Work packages

WP7 - Knowledge, integration, dissemination, uptake and sustainability

Το promote integration of knowledge, dissemination, uptake to end-users and ensure sustainability of new tools and strategies.

The objectives are:

To perform:

  1. analysis of legal and regulatory pathways for biopesticides and policy guidance
  2. cross disciplinary interactions and extensive training and pedagogical support
  3. socioeconomic analysis of acceptability and uptake issues for novel products, tools and strategies, including stakeholders, farmers and consumers.

WP6 - Rational IPM

To integrate the tools, outputs and knowledge generated in WP2-5 into data-driven evolutionary frameworks for effective and sustainable IPM. We will predict and devise the optimal use and combination of existing and novel, setting-specific control tools, with a specific emphasis on resistance evolution and its prevention, to enable a wide range of end-users and local policy makers to advise on optimal, site-specific control measures and pest intervention strategies.

The objectives are:

  1. To develop a multitrophic model of IPM to account for synergistic or antagonistic effects of plant resistance traits;
  2. To incorporate multiple plant and pest phenotypes to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of resistance-associated loci;
  3. To devise optimal site- and species-specific pest management schemes;
  4. To iteratively validate model predictions against experimental data in at least one model system.

WP5 - Enhancing the potential of biological control in IPM

To enhance the performance of biological control in IPM.

The objectives are:

  1. Use selective breeding to produce key predators of crop pests that can be more readily integrated with other controls in IPM strategies designed for economically important vegetable and fruit crops;
  2. Develop strategies to neutralise negative interactions between biological control agents and tomato defenses.

WP4 - Novel biopesticides and resistance-breaking compounds

To develop and evaluate green chemistry / bio-pesticide leads and products against the most resistant “super pests”.

The objectives are:

  1. To test the efficacy and selectivity of “non-conventional” insecticidal chemicals (available in the market and/or under development - BiPA), alone and in combinations (mixtures) against highly resistant “super pest” strains;
  2. To explore the insecticidal and miticidal potential and the selectivity of tomato plant defense metabolites;
  3. To develop and evaluate chemical synergists - insecticide resistance breaking compounds;
  4. To develop, evaluate and optimise dsRNA biopesticide formulations.

WP3 - Plant resistance elements

To identify and characterise whitefly salivary effectors that affect host resistance in order to identify novel bio-stimulants and/or targets for plant breeding.

The objectives are:

  1. To identify whitefly salivary proteins (effectors) that turn a host-plant into a more suitable host.
  2. To identify tomato proteins that interact with whitefly effectors and to determine their site of interaction.
  3. To search for allelic variation and/or create mutations by mutagenesis within the interaction site of the S-gene thereby disturbing the interaction and creating resistance in tomato.

WP2 - Tools for IPM and biopesticide testing

To develop diagnostic tools and biopesticide testing pipelines for the effective management of “super pest” resistance.

The objectives are:

  1. To characterise emerging cases of resistance and identify novel resistance markers;
  2. To develop an automatic (sample-to-answer) multiplex molecular diagnostic platform (LabDisk) to simultaneously detect biotypes, resistance mutations and plant pathogens;
  3. To develop biotechnology based platforms and pipelines, for testing anti-resistance potential of novel candidate insecticidal compounds.

WP1 - Management and coordination

Objectives

To coordinate and manage all aspects of the work and ensure the successful implementation and completion of the project. Specifically to:

  1. Coordinate the technical activities of the project to ensure project objectives are met.
  2. Manage resources and administrative tasks.
  3. Manage and communicate the knowledge produced by the project.
  4. Liaise and interface with European Commission structures and other projects within the Call.
  5. Develop communication channels with the community and relevant stakeholders.