- A new project combines risk prediction models, biological control agents and soil cover management techniques to tackle Stemphylium blight, a disease that, together with other factors, has contributed to a 54% decline in pear-growing area in Girona over the past decade.
- ESTEMPERA, an innovative pilot project carried out by an Operational Group, is coordinated by the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) and led by SAT Fruita d’Alcarràs N1268 CAT (Alsat), with the participation of ACTEL SCCL.
Through the work carried out as part of the ESTEMPERA project, an integrated strategy was developed between 2024 and 2026 to rationalise the use of plant protection products in controlling pear brown spot, one of the diseases with the greatest economic impact on Catalonia’s fruit-growing sector.
Pear brown spot, caused by the fungus Stemphylium vesicarium, produces necrotic lesions on leaves, stems, shoots and fruit, potentially causing losses of between 1% and 10% of pear production in affected areas. In Catalonia, the disease has been particularly severe in Girona, where the area devoted to pear growing has decreased by 54% over the past ten years and losses were estimated at 600,000 kilograms in 2023 alone. Until now, control has relied almost exclusively on preventive fungicide treatments (between 15 and 20 applications per growing season), a practice with a significant environmental impact and increasingly limited effectiveness due to the development of resistance in the fungus.
Against this backdrop, and in the context of the plant protection product reduction targets set out in the European Farm to Fork strategy, the ESTEMPERA project has pursued three complementary lines of work.
First, the activity of various currently available chemical fungicides has been assessed under laboratory conditions to determine their actual effectiveness and monitor potential resistance.
Second, the project has shown that targeting the source of infection is essential. During winter, the fungus survives in fallen leaves and weeds in pear orchards: this is known as the inoculum, the fungal “reservoir” that gives rise to new infections in spring. The project has found that combining beneficial soil microorganisms (specifically the fungus Trichoderma harzianum) with simple practices such as burning fallen leaves or discing between rows of trees can substantially reduce this fungal reservoir before the growing season begins.
Trials on small plots using natural and biological products applied directly to the trees have also delivered positive results: the proportion of leaves affected by the disease fell from 45% to below 30%, while symptom severity decreased from 24% to below 10%. In addition, computer-based risk prediction models (such as BSPCast and RIMpro) have been validated. These models can accurately indicate when fungal proliferation is greatest, allowing growers to better time treatments and reduce the number of applications without compromising effectiveness or yields.
“The ESTEMPERA project represents a decisive step forward in tackling pear brown spot. Thanks to risk prediction models, we have managed to optimise the timing of treatments, while also validating new solutions based on biological products and agronomic techniques that drastically reduce fungal inoculum during winter,” explains Rubén Rufo, a researcher at IRTA in the Protecció vegetal sostenible programme and the project’s scientific coordinator.
Combining these tools within an integrated management strategy enables growers to improve the profitability of their orchards without increasing plant protection product applications, while providing society with more sustainable, environmentally responsible pear production.
ESTEMPERA is an innovative pilot project carried out by an Operational Group of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI), within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023–2027. It is co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación and the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Action under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027, co-financed by:
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