There is touch of ”X-factor” about one of the EU projects that academic employee Per Rydahl from the Department of Integrated Pest Management at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, is working on. Per Rydahl is the coordinator of a subproject that aims to choose the best of its kind within its particular field.

The conditions are the same as in X-factor: There are lots to choose between. They all offer something that is in demand by the end user. Some are better at it than others. A group of ”judges” will find the best ones and develop them further in order to attain “star products”.

The star product here, however, not a singer but Europe’s best Decision Support Systems (DSS) for problem-solving in plant protection.

The goal is less pesticide use

The subproject is part of the larger EU project ENDURE, the purpose of which is to reduce dependency of pesticides and minimize the use of pesticides in the EU.

- Our aim is to have as low a use of pesticide as possible but as much as is necessary to ensure a satisfactory yield, says Per Rydahl. Together with colleagues from seven other countries in the EU, he has gathered and analysed data from 54 systems in 27 countries in Europe.

- It has been like being a detective. There are many fish in the sea. For example, there are four different systems in France that exclusively relate to the use of fungicides in vineyards. The various systems often use different terminologies, backgrounds, biological models, etc. Our goal is to find the stars in the chaos, says Per Rydahl.

Extensive material

The scientists from the eight countries have now gathered data on the many systems. There are many facets to manage in plant protection. Diseases, pests, fungi and weeds on the one hand. Barley, berries, cherries, corn, cabbage, pears, peppers and potatoes, and a wide range of other crops on the other hand. Also important are local conditions such as soil type, climate, and here-and-now conditions such as the weather, plant growth stage, and pest prevalence. It is, then, not so strange that the result of all this has been a great variety of Decision Support Systems.

At a pan-European workshop in Flakkebjerg from 17 to 19 March 2008, 50 DSS were presented and discussed. The participants identified various ’building blocks’ that could possibly be the foundation for future European DSS.

- Weeds and diseases are not evenly distributed everywhere. – not even on the individual farmer’s own fields – so the plant protection should not be the same everywhere, either. In actual fact, earlier studies and experience have shown that the farmer can reduce his herbicide use by 40-50 percent in major crops such as cereals and in minor crops by about 20 percent, if he will just take a walk in his fields to get a picture of the current weed situation, Per Rydahl points out.

The Danish system Planteværn Online (Crop Protection Online) bears witness to the fact that DSS is a popular tool. In one year there are 35,000 unique visits to the weed module alone. About 90 percent of the visitors are Danish, but an increasing number of visitors are from many other countries in Europe. The system uses information about the crop, growth stage, pest or weed prevalence, and weather forecasts to calculate treatment requirements. If treatment is needed, then Planteværn Online provides several proposals that include information about which type of product to choose, dosage, treatment index and price.

Filling out the holes

Other countries have corresponding systems that are either working or being developed.

- There is no reason to re-invent the wheel again and again. Instead we can benefit from learning from each other. Therefore, the project’s goal is to find the best systems - in other words the most robust and potent systems or parts of systems, explains Per Rydahl.

The requirements for making it into the ”semi-finals” are that the DSS should include elements for prediction, prevention and treatment of relevant problems in relevant crops as well as a potential for reducing the use of or dependence on pesticides.

- Once we get the big picture of what is actually out there, we have a better chance of seeing if anything is missing and, if that’s the case, point out areas where further research and development in plant protection are necessary, says Per Rydahl.

ENDURE, European Network for the Durable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies, is a so-called “network of excellence (NoE)” which is financed by EU’s 6th Framework Programme.

The aim of ENDURE is to create a European research network that will also exist after the funding of ENDURE ceases at the end of 2010. The research activities aim to achieve a better understanding of pest biology and the interaction between plants and their pests and, based on this knowledge, to develop new, innovative control strategies in which dependence on effective pesticides is reduced compared to the present. This can be achieved by combining analytical and system-based approaches and by promoting collaboration between biologists, agronomists, economists and sociologists. Another important goal of ENDURE is to ensure that new knowledge is communicated to all relevant parties: farmers, advisers, the industry, politicians and, not least, consumers.

Read more about ENDURE at www.endure-network.eu .

For further information please contact: Academic employee Per Rydahl, Department of Integrated Pest Management, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, telephone: +45 8999 3585, e-mail: Per.Rydahl@agrsci.dk

Text: Janne Hansen