Botrytis cinerea, Peronospora and Esca disease are pathogen diseases that strongly impact on local productivity. 

Botrytis cinerea is estimated to cause 10-100 billion dollars of damages every year worldwide. The most affected plantations are horticultural crops, such as chickpeas, broccoli, and beans and small fruit crops, such as grape, strawberry, and raspberry. There are solutions to control the Botrytis disease but fungicides are priced high and their treatment modality often complex.

Peronospora is a fungus that threatens several species of crop, ornamental and wild plants. This disease appears in the form of pale green to light yellow spots on the plant leaves and is spread from plant to plant either by wind or infected seeds. In the past, large epidemics have caused serious issues to local economies, such as 25 million dollars of damages to tobacco plantations across 11 states in 1960 and 20 million dollars for reducing the yield of sweet onions in Georgia (USA) in 2012. The fungicides available on the market have an effect only limited to the prevention of the disease, not to the treatment. 

Esca disease disease is caused by a group of fungi that colonize lymphatic vessels and wood. This colonization leads to compromise the translocation of water and nutrients from the roots to the aerial part of the plant. Estimates of economic damages amount to 3200 euros per hectare per year due to the infected vine plants that need to be replaced. Up to now, there has not yet been identified an effective fungicide with a reduced toxicity for humans and for the environment. Preventive treatments are still considered the most efficace options.

Our solution produces a prolonged and improved efficacy of the active ingredient, reducing the risks for the soil and the product dosage. The solution was formulated as a treatment strategy to defeat the disease, not simply as a prevention strategy.

This successful formulation showed promising in-vitro results and will be soon ready for in field-tests (TRL 5).