Exploit biodiversity in viticultural systems to reduce pest damage and pesticide use, and increase ecosystem services provision: the Biovine project

Organic vineyards still rely on large external inputs to control harmful organisms (i.e., pests). The BIO- VINE project aims to develop natural solutions based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce pesticide dependence. The capability of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and inva- sive species is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures (including vineyards) do not exploit the potential of plant diversity. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systems based on in- creased plant diversity within (e.g., cover crops) and/or around (e.g., hedges, vegetation spots, edgings) vineyards by planting selected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes,fungi, nematodes), and foliar pathogens. Candidate plants will be identified by a literature review, andthe selected ones will be tested in controlled environment or small-scale experiments. The ability of theselected plants to: i) attract or repel target arthropod pests; ii) conserve/promote beneficials; iii) control soil-borne pests by means of biofumigation; iv) carry mycorrhizal fungi to the vine root system to in- crease plant health (growth and resistance); and v) control foliar pathogens by reducing the inoculum spread from soil, will be investigated. New viticultural systems able to exploit plant diversity will then be designed based on results of BIOVINE activities, following a design-assessment-adjustment cycle, which will then be tested by in-vineyard experiments in France, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain andSwitzerland for a 2-year period. Innovative viticultural systems should represent an improved way forpest control in organic viticulture, meanwhile they should positively affect functional biodiversity andecosystem services. New control strategies may provide financial opportunities to vine growers andlower their reliance on pesticides.