European Commission has approved funding for project “Low pesticide IPM in sustainable and safe fruit production” (LIFE.SU.SA.FRUIT) under the Life+ programme in theme Environment Policy & Governance. LIFE.SU.SA.FRUIT is one of 125 winning projects among the 961 proposal received in this call. Budget of the project is €1.8 million, and the EU will provide more than €900 000.

This project aims to develop, apply and demonstrate an economically-viable strategic plan to implement integrated pest management, by promoting the use of low chemical approaches in field and post-harvest fruit production in typical Croatian and Italian agro-ecosystems. The project intends to create an environmentally-friendly management system for fruit production and storage, by making more efficient use of resources and ensuring food safety is not compromised.

Plant pests and diseases cause important yield and quality losses in fruit crops. Due to the hazardous effects of agrochemicals on both humans and the environment, there is a growing trend towards agro-ecosystems based on the management of ecological interactions and the use of integrated pest management (IPM).

The project is expected to deliver several outputs, including:

• the setting up and validation of prototypes of exclusion nets to be applied in fruit orchards
• the setting up and validation of a prototype for hot water treatment of fruit in postharvest
• the establishment of 12 demonstration orchard sites in Croatia and Italy, where BAPs, including exclusion nets, autoconfusion with pheromones, biocontrol and sanitation practices will be used
• the establishment of 4 demonstration packinghouse sites were in Croatia and in Italy, where BAPs, including hot water treatment machines, and other alternative postharvest practices will be used
• a list of Best agricultural practice (BAPs), to be used in integrated production of fruit

These practices will be communicated and diffused throughout all the stakeholders, thanks to several training, communication and divulgation activities, including among the others: training courses, seminars and technical visits for farmers, technical workshops for packinghouses, consumer-oriented workshops, and final conference.