Welcome to the 3rd edition of the VIRTIGATION project newsletter!
In this winter edition, we provide you with an update on our recent activities and event participations, as the VIRTIGATION project has completed 18 months of its duration.
Furthermore, we bring you our latest blog and social media series on the different areas surrounding our project topic of emerging viral diseases affecting tomato and cucurbit crops.
|
|
What’s new in VIRTIGATION?
|
|
|
VIRTIGATION project communication materials available in multiple languages on our website: The project flyer, poster and rollup are now available in English, as well as in Spanish, German and Dutch.
At the same time, our website blog articles will be also extended to cover other languages than English. In October, we started by including an article in Spanish to report on the stakeholder workshop in Almería.
|
|
|
VIRTIGATION collaborates with EU-funded PestNu project: In October 2022, we joined forces with the Horizon 2020 PestNu project, which field-tests & demonstrates digital & space-based technologies with agro-ecological and organic practices in systemic innovation.
|
|
Taking stock of the VIRTIGATION multi-actor network after 18 months
|
|
Across the focus countries of our project, VIRTIGATION National Knowledge Brokers and National Actors have engaged in various activities to engage with key actors and stakeholders such as growers, policymakers, agro-industry (e.g. seed companies), academia, agricultural extension services and EIP-AGRI operational groups. Below, we outline the main actions performed by the VIRTIGATION multi-actor network in the first 18 months of its existence:
- Spain: Apart from organizing the project’s first stakeholder workshop in March 2022, the Spanish partners led by National Knowledge Broker AGAPA already mobilized 55 stakeholders to join the VIRTIGATION network. AGAPA also succeeded in reaching out to horticultural companies and farmers to assess the status of Bemisia tabaci control on vegetables for a VIRTIGATION survey. The project was also promoted extensively through RAIF, the official plant health network of the Andalusian regional government, as well as in various events in Spain.
- Netherlands: On the 18th of July 2022, the first National Knowledge Broker meeting was organized in the Netherlands by VIRTIGATION partner Stichting Wageningen Research. The meeting was held in Bleiswijk, which is located in the main greenhouse production area of the Netherlands. At the meeting, the stakeholders present voiced their wishes and expectations for VIRTIGATION and its multi-actor network. While not all stakeholders invited could attend, those that had found it very useful and are eager to join the next multi-actor meeting of the project.
- Belgium: The Belgian National Knowledge Broker Proefcentrum Hoogstraten mobilized 26 stakeholders to join the VIRTIGATION network. Additionally, it managed to reach many growers to reply to the project’s survey on the status of Bemisia tabaci control on vegetables. Finally, it presented the project in the influential “Proeftuinnieuws” magazine.
- Germany: The German National Knowledge Brokers JKI and Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen focused on informing key stakeholders and actors on the VIRTIGATION project in various events, such as the German Plant Protection Conference, the Rheinischer Unterglasgemüsebautag and the meeting of the regional vegetable growers network. It also published an article to present the aims and approaches of the project in the influential “Gemüse” magazine.
- France: The French National Knowledge Broker INRAE also managed to mobilize stakeholders to join the VIRTIGATION network and reply to the project’s survey on Bemisia tabaci control. In addition to this, the French national partner APREL presented VIRTIGATION to the regional surveillance center on emerging plant viruses in Southern France.
- Other countries (Italy, Israel, UK, Morocco, India and Luxembourg): VIRTIGATION partners UNICT (Italy), Volcani Center (Israel), NRI (UK), Maraissa (Morocco), UASB (India) and LIST (Luxembourg) have promoted the project to stakeholders in several events. They also managed to attract stakeholders to join the VIRTIGATION network and provide their inputs to the project’s survey on Bemisia tabaci control.
|
|
|
|
Bianca Boehnke, Agricultural engineer at VIRTIGATION partner Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen, presents the project at the German stakeholder meeting “Rheinischer Unterglasgemüsebautag”
|
|
|
More information on the VIRTIGATION multi-actor network on our website
|
|
Plant science publication corner
|
|
VIRTIGATION has published its first two scientific publications in the form of (literature) reviews:
1) “To be Seen or not to be Seen: Latent Infection by Tobamoviruses?”, co-authored by VIRTIGATION scientists Mareike J. Rohde and Heiko Ziebell from the Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics at JKI – published in the MDPI Plants journal
2) “Harnessing plant viruses in the metagenomics era: from the development of infectious clones to applications”, co-authored by VIRTIGATION coordinator Hervé Vanderschuren from the Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement at KU Leuven – published in the Trends in Plant Science journal
VIRTIGATION researchers were also involved in these publications:
3) “Disinfection efficacy of Tobamovirus-Contaminated Soil in Greenhouse-Grown Crops”, co-authored by VIRTIGATION scientist Aviv Dombrovsky from Volcani Center – published in the Horticulturae journal
4) “Guidelines for improving statistical analyses of validation datasets for plant pest diagnostic tests”, co-authored by VIRTIGATION scientist René van der Vlugt from Wageningen University & Research – published in the EPPO bulletin
|
|
Follow VIRTIGATION on its social media channels to stay updated on project progress. Join the VIRTIGATION community as it strives to protect the #planthealth of tomatoes and cucurbits as key fruits and vegetables.
|
|
|
|
