Launch of GrapeBreed4IPM, a European project for sustainable solutions in viticulture

Viticulture is one of the largest agri-food export sectors in the European Union. Given the economic and cultural importance of wine in Europe, supporting the sector in a transition to new practices is essential to ensuring its viability in the coming decades. The development of disease-resistant grapevine varieties and consumer perception lie at the heart of the Horizon Europe "GrapeBreed4IPM" project*. Coordinated by INRAE, this four-year project brings together 19 partners and two affiliated partners from six countries to develop decision-making tools for grapevine professionals that will help them sustainably manage their vineyards in adherence with European standards.

This project aims to develop disease-resistant grapevine varieties that are adapted to local environmental and pedoclimatic conditions to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides. It will also study consumer perceptions of the new resistant varieties and their resulting wines, which remain less familiar than traditional varieties. The project will also provide farmers, winegrowers and advisers with best practices and guidelines for integrated pest management in order to promote more environmentally friendly and sustainable viticulture in Europe.

The project has five objectives:

1. Co-design a shared approach with stakeholders along the value chain in different European regions
2. Lead in-depth research for a better understanding of the molecular basis behind vulnerability and resistance of grapevine to pathogens and how it interacts with its environment 
3. Develop traditional breeding programmes for new disease-resistant varieties in partnership with local stakeholders
4. Lead research to develop emblematic varieties that maintain traditional characteristics in wine but are also disease resistant
5. Design and share decision-making tools and best practices to optimise growing practices adapted to resistant varieties.

 ^{*  GrapeBreed4IPM = Multi-actor grapevine innovation targeting breeding for integrated pest management.} 

GrapeBreed4IPM information sheet

Launch: 1 April 2024.

Duration: Four years

Budget: €5.6 million ( €5 million from the European Union and €600,000 from the Swiss government via an affiliate partner).

Partners: 18

Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI, Germany); Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM, Italy); Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin (IFV, France); Ministeriums für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz Baden-Württemberg (WBI, Germany); INRAE Transfert (IT, France); Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen (HWG, Germany); Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR, Italy); Horta (Italy); Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr,ÖLandwirtschaft und Weinbau (DLR, Germany); Plataforma Tecnológica del Vino (PTV, Spain); Comité National des Interprofessions des Vins à appellation d’origine et à indication géographique (CNIV, France); Neiker - Instituto Vasco de investigaciones agrarias (Neiker, Spain); Mercier Frères (Mercier, France); Verband Deutscher Rebenpflanzguterzeuger e.V. (VDR, Germany); Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Förderung pilzwiderstandsfähiger Rebsorten (PIWI Int, Austria); Istituto di Genomica Applicata (IGA, Italy); Moët Hennessy (France); Institut za Primeneu Nauke u Poljopriverdi (Serbia).

Affiliate partners: 2
Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL, Switzerland), Union de Coopérative Foncalieu (Foncalieu, France) GrapeBreed4IPM project has received funding from the European Union in the framework of the Horizon Europe funding programme under the grant number 101132223.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them."