PATAFEST | Funditec: Potato crop effective management strategies to tackle future pest threats
| Project budget: 828,475.20 € | Funditec budget: 114,980 € | Financial framework: Public-Private Partnership Projects 2021 |
| Start date: 01/12/2022 | End date: 30/10/2025 | Contract number: CPP2021-008521 |
Potato is a key crop in Europe (€12.4 billion, 2020). However, it is considered vulnerable to a variety of soil-borne pests and pathogenic diseases. One of the most important pests is caused by the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso), and whose disease is known as zebra chip (ZC). The introduction of CLso bacteria into potato is mainly linked to the presence of the psyllid vector Bactericera cockerelli (BC). In addition, other threats (such as Fusarium sambucinum, Colletothricum coccodes, Helminthosporium solani) also affect potato safety and quality during postharvest activities, making the tubers unmarketable.
The PataFEST project aims to preserve the health of the potato plant against its emerging pests and the quality of the final product, consequently, the PataFEST Project will i) characterize at molecular level the ecological propagation life of pests and identify disease resistant varieties of potato against CLso and postharvest pathogens ; ii) provide effective pre-harvest plant and soil treatments against CLso vector and soil-borne pathogens combined with other cutting-edge digital technologies, such as image analysis tools (mobile application) and artificial intelligence predictive models; ii) develop post-harvest technologies (biocontrol coating solution, controlled atmosphere storage and VOC sensors); iii) develop post-harvest technologies (biocontrol coating solution, controlled atmosphere storage and VOC sensors) to control the incidence of soil pathogens and maintain the quality of stored potato tubers. These three strategies and technologies will be incorporated into integrated pest management (IPM) to validate their performance in relevant country-specific environments (TRL5) in Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. In addition, Ecuador will host field trials against CLso and its vector BC. PataFEST will ensure a long-term strategy to address future potato pest threats through the realization of a robust dissemination, communication and exploitation plan, with a comprehensive multi-stakeholder and multi-activity approach.
