The use of plant protection products in modern agriculture has contributed to increase yields and reduce yield losses due to pests and diseases caused by a range of parasitic organisms including nematodes, fungi, bacteria, virus and phytoplasms. The number of active ingredients available in the European Union has decreased considerably in recent years due to the increasing public awareness on their negative effect on human health and the environment along with the regulations on the maximum residue limits allowed in food products. The challenge nowadays is to develop new active ingredients highly effective against pests and pathogens and in agreement with legal requirements for food security and environmental issues.
IRTA offers this service to agrochemical companies that develop new products or formulations of existing products, and systematically need to evaluate the efficacy of active ingredients on selected pathogen-causing diseases in different crops.
IRTA has the facilities and qualified staff to assess the efficacy of plant protection products coming from chemical syntheses or biological origin under all the required conditions: laboratory (in vitro tests), growth chamber, and real conditions in field plastic-houses and fields in the open.
Services
Efficacy of fungicides. Testing the efficacy of fungicides involve assessing the fungicide and/or fungistatic effect of the products against pathogenic fungi.
Efficacy of nematicidas. Testing their efficacy involves assessing their effect on reducing nematode population levels.
Efficacy of biological control organisms. It is assessed against pathogenic organisms. Assessment of the compatibility of the biological control organisms with fungicides and nematicides is also done.
Efficacy of plant strengtheners poducts.
Efficacy of plant extracts.
Applications
Effectiveness of plant protection products against pathogenic fungi and plantparasitic nematodes in the process of registration, new uses, applications or formulations of existing products, extension of registration to other crops, and any other possible application.
Products that are not necessarily plant protection products but needing to assess their effect against a given pathogen on one or several crops.
Trials for registration (EOR). IRTA has been officially authorized to conduct trials for registration of plant protection products. EOR code: 76/12.
