Exploit biodiversity in viticultural systems to reduce pest damage and pesticide use, and increase ecosystems services provision: the BIOVINE project.

Summary

Organic vineyards still rely on large external inputs to control harmful organisms (i.e., pests). The BIOVINE
project aims to develop natural solutions based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce
pesticide dependence. The capability of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and invasive
species is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures (including vineyards) do not
exploit the potential of plant diversity. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systems based on increased
plant diversity within (e.g., cover crops) and/or around (e.g., hedges, vegetation spots, edgings)
vineyards by planting selected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes,
fungi, nematodes), and foliar pathogens. Candidate plants will be identified by a literature review, and
the selected ones will be tested in controlled environment or small-scale experiments. The ability of the
selected plants to: i) attract or repel target arthropod pests; ii) conserve/promote beneficials; iii) control
soil-borne pests by means of biofumigation; iv) carry mycorrhizal fungi to the vine root system to increase
plant health (growth and resistance); and v) control foliar pathogens by reducing the inoculum
spread from soil, will be investigated. New viticultural systems able to exploit plant diversity will then
be designed based on results of BIOVINE activities, following a design-assessment-adjustment cycle,
which will then be tested by in-vineyard experiments in France, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and
Switzerland for a 2-year period. Innovative viticultural systems should represent an improved way for
pest control in organic viticulture, meanwhile they should positively affect functional biodiversity and
ecosystem services. New control strategies may provide financial opportunities to vine growers and
lower their reliance on pesticides.