Fruit Diseases
InvaProtect
Sustainable plant protection against invasive pests in fruit growing and viticulture
The InvaProtect project was aimed at sustainable plant protection against invasive pests in fruit growing and viticulture in the Upper Rhine region. It was funded by the European Union with funds from the INTERREG V Upper Rhine program and coordinated by LTZ Augustenberg. The project ran for 3 years (2016-2018).
As part of InvaProtect, 30 partners from Germany, France and Switzerland were jointly investigating the question of how native species can be protected from invasive pathogens through suitable, sustainable, integrated plant protection measures. To this end, the necessary foundations for the entire Upper Rhine region in the three neighboring countries were developed and implemented.
The "Upper Rhine" natural area is largely characterized by its cultural landscapes. These include in particular the small-scale areas of orchards and vineyards, which together with their fringe structures provide habitats for numerous animal and plant species. Invasive pests such as the spotted wing drodophila, the marmorated stink bug, the Sharka virus or the grapevine yellows Flavescence dorée not only pose a threat to cultivated plants, they can also permanently disrupt natural habitats.
Project Aims
To record the distribution and spread dynamics of invasive pests.
To further develop and implement integrated pest management measures, taking into account the preservation and promotion of the natural species inventory in the natural and cultivated landscape.
To ensure the economic viability of wine and fruit production.
Tasks of RLP AgroScience
Development of a cross-border monitoring system for invasive pathogens such as the Sharka virus on Prunus species and for the vectors and pathogens of Flavescence dorée.
To record parameters of spotted wing drosophila biology, epidemiology and behavior and their adaptation to different crops and habitats in order to enable sustainable control on this basis.
Although Sharka is a well-known disease in the Upper Rhine region, the spread of new invasive recombinant strains of Plum Pox Virus (PPV) is unclear. These strains are more aggressive and have a higher damage potential than the previously widespread PPV-D strains. RLP AgroScience is investigating the possible spread of these strains in the fringe structures. In the case of the spotted wing drosophila, RLP AgroScience was investigating the overwintering parameters (population dynamics, activity, overwintering sites) and cold tolerance.
Flavescence dorée is a quarantine disease of grapevine. The vector, the American grapevine leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus, was detected for the first time in Alsace as part of InvaProtect 2016. RLP AgroScience was investigating whether alders in the vicinity of vineyards are already naturally infected with phytoplasmas that can cause Flavescence dorée as soon as they are transferred to grapevine and spread there by S. titanus. A risk map was drawn up for this purpose.
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