This project aims to develop an innovative method of biocontrol for the protection of the vineyard against cryptogamic diseases, and therefore to accelerate our independence from chemical pesticides. The objective is to transpose to the plot the concept of disinhibition of plant defence responses (demonstrated in controlled conditions) in order to increase the efficiency of protection induced by Plant Defence Inducers (PDIs). We have demonstrated in the laboratory and confirmed under controlled conditions that the enzymes type-2 Histone DeACetylases (HD2) negatively regulate the intensity of the immune responses of plants. The proposed strategy is therefore to combine disinhibition and activation of the immune responses. A natural molecule (of bacterial origin or from green chemistry), abundant, devoid of toxicity and inexpensive, has been identified as an efficient disinhibitor (declaration of invention DI-RV-21-0138). We have demonstrated in the laboratory and in the greenhouse, on herbaceous vine cuttings, that combining the disinhibition of plant defence responses with different PDIs (different chemical natures and modes of action) makes it possible to significantly increase the level of protection induced by these PDI applied alone against Plasmopara viticola, the downy mildew agent. Two PDIs with different modes of action (elicitor and potentiator), respectively marketed and under development by Cérience, will be used in phytoprotection trials against P. viticola on the experimental plot of UMR SAVE specifically dedicated to the evaluation of biocontrol products (BC2grape) and on the network of experimental plots of Cérience. They will be applied alone or in combination with the defence responses disinhibitor. The determination of the efficiency of protection (monitoring of P. viticola development), and of the potential impact of these treatments on grapevine physiology and berry ripening will be carried out over three years. Tests will also be carried out to develop a solution allowing, from a unique application, a first action time of the disinhibitor and subsequent action time of the PDI. The “disinhibition strategy” we propose will initially be aimed at socio-economic partners who are developing PDIs-based biopesticide strategies. In the long term, the entire wine industry will be able to be offered increasingly effective biopesticide solutions, making it possible to greatly reduce the application of chemical fungicides or copper. The strategy developed in this project is in line with the objectives of the Ecophyto II+ plan to reduce the use of pharmaceutical products. It is based on the use of a natural molecule (disinhibitor), with no known toxicity and which significantly increases the activity of different PDIs. At the end of this project, we hope to be able to increase the efficiency of PDIs and generalize their use in the vineyard. This more effective biopesticide strategy at a lower cost will contribute to a more significant reduction in TFIs and will thus allow winegrowers using copper to limit/reduce inputs. This strategy is of interest both for the environmental impact (reduction of synthetic fungicides and copper) and societal (biocontrol products and application near areas occupied by the public, absence of residue). The consortium partners have established regular collaboration for several years and have acquired solid experience in the use of PDIs and/or the disinhibition strategy. Each partner has a perfect knowledge of the skills of the other two, allowing us to work efficiently. The complementary knowledge and skills of the partners will allow us to develop this project based on data obtained from the molecular level to the vine stock, from the laboratory to the cultivated plot.

The CHLOR2NOU project aims to develop new monitoring tools for CLD and its TPs, to provide new knowledge on the fate and risk of CLD TPs, and to explore realistic alternative approaches for pollution remediation. The postulate of the non-degradability of CLDs commonly admitted for several decades has had a strong negative impact on pollution management by ruling out the possibility of CLD degradation. The representation of CLD in the FWI society and in the scientific community is therefore of paramount importance. The CHLOR2NOU project is divided into 7 Work Packages that bring together scientists from various background: the WP1 with the synthesis of CLD TPs, CLD baits and fluorescent macromolecular cages; the WP2 that deals with innovative analytical methods: (i) routine laboratory method for the detection of CLD TPs in environmental and food matrices, (ii) immunoassay using a CLD-selective antibody, (iii) a semi-high-throughput detection protocol based on the recognition of CLD by a fluorescent macromolecular cage; the WP3 dedicated to toxicological and ecotoxicological studies in order to define the toxicity profile of CLD TPs; the WP4 with several analytical campaigns to obtain a first estimate of the possible exposure to CLD TPs; the WP5 that aims at studying the fate of CLD TPs, in particular in FWI soils, while defining degradation indicators; the WP6 that is focused on the study of realistic agronomic and environmental conditions capable to favor CLD degradation; the last WP centered on the representation of CLD in the FWI society at large. A co-construction method will be used to help the population and stakeholders to better assimilate the scientific results.

Natural grasslands and cereal fields play fundamental role in supporting biodiversity conservation and sustainable food production. Natural grasslands (including grasslands within a protected area and unprotected grasslands) and cereal fields provide multiple ecosystem services, but also involve significant trade-offs (e.g., food production vs. soil carbon sequestration). Yet, unlike aboveground plants and animals, the capacity of European protected areas to conserve plant and soil microbial diversity and ecosystem services in natural grasslands under global environmental changes is virtually unknown. Moreover, we know very little about how cereal fields will respond to multiple co-occurring global change stressors, such as drought, pesticides and over-fertilization, which are threatening the conservation of soil biodiversity and function as well as food production. Objectives 1 & 2 will evaluate whether protected areas promote soil biodiversity and multiple ecosystem services in European natural grasslands, and will monitor the microbial diversity and function in cereal fields. To such an end, we will conduct a European-level survey across grasslands’ triplets with different land use intensities (from protected and unprotected natural grasslands to maize and wheat fields). The sampling in cereal fields will support the monitoring that the Crop Microbiome Initiative started in these sites 3-5 years ago. In Objectives 3 & 4, GRASS4FUN will further investigate whether multiple global change stressors impact the microbiome and function of European natural grasslands and cereal fields. To do so, we will use combine the modelling and mapping of soil biodiversity and function across climate and land cover change scenarios with a manipulative study using microcosms subjected to multiple global change stressors. GRASS4FUN will be performed in close collaboration with a stakeholder advisory board to facilitate engagement and uptake by end-users, policy makers and society with the fundamental goal of providing ground-breaking knowledge to increase the resilience of grasslands to global stresses and protect European biodiversity, including organisms living in soils. GRASS4FUN will provide critical knowledge for the long-term economic benefits of the EU, and it is in line with multiple European-level programs such as Farm to Fork Strategy, EJP Soil and European Green Deal.

