International Recherche

Trans-Pest project launched at UMONS to innovate alternatives to pesticides in France and Belgium

Published on 20 December 2024
Written by Christophe Morel
As part of the Interreg Biocontrol 4.0 project, several Walloon, French and Flemish universities have joined forces to find reliable alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Among the various projects is the Trans-Pest project, through which the UMONS laboratory will test the effect of climate change on agricultural pests such as aphids and wireworms, and on their natural enemies such as ladybugs and lacewings. The aim is to offer farmers innovative biological control solutions to reduce pesticide use.

On December 5, 43 partners from Flanders, Wallonia and France presented their portfolio of scientific projects aimed at rethinking tomorrow’s biocontrol products.

Coordinated by Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Université de Liège), Biocontrol 4.0 (including the Trans-Pest project led by UMONS), aims to create innovative solutions in the fields of plant disease and pest control.

This portfolio mobilizes the skills of partners from 24 institutions with a budget of over 14 million euros (including over half a million for UMONS) to develop an approach integrating digital and biocontrol tools and aiming to reduce the use of pesticides.

Les projets de ce portefeuille coordonné par Philippe Jacques, professeur à Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (ULiège), s’intéressent à toutes les étapes, de la conception des produits de biocontrôle et du numérique à la formation des utilisateurs.

BIOCONTROL 4.0 se concentre sur des solutions innovantes en biocontrôle pour une agriculture durable et plus précisément sur le développement :

  • new biofungicides or directed control strategies against plant diseases caused by fungi (Trans-Lipo and Trans-Pathoflax 2.0)
  • new biocontrol products to reduce the number of insect pests (Trans-Pest)
  • digital tools (sensors, robots and decision-support tools) to support the development and use of biocontrol products (Trans-e-Bio). It also aims to integrate these tools by demonstrating their effectiveness in greenhouse or field experiments (Trans-Control), and in training courses aimed primarily at developers, producers, sellers and users of these products (Trans-Training).

The Trans-Pest project is led by Kévin Tougeron (lecturer at UMONS) in the Ecology of Interactions and Global Change laboratory, and concerns the analysis of the impact of environmental variations on bioinsecticides. The UMONS laboratory will test the effect of climate change on agricultural pests such as aphids and wireworms, and on their natural enemies such as ladybug and lacewing predators. The aim is to offer farmers innovative biological control solutions to reduce pesticide use.

Other portfolio projects
  • Trans-Manage: Management and communication of the Biocontrol 4.0 portfolio. Leader: Philippe Jacques.
  • Trans-Control: Improving integrated pest and disease management in agriculture. Leader: Louis Lippens.
  • Trans-e-Bio: Development of digital tools for biocontrol solutions. Leader: Jean-Yves Parfait.
  • Trans-Lipo: Development of biological solutions based on lipopeptides and glycolipids for sustainable agriculture. Leader: Essaid Ait Barka.
  • Trans-Pathoflax 2.0: Development of biocontrol solutions for flax growers and diagnostic techniques for disease-resistant flax varieties. Leader: Lise Willaert.
  • Trans-Training: Training in the latest developments within the portfolio and awareness-raising activities for all audiences in the area. Lead partners: François Krier and Valérie Leclère.

To mark the official launch of the project on December 5, the UMONS Interaction Ecology and Global Change Laboratory opened its doors to present how biocontrol products are tested. A tour of the laboratory was also organized to discover the insect rearing facilities and follow experimental protocols.

The BIOCONTROL 4.0 project portfolio and the Trans-Pest project are among the UMONS research projects accepted by the first call for projects of the Interreg VI France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen cross-border cooperation program.

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