FINALIZATION OF ‘MORE-THAN-CLEAN’, a cooperation project led by the Union to reduce phytopathologies in crops

The execution of the More Than Clean Interconnect Project has concluded with the development of three new pre and postharvest prototypes, based on the application of clean technologies, to control the appearance and growth of phytopathogens in fruit and vegetable products of special interest in the fruit and vegetable sector.

During the development of the Interconecta Project, integrated by La Unión, IDM, Novagric and Ingro Maquinaria, an extensive study of the main fungal pathogens present in the different production stages (from cultivation to sale) of fruits and vegetables of special interest and added value, such as zucchini, pepper, mango and custard apple.

The study of this problem in the sector, together with the research carried out on the application and use of new clean technologies, without generating waste and with a sanitizing nature such as ozone, has allowed the development of new equipment and technologies that bring the sector closer together. the use of these innovative eco-sustainable strategies.

Thanks to the study work carried out, during the years of the project two prototypes have been developed and validated for the application of ozone treatments during the pre-harvest stage, one of them adapted for use in the greenhouse and the other for extensive cultivation.

Both prototypes have been developed to apply ozone in water through spraying systems through self-propelled equipment. Both developments have shown potential efficacy in controlling the appearance of fungal pathogens such as powdery mildew, managing to preventively control their presence in treated plants, compared to untreated ones.

Likewise, the Project also includes the development of a tunnel for the application of treatments based on clean technologies, for the post-harvest sanitation of the horticultural products of interest. Specifically, the developed sanitation tunnel allows the application of ozone in water by spraying, as well as blanching or mild heat treatment, the use of which can be interchanged depending on the product treated.

The application of these sanitizing treatments has shown good effectiveness in controlling the growth of both bacteria and fungi during the conservation of the fruits, thus allowing a better conservation of their quality and useful life. Furthermore, this technology has proven to be an interesting alternative in products that are difficult to handle postharvest, such as courgette and cherimoya.

In short, the technological advances carried out in the More Than Clean Project, based on the application of clean technologies, are a first step to control the quality and the appearance of fungal diseases, in an eco-sustainable way and free of residue, in line with organic farming. With these developments, it is expected to be able to improve the control of pathogens of microbiological origin, responsible for the main losses of horticultural products both during the cultivation stage and during handling and sale.

This project has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), within the Operational Program for Smart Growth 2014-2020, with the aim of promoting research, technological development and innovation

MORE-THAN-CLEAN: “Development of treatments and action technology at the interstitial level of sensitive horticultural tissues to reduce phytopathologies”
ITC-20181097 – A way of making Europe

The MORE-THAN-CLEAN research project: “Development of treatments and technology of action at the interstitial level of sensitive horticultural tissues for the reduction of phytopathologies” (ITC-20181097) has as a general objective the generation and validation of technologies with a sanitizing function for application at the interstitial level of plant tissues during the cultivation phase and post-harvest handling.

The development of prototypes for the automated application of sanitizing treatments with high interstitial penetration capacity, through the use of safe and compatible compounds with ecological production and zero waste, will involve the creation of biotechnological tools that will allow sanitization without washing the product. intelligently through the prediction and standardization of the treatment based on the quality and state of the fruits.

The project, to be developed within a 30-month time frame from July 2018, has a global budget of € 1,477,303.00 and will be executed between the regions of Andalusia and Murcia, thanks to the joint collaboration of these 4 entities:

• Alhóndiga La Unión S.A. (Coordinador)
• Ideas y Desarrollo para la Mejora Continua IDM S.L.
• Ingro Maquinaria S.L.
• Novedades Agrícolas NOVAGRIC S.A.

Which will also have the collaboration of these 2 Research Organizations:

• Centro Tecnológico Tecnova.
• Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura CEBAS-CSIC.

This project is framed within the FEDER INTERCONECTA 2018 call, subsidized by the CDTI, supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-financed with Structural Funds of the European Union within the << Operational Program for Smart Growth 2014-2020 >>.

The aim is to develop a universal and adaptable system for automated grafting for seedlings based on anthropomorphic robots.

The full name of the project is INJER-ЯOBOTS: UNIVERSAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR GRAFTING OF SEEDLING and it is funded by the call for experiments of the ECHORD ++ project, funded by the Seventh Framework Program of the European Commission.

Grafting in the horticultural seedling industry is a common practice done by hand, with the aim of achieving a stronger and more productive plant. Currently, the grafting of seedlings is a very important part of the horticultural production industry in Europe, representing the nightshade market (tomato, pepper and eggplant) up to 38% of world production, with more than 200 million plants grafted annually , and cucurbits (watermelon, melon and cucumber) commercialize up to 47% of world production, with more than 120 million plants grafted annually.

The objective of INJER-ЯOBOTS is to realize a universal and flexible robotic system for the grafting of horticultural seedlings, based on the cooperative work of two anthropomorphic robots supported by artificial vision and external devices. The key strategy of this approach is based on two main concepts: (1) the application of grafting techniques on several species with a single robotic system, which allows the reduction of downtime between commercial seasons, and (2) the precise control of the grafting process taking advantage of the precision and repeatability of commercial robotic arms.

INJER-ЯOBOTS will try to solve a horticultural problem by introducing equipment, techniques and work practices that had not been previously applied for the grafting of seedlings, generating results in evolved equipment with respect to existing systems and that respond to the needs of nurseries and farmers.