Exploit biodiversity in viticultural systems to reduce pest damage and pesticide use, and increase ecosystems services provision

The Project involves the Sustainable Crop and Food Protection Area of the Department. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systems based on increasing plant and functional diversity within (e.g. cover crops) as well as around (e.g. hedges, vegetation spots, edgings) organic vineyards. An increase in biodiversity can contribute to pest control, which is the most important and difficult task in organic viticulture. Project work is focused on the identification and selection of candidate plants, to be tested for their ability to control arthropod pests, promote beneficials, control soil-borne pests (oomycetes, fungi, nematodes), carry arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and control foliar pathogens

Research carried out in the BIOVINE project aims to:

• Provide organic farmers with strategies to control pests in the vineyard, based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce pesticide dependence;
• Identify and study candidate plants for the enhancement of functional biodiversity in the vineyard;
• Develop new and efficient strategies for controlling grapevine pests;
• Test the new viticultural systems in different countries in Europe (France, Italy, Romania, Spain and Switzerland);
• Estimate the effect of the developed and tested viticultural systems on ecosystem services.

Project website: www.biovine.eu

Financial support for this project is provided by funding bodies within the H2020 ERA-net project, CORE Organic Cofund, and with cofunds from the European Commission.