Marco F. L. Lemos1, Celso Alves1, Ana Augusto1, Maria J. Campos1, Alexandra Cruz1, Teresa Eugénio2, Maria E. Fernandes2, Eloisa Iglesias1, Maria S. Lopes3, Paulo Lourenço3, Alice Martins1, Sónia Monteiro4, Patrick Murray5, Sara C. Novais1, Rui Pedrosa1, Patrícia Quesado4, Délio Raimundo6, Verónica Ribeiro4, Maria M. Sampaio1, Ricardo Santos6, Joana Silva1, Susana F. J. Silva1, Carla Tecelão1, Carina Trindade6, Tânia F. L. Vicente1, Carina Félix1
1 MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Politécnico de Leiria, Peniche, Portugal
2 CARME – Centre of Applied Research in Management and Economics, ESTG, Politécnico de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
3 CITUR – Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, ESTM, Politécnico de Leiria, Peniche, Portugal
4 CICF – Center for Research in Accounting and Taxation, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Barcelos, Portugal
5 Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Moylish Park, Limerick, Ireland
6 Campotec S.A, Torres Vedras, Portugal
The Fruit Sector is an important part of the European Agroindustry, accounting for 14% of the value of the EU agricultural production. Due the continuous growth of the global population and the limited global cropland, it is crucial to guarantee food safety and for all. To achieve that, the reduction of crop loss from pest origin and provide plant resistance to external factors is mandatory, while assuring fruit extended shelf-life during storage and distribution chain. This is nowadays guaranteed by synthetic compounds, that have ultimately been pointed as risk factors for the environment and public health, while also reducing fruit nutrient quality.
Since early times, seaweeds have been used in agriculture to fertilize the fields and augment plant productivity. Nowadays, the commercial production and exploitation of seaweed specific compounds with biotechnological relevance, as microbicides, biofertilizers, soil conditioners, among others, has been increasingly explored.
Among macroalgae, invasive species are widely recognized as a global threat for marine ecosystems equilibrium, causing serious economic and environmental negative impacts. The use of these invasive seaweed to obtain valuable bioproducts for agriculture will not only contribute to the creation of sustainable added-value products but also to the mitigation of the negative impacts caused by alien species, restoring the marine ecosystem integrity and sustainability.
ORCHESTRA project main goal is, this way, to add-value to invasive seaweed through a circular economy biorefinery pipeline, while providing solutions to pear and apple cultivars, improving the value chain, with sustainable, eco-efficient, and socially responsible practices, and in this work the opportunity for the use of several seaweeds in the orchard will be explored.