description
- More sustainable pest management methods are needed in order to reduce the negative effects of pesticides on human health and the environment. The overall goal of EUCLID is to contribute to secure the production of food for the increasing worldwide population while developing sustainable production approaches to be used in the European and Chinese agriculture. The choice of the crops of interest in EUCLID, i.e. fresh tomatoes, table and wine grapes, and leafy vegetables (lettuces, cabbages, etc.), is based on their economic importance for both European and Chinese fruit and vegetable production, but also for their exemplarity in representing different production systems (field + greenhouse vegetables and ligneous perennial). This means that the solutions of the project could be used models for developing similar actions for other crops. The project is structured in 3 R&D work packages (WP), one WP dedicated to demonstration in field, one for dissemination and a WP devoted to project management. The project will exploit the thorough knowledge developed in the last years on IPM to adapt and optimize those tools and approaches which did not reach the field/market (yet). In addition, the consortium will work on the further development of high potential innovation pest management solutions. The consortium has been selected in order to integrate in the research process, from the very beginning, the main end-users of the project’s results: farmers associations, SMEs, economists, experts in policy. The consortium also has a good coverage of both European and Chinese experts, in order to take advantage of the experience of each region and to more efficiently adapt the pest management solutions to the specific problems of European and Chinese farmers.