PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Pesticide residues found in food are a widespread risk. 40% of food in the EU contains residues, and at least 75% of pesticides used each year are applied in agriculture. The highest amount of pesticide sold in the EU is in Spain - in 2016, 77 tonnes were sold, half of which were fungicides and almost 20% herbicides. Sampling conducted on food products have shown that Spain and Portugal were two of the countries with the highest maximum residue levels of pesticides, with more than 3% of samples exceeding the legal limit.
Pesticides should ideally be lethal only for pests, but they have harmful consequences for human health and the environment. According to the World Health Organization, pesticides are linked to diseases such as Parkinsons, asthma, depression/anxiety, cancer, and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.
Pesticides easily contaminate air, ground and water, harming general soil biodiversity and nitrogen fixation, killing honeybees and other fauna. They can also make their way up the food chain and accumulate in other organisms.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the project LIFE ALGAR-BBE was to reduce the adverse effects of chemical pesticides which are used in tomato and corn crops on the environment and human health. It aimed to prove the effectiveness of at least three biostimulant formulates from microalgal biomass, with biocide activity from aromatic plants extracts. This would allow pesticides (insecticides and fungicides) used on these crops to be replaced.
The formulates developed were open to commercialisation in the EU at a later stage in the project, fulfilling current legislation (such as Regulation EU 528/2012) as well as future legislation (such as the proposal for the new regulation of fertilising products that will amend Regulations (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EC) No 1107/2009).
The project fit with EU environmental policy in relation to chemical products, in particular with regulation 1907/2006 (REACH) and directive 2009/128/CE. It also matched some objectives on EU action on the environment for 2020, and with the roadmap towards an efficient European use of resources.
RESULTS
LIFE ALGAR-BBE project demonstrated the efficacy of three formulations of natural origin, safe and sustainable, with biostimulant capacity and biocidal action, to mitigate adverse effects on the Environment and Human Health of chemical pesticides currently used in tomato and corn crops.
The biostimulant action was achieved by adding microalgae and the biocidal action was achieved thanks to extracts of aromatic plants, as well as residues from Spirulina extraction and residues from olive industry. A sufficient volume of concentrated biomass (20% microalgae) of the species Nannochloropsis gaditana (49 kg | 288 liters of wet biomass) and Acutodesmus obliquus (20,6 kg | 200 liters wet biomass) was produced and optimised, which served as raw material for the production of the new fertilisers. Three formulates were developed and optimised with aromatic plants extracts, one for root application, other for foliar application and another for home application.
The demonstration character of the project was based on the application of the produced formulations from microalgae and aromatic plants, considering the dual function on crop production (as a biofertiliser and biocidal effect product), at pilot scale on experimental plots of tomato, corn, pepper and potato crops located in Spain, and at real (industrial) scale in farm plots of tomato and corn crops located in two locations (Extremadura and Portugal), during 3 different growing seasons along 3 years. In each location, trials have been carried out in an area of 3 ha for tomato crops and 3 ha for corn crops, and 1 ha in each case for pepper and potato crops. Crops, as a general rule, have improved their yields by applying, together with the conventional fertilisers, formulations with aromatic plants extract at different concentration, applied via foliar application at 3 l/ha at four key moments for the crop according to phenology: in growth, flowering, fruit set and fruit growth. Some of the main findings were:
- The eco-toxicological evaluation of the formulations did not evidence symptoms and signs of phytotoxicity. In none of the sites there was a negative effect on beneficial organisms.
- The concentrations of nitrates in the soil solution decreased, and the reduction in nitrogen fertilisation between the different plots resulted in a decrease in nitrate concentrations.
- The use of the formulations developed in the project led to a reduction in pesticide residues in the leachate water.
- A sustainable management has been achieved, attending exclusively to the surface of agricultural soil free of residues, which represents 93.2% with respect to the total surface tested.
- The crops have improved their yields when applying those formulations with microalgae and extracts of aromatic plants. The development of the plants has been higher in the plots treated with foliar applications with the highest percentage of extract of aromatic plants.
- As for avoiding pests and diseases, the formulations have proven to be effective, since the application of pesticides of chemical origin has not been necessary during the crops. This means that the developed formulations can reduce traditional fertilisers and replace pesticides of chemical origin used in agriculture.
- No pesticide residues were detected in either the tomato or the corn produced in the campaigns studied, so the use of the active materials of chemical origin was correct, and the field application of the new formulations meets its objective from the food safety point of view.
- Less pesticides and higher yields can lead to cost savings on input materials, as well as reduced labour and machinery costs associated with pesticide application.
The results achieved proved the effectiveness of three biostimulants formulates from microalgae biomass with biocide activity from aromatic plant extracts, allowing the replacement of the pesticides used in these crops.
The project outcomes have a huge replication potential. A Handbook of good practices was produced to explain how the fertilisers developed within the framework of the project should be applied to corn and tomato crops, based on the experience acquired.
An important result of the project is the development of a new commercial product, based on the successfully demonstrated formulations, which should soon enter the market.
