorganism, they compete for it or for food, to generate an environment where they can grow better; this induces the production of various compounds that can better adapt to that environment and have a greater chance of survival,” said Vinchira.
Based on this, they thought if the bacterium produces some active metabolites without any stimulus, how it would react to a stimulus – in this case, putting the pathogenic fungus to share the same space – that is, what would the bacterium do to defend itself. As placing the bacterium and the fungus in real production cultures is dangerous, other strategies are evaluated, such as placing it dead in the culture medium where the bacterium grows, or some metabolite produced by the pathogen in such a way that it stimulates the production of these antifungal compounds without the need to place the Fusarium.
Vinchira said the partnership with Biocultivos allows them to use their experimental field, and when they have the formulated product, they will be able to do trials in real conditions. ●
The role of the research was to find, among more than 200 microorganisms in the collection, one with the best characteristics.
Photo: UNAL
Farmers now have a new biocontrol tool to help fight one of Australia's most challenging agricultural weeds, flaxleaf fleabane, which causes grain crop revenue losses of more than $43 million each year.
Researchers from Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, are piloting the release of a fungus from Columbia to help farmers tackle the weed.
Flaxleaf fleabane (Conyza bonariensis) is a fast-spreading weed from South America that damages cropping and grazing areas across Australia and impacts the livelihoods of many farmers. CSIRO weed ecologist, Dr. Ben Gooden, said flaxleaf fleabane is one of the most difficult-to-control weeds in grain cropping systems, and is estimated to affect nearly three million hectares of land in Australia.
“As flaxleaf fleabane has developed resistance to some herbicides, we hope that the biocontrol agent will be effective in reducing its populations across the country,” Gooden said. “We identified a rust fungus called Puccinia cnici-oleracei in Colombia which infects flaxleaf fleabane and restricts it from growing by destroying the plant’s tissues.”
The fungus was imported into CSIRO’s high-security quarantine facility in Canberra where scientists studied it extensively to determine if it would be safe to introduce to Australia as a biocontrol agent. “Our research found the fungus can only infect flaxleaf fleabane, while all non-target plant species tested were resistant to it. Based on this research, the fungus is deemed to be safe and has been approved by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for introduction to Australia,” said Gooden.
Flaxleaf fleabane grows up to one metre and is a prolific seed producer. Each plant can produce over 100,000 seeds and these can disperse long distances with the help of wind, water, animals and vehicles, explaining its rapid spread not just within local districts but into southern and western cropping and grazing regions in recent times.
The Grains and Research Development Corporation (GRDC) was one of the supporting organizations for the research. Dr. Jason Emms, GRDC manager weeds, said grain growers had been battling flaxleaf fleabane for many years as the weed competed for soil water across multiple stages of the crop cycle, which directly impacts production.
“Flaxleaf fleabane can run rampant during the fallow phase as there is little competition for light or moisture. Once established it is very difficult to control,” Emms said. “A biocontrol agent for this problematic weed is very exciting as it may help to reduce overall populations when integrated with existing weed management strategies.”
This research is generated from the project ‘Underpinning agricultural productivity and biosecurity by weed biological control’ and is supported by AgriFutures Australia, through funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program and co-investment from CSIRO, GRDC and NSW Biocontrol Taskforce.
Farmers wishing to participate in the biocontrol release program should register their interest with the CSIRO at fleabanebiocontrol@csiro.au. As release sites are strategically selected across the weed’s range, CSIRO, AgriFutures Australia and GRDC will provide the rust fungus and clear instructions to land managers wishing to introduce the rust fungus to areas with high flaxleaf fleabane infestations.
Landowners will monitor the fungus and how it establishes and will report back to CSIRO on the impact it has on flaxleaf fleabane. ●
Flaxleaf fleabane weed is infected with the biocontrol agent.
Photo: CSIRO
In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the identification of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Washington County, Oregon, marking the first confirmation of the invasive pest on the West Coast of the country.
