By Janet Kanters

A €1.77 million research project in Spain is bringing together agricultural biotechnology companies and research institutions to develop new ways to manage emerging and re-emerging crop pests.

The HARMONY project will combine biological control agents, biopesticides and semiochemicals, and test how they can be used together under field conditions.

The 36-month project, started in October 2025, will run through September 2028 and includes three companies: Agrobio S.L., which coordinates the project, Futureco Bioscience S.A., and SEDQ HEALTHY CROPS S.L. The research team also includes the Technical University of Cartagena, IQAC-CSIC, the University of Almería and the University of Barcelona.

The project will initially focus on citrus and pepper, two crops facing growing pest pressure in Spain.

Spain is the European Union’s leading citrus producer and a major orange exporter. The sector is facing pressure from invasive pests alongside drought and extreme temperatures. Pepper growers, particularly in Almería, are also dealing with thrips species including Thrips parvispinus, Scirtothrips aurantii and Scirtothrips dorsalis.

Other concerns include Delottococcus aberiae and Ceratitis capitata. At the same time, tighter residue requirements in export markets are increasing the need for effective pest management options that meet regulatory standards.

Futureco Bioscience will contribute expertise in developing, formulating and producing biopesticides. Its work will include microorganisms, microbial metabolites, botanical extracts, proteins and RNA interference (RNAi)-based technologies.

The company will identify and evaluate potential active ingredients, looking at factors such as how they work against pests, their safety, stability and suitability for agricultural use. It will also develop liquid and solid formulations designed to maintain the effectiveness of the active ingredients and make them practical to use in the field.

Futureco will work with the Technical University of Cartagena on laboratory testing and with the University of Barcelona on formulation development. In collaboration with Agrobio, it will also assess whether the formulations can be used alongside beneficial organisms that help control pests.

Selected products and formulations will then be produced at pilot scale at Futureco Bioscience’s facilities for testing in citrus and pepper crops.

The project is intended to move beyond using individual pest-control tools separately and instead determine whether different approaches can complement one another.

“The sector currently has different tools available for pest control, but new phytosanitary challenges require us to go beyond the solutions already available. HARMONY is working on the development of new solutions and their integration, with the aim of advancing towards crop protection programmes that are more effective, consistent and easier to apply in the field,” said Carolina Fernández, vice president of scientific affairs at Futureco Bioscience.

The project is funded through Spain’s 2024 Public-Private Collaboration call, with support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.