IPMorama will improve the state of the art in variety-centric Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for important diseases in the wheat (rust pathogens), potatoes (blight) and the grain legumes soybean, pea (broomrape) and white lupin (anthracnose). IPMorama seeks to develop the infrastructure for a whole “practice ecosystem”, whereby the more efficient development of IPM-centric varieties is enabled, while at the same time developing tools and resources to efficiently exploit these in variety-centric IPM. The core innovation of IPMorama is to integrate knowledge of host resistance with the pathogen virulence landscape over space and time, to produce IPM tools (eg crowd source apps, vulnerability maps) and strategies, which will be validated at various scales and in conjunction with different agroecological practices. IPMorama will achieve these goals by enacting the following five components: 1] Understanding the genetic composition of varietal resistance in target crop/pest systems, and development of tools and resources to allow breeders to target the assembly of resistance components. 2] Understanding and mapping the landscape level distribution of the target pathogens/pests, especially in terms of their virulence against the available set of resistance and tolerance genes in varieties and breeding lines. 3] Developing specific integrated pest management practices for the optimal exploitation of pest and pathogen resistance in varieties on the basis of the first two components. 4] Developing the knowledge infrastructure for competent use of variety-centric IPM by actors across the variety-related value chain. 5] Understanding opportunities and barriers for scale-up of variety-centric IPM solutions.

Soil-borne plant-parasitic nematodes are a biosecurity risk for global food production with an estimated annual loss of €110 billion worldwide. Root-knot nematodes (RKN) and potato cyst nematodes (PCN) rank 1 and 2 in the Top 10 of high-impact plant-parasitic nematodes with RKN alone accounting for ~5% of global crop losses. RKN and PCN are A2 quarantine pests or emerging species listed on the EPPO Alert List. The two PCN species are also included in EU Commission implementing regulation 2021/2285. Recent reports document the emergence of new RKN and PCN problems in tomato and potato cropping across Europe and beyond due to two independent drivers: global warming and genetic selection. For decades, non-specific, environmentally harmful agrochemicals have been applied to manage RKN and PCN. The increasing awareness about their negative impact prompted the phasing out of most nematicides. Consequently, there is an urgent need for novel, durable control strategies that enable adequate responses by stakeholders to prevent crop losses in the EU and beyond. NEM-EMERGE will provide a spectrum of sustainable, science-based solutions for both the conventional and organic farming sector based on the principles of IPM, including (1) optimized crop rotations schemes including cover crops, (2) tailored host plant resistances, and (3) optimal use of the native antagonistic potential of soils. Moreover, monitoring and risk assessment tools will be generated to support Plant Health Authorities in decision and policy making. To ensure the adoption and implementation of NEM-EMERGE tools in the sector, a bottom-up co-creation process and multi-actor approach will be used based on stakeholder demands from both the conventional and organic sector. This makes NEM-EMERGE a key driver for the transition to sustainable farming in line with the Farm to Fork Strategy thereby contributing to the challenging targets set by the Green Deal.

New genomic techniques (NGTs) can contribute to an energy-efficient, low-input and zero-pollution agricultural production and industrial processing. Despite rapid recent progress, this toolbox is still in its infancy and substantial investments are needed to optimise the methods. Also, the innovation potential is fully exploited only if economic, social, and regulatory drivers coalesce and are accompanied by transparent communication and inclusive stakeholder engagement. A problem facing NGT innovation in Europe is that regulatory uncertainty restricts investment at all levels – research, innovation and scaling up – and the impacts of NGTs, both positive and negative, are not fully assessed. It also remains to be seen if public and stakeholder acceptance of NGT products will enable their application. The consequence is that NGTs do not yet reach their full potential. The research in GeneBEcon has two facets. First, the technical potential is explored by applying gene editing to develop 1) a virus-resistant potato with an industrial tuber starch quality, and 2) microalgae-based production of industrially relevant mycosporin-like amino acids. Second, the risk-regulatory aspects, economic incentives, and social perceptions are investigated. In the latter, comparative analyses are enabled by our approach with two different production systems: open-field agricultural crop and contained-system microalgae. The results will enable technical innovations as well as allow stakeholders (incl researchers, breeders, primary producers, value chain actors, risk assessors and decision makers) to take informed decisions on the safe and responsible use of NGT-derived products. GeneBEcon has a multi-sectoral consortium and the project links to relevant stakeholders through a Stakeholder Advisory Board. This will, through communication and inclusive engagement, enable an improved understanding and awareness of the risks and benefits of NGT-derived products through societal dialogue.