Since its introduction, EAB has become the most devastating invasive forest insect in the U.S., and is now confirmed in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The pest has proven deadly to all ash species in North America and Europe, including the native Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia).
APHIS stated it continues working with state partners to provide biological control options and integrated pest management methods, as well as ongoing public outreach support, to mitigate impacts from this pest. The biocontrol effort involves releasing tiny, stingless wasps into known infested areas. The wasp larvae feed on early life stages of the emerald ash borer, killing the beetle. Recent research shows that biocontrol is helping reduce emerald ash borer populations and can help the survival of young ash trees as forests recover from outbreaks.
To learn more about biocontrol research into EAB control, read past NAI stories HERE and HERE. ●
Photo: Debbie Miller, USDA Forest Service
By Marianne Loison
Carbohydrate or CHO analysis was presented at Angers IHC conference in August 2022 by Agri Technovation (South Africa). It brings a new dimension to nutrient management crops, as part of non-destructive techniques.
The principle is based on the observation that a shortage of carbohydrates in fruit trees can result in poor flowering and fruit set, poor colour and lack of root growth.
Agri Technovation tested CHO status analysis and its possibility to control and increase yield. “The first applications started in Mexico in 2019 on pecan, then in the U.S. on almond, pistachio and walnut,” noted Elmi Lotze, from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. “In south Africa, we have built a model crop based on CHO status to supplement fertilization.”
Elmi Lotze
Samplings were taken on three different citrus cultivars in three different regions. Researchers had to define the best sampling techniques for CHO: leaf position, time of day, part of the buds, etc. The sampling had to be done at the same hour at every time of the month or the year.
“Results show a strong correlation between CHO status and yield for citrus,” said Lotze. “And there is also a close relationship between CHO status and K.”
Since the beginning of 2022, Agri Technovation, based in Wellington, South Africa, has adapted CHO analysis to different citrus cultivars. Its ITEST CARBOHYDRATES analysis program is a leaf and root testing service, the first of its kind. It is now available for citrus, and later, it will be developed for other fruit, such as apples. ITEST CARBOHYDRATES can also assist fruit producers to detect and manage alternate bearings in crops. According to Agri Technovation, the cost of CHO analysis is comparable to a foliar analysis. ●
The young French company UV Boosting is developing a new technology for crop protection by UV flash, already uses by 70 wine growers.
UV or ultraviolet rays can stimulate the defenses of plants by a physical means. Though they are invisible to the naked eye, UV trigger the production of salicylic acid inside treated crops, increasing their natural resistance to diseases such as powdery mildew and mildew, and thereby reducing the use of fungicides.
Unlike conventional fungicide spraying, the process is not impacted by rain or wind. And it does not impose any deadline for re-entry into the plot.
The UV Boosting technology is based on a physical process; it has the advantage of being 100 per-cent compatible with all crop protection programs, conventional or biocontrol. The technology was first experimented with by researchers at the University of Avignon, Laurent Urban and Jawad Aar-rouf, who proved that UV-C flashes can be used to increase plant resistance to certain pathogens. They developed their system and filed their first patent in 2015.
The association with Yves Matton of Technofounders allowed the birth of the company UV Boost-ing two years later. Today, around 40 machines are already operational in France, mainly on vines.
“UV flash provides a clean, residue-free solution. It is of interest to wine growers, who are very sensitive to environmental issues and who want to respond to regulations and non-treatment zones,” said Baptiste Rouesné, UV Boosting CEO.
Equipment on a tractor can process two rows and a UV panel costs about €12,000. Several trials by IFV in France show that UV flash is interesting on vineyards when disease pressure is moderated, and that it has no impact on wine fermentation. Other trials are being carried out on powdery mil-dew on tomatoes, and roses and fruit trees by CTIFl in France.
Rouesné believes in international development. “UV Boosting is also being developed in Switzer-land, Italy, Spain and California.”●
