ECO-ZEO · DEVELOPING A POOL OF NOVEL AND ECO-EFFICIENT APPLICATIONS OF ZEOLITE FOR THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR

The agriculture sector is vital for food, feed and bio-fuel production, but at the same time it is a major cause of environmental pollution and natural resource depletion. Sustainable solutions are demanded that will enable agriculture to “produce more with less”: become more productive and less harmful to the environment and human health.ECO-ZEO aims at the development of a new pool of Green crop protection products delivering a wide range of beneficial effects including reduced water consumption, increased crop yield, lower chemical input, crop protection and tolerance to abiotic stress and healthier conditions to workers in agriculture and agrochemical sectors.The ECO-ZEO products will rely on the innovative application of Zeolite 4A to the surface of leaves and fruits, adapted strategies for sustainable crop protection (such as chromatic masking, behavior interference and biocontrol), novel use of sustainable active ingredients and pigments, andnew configurations of additives for enhanced performance of the coating. The developed crop protection solutions will be lab- and field trialed for four crops: apple, tomato, table grape and orange. The best performing solutions will be validated through demonstration with European farmers.Sustainability, eco-efficiency and Life-cycle analyses will be performed throughout the project. Achieving both environmental and economic sustainability is one of the main added values of ECO-ZEO.ECO-ZEO will be achieved by means of a new innovation process in agricultural green products based on the alliance of Academia, Agro-Biotech SMEs and Industry. Firm plans for the full-scale exploitation of the developed products and technology will ensure this alliance will translate into market presence.The participation of SMEs is further enhanced by the allocation of 40,8% of EC Contribution to SMEs.