Sustainable management of plant pests and diseases

The team integrated by l¿IRTA, UdL and UAB aims to address in a coordinated way the challenges that Catalonia faces in the sustainable development of agriculture and the improvement of plant health, implementing new technologies that reduce the impact of agricultural and forestry activities on the environment and maintain the productivity of farms. It is therefore necessary to continue developing strategies to reduce dependence on external inputs (pesticides, water and fertilizers) and to promote the exploitation of local biological resources (functional biodiversity) that allow greater resilience in the face of new invasive pests and emerging diseases, and changing and adverse conditions due to climate change. These objectives are complemented by activities for the transfer of results to the sector and by university training of future professionals who will enter the field of sustainable agricultural production and plant health.