Successful presentations of the ResBerry project at symposia in Warsaw
The Core Organic project ResBerry was well presented by several different oral and poster presentations at IOBC-WPRS Joint Meeting of Integrated Protection of Soft and Stone Fruits (fruitipm2024) and the ISHS IV International Organic Fruit and II International Organic Vegetable Symposium (OrgHort 2024) which took place in Warsaw, Poland between 15–20 September 2024.
The two symposia were organized by the National Institute of Horticultural Research (InHort), Skierniewice (Poland) and aimed to bring together experts and stakeholders from around the world to share knowledge and address the challenges facing organic horticulture. The symposia are known as a unique opportunity for international collaboration and knowledge sharing, with a focus on promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly cultivation methods for fruits and vegetables. Major issues affecting organic horticulture, including production systems, regulatory and market requirements, and the impact of climate change on agricultural production systems were explored.
Flower strips and other companion plant systems
During the IOBC-WPRS Joint Meeting of Integrated Protection of Soft and Stone Fruits (fruitipm) Lene Sigsgaard (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) presented a talk on the positive effects of flower strips on predator densities in elderberries, gooseberries and raspberries with reduced aphid infestation levels in the later two crops.
At the ISHS International Organic Fruit Symposium Daniel Pleissner (Institute for Food and Environmental Research ILU, Germany) took the opportunity to present new results on the change in underground biodiversity in raspberry cultivation established at Rodagria Agricultural Cooperative farm (Ogoru, Calarasi, Romania), when different companion plants such as flower strips, trap plants or and cover crops were cultivated together. Using state-of-the-art molecular biology technology, genetic material (DNA) from various soil samples was extracted and sequencing was carried out in collaboration with other European partners within the ‘ResBerry’ project. The knowledge gained is highly relevant for fruit growers in Germany. For example, they can use it to find out which beneficial microorganisms live in the soil and help the plants to grow better. They can also recognize harmful fungi or bacteria and thus combat them more effectively.
Roxana Ciceoi (USAMV Bucharest, Romania) and colleagues presented a poster on soil quality improvement in cultivation of organic raspberry crops through the inclusion of companion plants, such as cover crops (microclover or Gramineae species) or flower strips with annual and perennial plants.
Application of liquid bioproducts
Another poster by Grzegorz Doruchowski and Lidia Sas-Paszt from the National Institute of Horticultural Research, Poland demonstrated the development of a practical and cost-effective technology for soil application of high volumes of liquid bioproducts in organic berry production.
Poster prize
Finally, Sophie Wenz from Geisenheim University, Germany, presented a poster showing that incorporating companion plants in strawberry fields can increase diversity and abundance of different insect families, among them various parasitoid Hymenoptera. This can in turn reduce pest pressure and foster a resilient cropping system. This poster was awarded the ISHS Young Minds Award for best poster presentation. Congratulations!
Learn more at the conference websites with book of abstracts: