Viral diseases can cause severe losses to vegetable crop production which has an estimated annual value of 34,5 billion EUR in Europe. Therefore several billions are lost every year due to the prominence of viral diseases and the emergence of new viruses in European fields and greenhouses. Importantly viral diseases also lead to the extensive use of pesticides, thereby exposing European growers and consumers to pesticide residues. In relation to the work programme, the project aims at developing rapid and lasting solutions to emerging viral diseases caused by begomoviruses (whitefly-transmitted) and tobamoviruses (mechanically transmitted) on cucurbits and tomato in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin as well as at increasing knowledge to better control and manage the viral diseases. The project is structured in 6 objectives : 1. Knowledge sharing and engagement of stakeholders in research activities (Short term impact) 2. Develop robust diagnostic tests, quarantine measures and identify ecological factors driving disease outbreaks (Short term impact) 3. Understand plant-virus(es)-vector interactions (Medium term impact) 4. Develop IPM solutions (Medium term impact) 5. Pyramidize natural resistance (Long term impact) 6. Train the value chain (Medium term impact) The objectives will build on 1) detailed study of virus biology and transmission under climate change conditions; 2) development of classical solutions (IPM and natural resistance) to control viral diseases with two distinct modes of transmission; 3) testing novel approaches (biopesticides, biological control, cross-protection) to mitigate viral diseases and to reduce pesticide usage. In order to take into account the diversity of vegetable cropping systems and viral diseases, focus groups involving extension services, commercial companies and growers will help co-designing research activities and mitigation strategies from the onset of the project.

The Directive 2009/128/EC sets rules in EU for the sustainable use of pesticides to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on people's health and the environment. Among the listed actions there is the promotion of low pesticide-input management including non-chemical methods. In parallel several chemical active ingredients have been banned because of toxicity concerns. The result is that growers are left with few control tools against pests. On the other hand most of the available alternative control methods have several limitations, especially in term of efficacy. Several new ideas are not reaching the industry and are confined in the academic world. The concept behind this EIT is to explore new approaches to identify new cutting edge solutions for pest control based on new non classical approaches in strict collaboration with industrial partner and to train 11 highly skilled early stage researchers (ESR) through a doctoral programme that integrates 5 academic research with concept-driven product development in 6 EU companies with a strong curriculum in development and innovation within a large interdisciplinary environment. Microorganisms are often used so far as replacement of chemical active ingredients. The innovative aspect of this EID is to base the new pest control solutions on interactions of microorganisms with plants and insects rather than using them as plant protection products. Microorganisms’ unsurpassed inclination towards the association with eukaryotic macro-organisms determines traits and qualities in the host that harbours them. Microbial symbionts’ ability to profoundly transform their living habitat paves the way for unexplored outlooks in the ability to use microbial symbioses as sustainable and renewable tools to improve production and quality in agriculture. Microorganisms are key players in shaping several insect’s semiochemicals, in particular kairomones indicating a food source or oviposition site for some insect species.

SolACE's overarching goal is to help European agriculture facing the challenge to deal with more frequent combined limitations of water and nutrients in the coming decades, through the design of novel crop genotypes and agroecosystem management innovations to improve water and nutrient (i.e. N and P) use efficiency. To achieve this goal, SolACE will focus its activities on three major European crops - potato, bread and durum wheat - and will identify the (i) optimum combinations of above- and below-ground traits for improving resource use efficiency, (ii) best-performing genotypes under combined water and N or P stresses and (iii) novel practices that make better use of plant-plant and plant-microbe interactions to access water, N and P resources in conventional, organic and conservation agriculture. SolACE will implement a double interactive innovation loop, based on agroecosystem management and breeding strategies, and will imply the engagement of diverse end-users, across the production chain, from farmers and farm advisors to NGOs, SMEs and larger industries in the agri-business sector, through the SolACE consortium and a range of stakeholders' events. The tested innovations will include crop genotype mixtures, legume-based crop rotations and cover crops, microbial inoculants, as well as improved decision support systems and hybrids or products from genomic selection and participatory evolutionary breeding schemes. SolACE will implement complementary approaches, from data mining, modelling, phenotyping in high throughput platforms and field conditions, to experiments in research stations and farmers' networks in contrasted pedo-climatic zones. Through the co-design and co-assessment with the end-users of the selected novel breeding and management strategies to increase the overall system resource use efficiency, the findings of SolACE will be deemed acceptable and readily available for dissemination to a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including policy-makers.