Sustainable biostimulant and bioprotective compound for the control of fungal diseases in certified coffee production

Abstract

Certified agricultural products are important components of the food industry, aiming at a traceable and sustainable agricultural production, with annual growth rates of 15%. However, certifiers have been expanding the list of restricted or prohibited pesticides, limiting the options of products for phytosanitary control, without offering alternatives to farmers. Coffee leaf rust, brown eye spot and Phoma leaf spot are the main fungal diseases that pose a serious threat to coffee cultivation worldwide. In conventional farming, these diseases are controlled using synthetic fungicides which, in addition to intensifying cases of fungal resistance, are highly toxic to the environment, the farmer and the consumer. In organic, agroecological or regenerative farming, there are limited options for plant protection products, such as copper-based, biodefensive or non-standard homemade products. Therefore, there is a growing demand for effective bioprotectors, with low environmental impact, for use in the sustainable control of certified coffee tree diseases. To meet this demand, Defense Fertilizer is developing an innovative compound based on plant extracts and metallic elements for foliar application, with biostimulant and bioprotective action, which promotes sustainable disease control, increased productivity, reduced dependence on imported technologies, and lower environmental impact. The product's components have complementary mechanisms that promote disease prevention, with direct action on pathogens and activation of the plant's natural defense system. The initial target of our product is the disease control in certified coffee production, due to the high added value and associated annual losses of USD 2 billion. With the proven effectiveness of the product in controlling coffee rust under controlled conditions in Phase 1 of PIPE, the tests will focus on validating its effectiveness in the field and the adjust of the formulation in Phase 2. The protective and curative ability of the product against three coffee plant diseases (coffee leaf rust, brown eye spot and Phoma leaf spot) will be evaluated, in addition to its ability to promote plant growth. Our goal is to offer an effective alternative to control the main coffee fungal diseases, with a biostimulant effect and low toxicity. The proposed product can also be part of an integrated management of coffee diseases in the conventional farming, associated with chemical and biological pesticides, offering the market a coffee with high added value, low residue content and sustainable. (AU)