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RESEARCH PRODUCT

BioVine project - Increase plant health through mycorrhizal fungi

subject

description

National audience; Organic vineyards still rely on large external inputs to control harmful organisms. BIOVINEwill develop natural solutions based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce pesticidedependence. The capacity of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and invasivespecies is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures like vineyards do notexploit the potential of plant diversity. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systemsbased on increased plant diversity within (e.g. cover crops) and/or around vineyards by plantingselected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes, fungi,nematodes), and foliar pathogens. Candidate plants will be identified by literature review, andthe selected ones will be tested in controlled environment or small-scale experiments. Theability of the selected plants to: i) attract or repel target arthropod pests; ii) conserve/promotebeneficial organisms; iii) control soil-borne pests by mean of biofumigation; iv) carrymycorrhizal fungi to vine root system to increase plant health (growth and resistance); v)control foliar pathogens by reducing the inoculum spread from soil, will be investigated. Newviticultural systems able to exploit plant diversity will then be designed based on results ofBIOVINE activities, following a design-assessment-adjustment cycle, which will then be testedby in-vineyard experiments for a 2-year period. Innovative viticultural systems should representan improved way for pest control in organic viticulture, meanwhile they should positively affectfunctional biodiversity and ecosystem services.