Within the context of Anthropocene, food sustainability has become a major topic together with the preservation of water and soil resources and biodiversity. All around the world, the model of agriculture is mainly based on the use of pesticides that threaten soil and aquatic ecosystems and consequently drinking water quality. In addition, pesticides and their transformation products can have adverse effects on biota and possibly on human health. With the constant development of new molecules, their degradation residues still represent a major threat to natural ecosystems, water resources and human health to be tackled. In the absence of a European and national soil protection Directive, to complete monitoring tasks, a posteriori on site pesticide residues innovative mitigation approaches are of interest and might be implemented. These are all opportunities to be seized to develop sustainable agriculture and guarantee the quality of the environment. Bioaugmentation to restore pesticides-contaminated soils on site -via the inoculation of polluted environments with degrading-microorganisms- is very promising as it is a cost effective and not perturbing (i.e. no excavation required) green technology. However, to deploy this approach on the market, several scientific and technological barriers are still to be lifted: (i) the improvement of pesticide-degrading inoculants delivery into soil, mainly in terms of viability and biomass, (ii) the selection of the good inoculant expressing the desired pesticide-degrading activity once in soil and allowing the complete pesticides biodegradation, and (iii) the evaluation of possible side effects of bioaugmentation on both abiotic and biotic soil properties. The EPURSOL project tackles scientific and technological challenges relative to the use of bioaugmentation in cropped arable soils to reduce pesticides concentrations in soil. For this, a cutting-edge bioaugmentation approach based on the formulation of biocomposites is foreseen, taking into account its potential impacts on the biotic and abiotic properties of the receiving soil. EPURSOL relies on a proof of concept using a microbial biofilm-based approach as a way for delivering microorganisms to soil. The project will be conducted with model topical active substances and selected pesticide-degrading microbial consortia grown as biofilms on formulated carrier materials to form biocomposites. One of the major novelties is to operate chemical or physical modifications at the surface of carrier materials to deliver nutrient sources and/or favour biofilm attachment, growth, stability and activity. To ensure a complete biodegradation of pesticides in soil, EPURSOL experiments will be carried out with pure microorganisms and microbial consortia harbouring the pesticide-degrading pathways. By developing a lab-to-field experimental design (lysimeters, mesocosms), EPURSOL will not only evaluate the harmlessness, stability and efficiency of the process developed, but also assess its possible non-intentional effects on soil abiotic (texture, structure, water holding capacity…) and biotic (microbial diversity, C and N microbial functions) properties by monitoring the installation of the inoculant in the indigenous soil microbiota and its ecotoxicological impact. The technical trajectories (carrier material, strains…) and the industrial-scale process for biocomposite production and storage will be made in collaboration with end-users for field scale applications. EPURSOL will be conducted thanks to the association of public and private partners and stakeholders with complementary skills in microbial ecology and ecotoxicology, materials science, biogeosciences, agriculture and biotechnology. This project, in addition to providing an innovative approach to clean agricultural soils from pesticide residues, will revisit and improve the classical bioaugmentation strategy, and provide a breakthrough to implement this technology to Green Deal AgTech.

The intensification of agriculture and herbicide use has led to the degradation of farmland ecosystems, with significant loss of farmland terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity and services. Herbicide use within fields has reduced farmland plant (weed) abundance and diversity, destroying these refuge and food resources relied upon by birds, pollinators and natural enemy arthropods. Herbicides have selected for some noxious weeds, damaging to crops, leading to an arms race with more herbicide being used to combat weeds that do relatively well in conditions of herbicide use. This is compounded by agricultural intensification at landscape scales that has led to the loss of semi-natural floral habitat surrounding fields, including areas of meadow, margins, hedgerows and woods that provided overwintering, oviposition and alternative food resources for biodiversity. This lost semi-natural habitat is also no longer able to intercept herbicides, applied in field, leading to an increase in the run-off of these and other pesticides into water courses adjacent to farmland fields where they significantly impact the ecological quality and diversity (ecological status) of freshwaters, within farmland and downstream. In the FRESHH project, we hypothesise that we can reduce herbicide usage by adopting the ecosystem service of weed seed regulation by carabid beetles. Restoration of semi-natural habitat in and around fields, via beetle banks, margins or hedgerows, would increase carabid abundance and diversity by conservation, through the provision of food and refuge resources. These restored habitats could also intercept some of the herbicides that are still applied, preventing run-off into freshwaters. Semi-natural habitat restoration in farmland would therefore have multiple, synergistic effects, playing a role not only in the conservation of carabids and of terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity, but also in the release (rewilding) of weed communities to more natural abundance and diversity within farmland with lower herbicide selection pressure. This FRESHH approach is dependent on the acceptability to farmers of the adoption of carabids, in place of herbicides, and of the installation of semi-natural habitat. FRESHH explicitly uses a transdisciplinary approach, at the interface of socio-economics, ecology and agronomy, to balance our concerns for farmland terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and farmer needs for weed control. Co-development with farmers will produce acceptable management to restore semi-natural habitat, to foster carabid beetle regulation of the weed seedbank and to reduce impacts on freshwaters through direct herbicide input reduction and greater interception of herbicide runoff.