S15 - Session P2 - European Innovation Partnership – Plant Health

Authors: Aline Vandewalle, L. Perez *

The aim of the regional multi-strand project "EIP - Plant Health" is to help farmers improve crop health management. Different operational groups allow to both mobilize existing knowledge and experience and to support multi-stakeholder groups (farmers, development advisors, economic organizations and research) on innovative topics. Surveys of regional experts in the market gardening, viticulture, medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), and field crop sectors have made it possible to draw up an overview of alternative levers to the use of plant protection products, their effectiveness and their degree of use in the various sectors. Various tools have been developed to present these results (commented slide show, webinars, etc.) and are widely distributed. Soil cover is one of the transversal levers mobilized in the different sectors (medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) , market gardening and field crops), through experimentation and support of farmers' groups. Among the methods of soil cover management, mulching is a lever used in both field crops and market gardening. As far as crop rotation diversification is concerned, surveys conducted among farmers or groups practicing diversification will allow the development of tools adapted to the needs of producers. The project also supports sectors that are currently being developed: soya, hemp, viticulture associated with medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). In this last case, the objective was to study the possibility of an association of a wine grower and a producer of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) to cultivate these ones in the inter-row of the vineyard. The advantages envisaged were multiple: maintenance of the inter-row, effect on the communities of auxiliaries for the vine, limitation of the work necessary for medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). A Vine- medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) operational group was brought together to define the medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) that would be interesting to plant, and then to work on technical itineraries adapted to the different Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) species.