SEEDBIOPROTECT (2022- 2025) - Consortium Biocontrôle et PlantAlliance

SeedBioProtect is an ambitious project that addresses the issue of the effectiveness of biocontrol solutions in protecting seeds against pests and diseases. It aims to unravel the response of seeds treated with biocontrol solutions during development/maturation and germination on a molecular and metabolomic scale. Methods for phenotyping damping-off will be developed to assess the effectiveness of treatments under biotic constraints. This work will be carried out on two crops of high economic interest, wheat and tomato, with seeds that are highly susceptible to infection by pathogens.

Context

The agricultural world attaches major importance to seed quality, in order to secure farm profits, reduce the use of inputs and avoid soaring product costs. Physiological quality is the ability of seed lots to germinate quickly and uniformly under a wide range of environmental conditions, leading to the establishment of normal, vigorous seedlings. Pedoclimatic factors and technical itineraries have an impact on the environment of the mother plant, modifying the physiological properties of the seeds, such as their depth of dormancy, their longevity and their germination potential in sub-optimal conditions. Seed health is also a key concern. Crop pathogens and pests can infect seeds during production, storage/transport or sowing. The transmission of bio-aggressors to and through seeds is a major global agronomic problem due to the globalisation of trade. Effective risk management and prevention to limit the spread of pathogens and pests through seeds is an absolute necessity. Disinfection and the use of synthetic phytopharmaceutical products (PPPs) such as fungicides and insecticides are widely used to protect seeds and avoid agronomic problems such as damping-off, dispersal of bio-aggressors and contamination of foodstuffs. The development of agro-ecological practices inevitably leads to a reduction or even a ban on the use of synthetic pesticides. For example, many synthetic molecules used in seed treatment have recently been banned or their use restricted (e.g. imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, thiram, metalaxyl-M). The short-term future for tebuconazole and the medium-term future for ipconazole, two active ingredients widely used in seed treatments for various purposes, is highly uncertain. This major challenge for European agriculture has an impact on the seed industry, which needs to find effective, rational alternatives to protect and stimulate seeds. Biocontrol solutions now represent a relevant lever in seed protection strategies.

Partners

PlantAlliance : RAGT (A. Bousquet) ; LIMAGRAIN (H. Lybeert), FNAMS (CE. Koutouan)
Biocontrôle : AGRAUXINE (V. Nicaise) ; KOPPERT (J. Gerbore) ; VEGENOV (K. Crenn) ;  STAPHYT (F.  Giraud, A. Lebaudy); GEVES (G. Orgeur)
Académiques : IJPB, Versailles (M. Corso, L. Rajjou: Coord) ; IRHS, Angers (J. Buitink, M. Barret, M. Simonin) ; PHIM, Montpellier (E. Ballini)