ALL PROJECTS
ResBerry

ResBerry

Resilient organic berry cropping systems

The main objective of the ResBerry project is to provide the necessary knowledge and demonstrate the effectiveness of tools to enhance above- and belowground biodiversity in European organic berry orchards in order to increase resilience of berries against major pests and diseases. Accordingly, ResBerry will apply the most recent advances in: a) Implementa-tion of preventive pest control measures through management of habitats for natural enemies in organic berry orchards by including companion plants in the form of flower strips, trap plants and/or cover crops supported with an optimized crop canopy structure; b) Deciphering the soil microbial community in organic berry orchards, how communities are shaped by companion plants, and which measurements can be applied to favour beneficial soil microor-ganisms as a preventive measurement against soil-borne pathogens and for overall increased resilience; c) Raising awareness among farmers for using direct innovative pest control strate-gies, such as entomopathogenic nematodes for control of spotted wing drosophila and ento-movectoring for control of grey mould; d) Evaluating the implications of the proposed measures on yield and nutritional quality of berries and tackling the consumers’ expectations regarding these measures; e) Disseminating and communicating the results to stakeholders, growers, market organizations, research scientists, academia, technical services and consum-ers. With a wide geographical coverage in five European countries, the project will focus on strawberries and raspberries but will also consider other small fruits as well.

PROJECT DURATION:

01.11.2021-31.10.2024

PROJECT SPONSOR:

German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and BÖLN

GRANT-NUMBER-PN:

2821OE010

PROJECT MANAGER:

Apl. Prof. Dr. Daniel Pleissner

PROJECT PARTNER:

HGU - Hochschule Geisenheim University, USAMV - University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest (Bucharest, Romania), UCPH - University of Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark), ENAM - National School of Agriculture in Meknès (Meknès, Morocca), UMI - Moulay Ismail University (Meknès, Morocca), InHort - Research Institute of Horticulture - National Research Institute (Skierniewice, Poland), Rodagria - Cooperative Agricola Rodagria Produce (Sat Ogoru, Romania), Gartenbauverband Land Brandenburg e.V.