Title of the project: Protecting plants with antimicrobial peptides and gallates

Acronym: ProPlanta

Country: Germany & Brasil

Stakeholders involved: Researchers

Description:              

A German-Brazilian research team has now found a way: Less pesticides for more crop protection - that is the goal of a German-Brazilian team researching antimicrobial peptides to protect citrus fruits from bacterial "cancer attack". Scientists led by Ulrich Schwaneberg at RWTH Aachen University have developed a new fertiliser system that significantly reduces the use of pesticides in agriculture and protects the environment. The focus of the joint project ProPlanta was the development of an intelligent system for delivering active substances to plants. The work of the German researchers has been supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with around 500,000 euros since 2017 as part of the "Bioeconomy International" funding measure.

Results:                      

ProPlanta technology is therefore an effective tool for plant health. With the help of the microgel containers, fertiliser can also be released very sparingly, so that the environment is less polluted. The researchers have applied for a patent for their development in the EU. If the field tests on three domestic crops planned for summer in Germany are successful, a start-up is to be founded for the commercial exploitation of the technology.

Link: https://biooekonomie.de/foerderung/foerderbeispiele/mehr-pflanzenschutz-mit-mikrogelen

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