VITA TERRA PROJECT
Title: The role of soil microbiota in olive tree nutrition and health.
Main objective: To evaluate the soil used in olive production, differentiating between dryland and irrigated land, as well as organic and integrated farming, and to demonstrate the benefits of using organic products formulated with live microorganisms on the immune system of plants, vigor, and production, with the aim of transforming these conductive and infertile soils into suppressive (“living”) soils.
Specific objectives:
- Comprehensive assessment of olive grove soil in the provinces of Almería and Jaén, through soil sampling and subsequent physical, chemical, omic, and environmental analysis, to evaluate the ecological and nutritional status of the soil.
- Use the most innovative and up-to-date ICT tools to accurately quantify: the condition of the soil, the phenotype of the olive trees, and quantitatively observe the differences that occur when live microorganisms are incorporated into the soil.
- Conducting a one-year nutritional demonstration trial in the open field, applying a new product based on live microorganisms and evaluating its benefits in terms of production and ecology.
Conducting fortifying efficacy trials with soil pathogens to identify and study the phenotypic response of the crop to inoculation, depending on whether the crop is in suppressive or conductive soil.
The development of a web app with user registration for farmers and professionals in the agricultural sector, allowing them to identify the type of soil, access advice on improving their soil microbiota, and consult the results obtained in the VITA-TERRA project.
The transfer and dissemination of all the information and results collected during the VITA-TERRA project, so that the knowledge is transferred to the people.
Final results:
➢ Gain a deeper understanding of the organisms that can be found in agricultural soils, particularly in olive groves located in the Andalusian regions of Jaén and Almería. To determine whether these microorganisms are beneficial or not, whether they are species found in mutualistic consortia, and to relate these ecological niches to environmental parameters such as temperature, water content, relative humidity, etc. Based on this knowledge, the VITA-TERRA group will be able to construct indices that allow farmers or professionals in the sector to know with a degree of probability which microorganisms are found in their soils based on physical and climatic data from their land.
➢ The above result will in turn enable an assessment of the soils sampled in Andalusia and determine whether they are suppressive and fertile, or whether, on the contrary, there are areas with conductive and depleted soils. This result will be an environmental indicator of the health status of olive grove soils in both regions and will also confirm how climate change and the abuse of products and cultural activities have affected Andalusian olive groves.
➢ In trials using Interjospal’s new and innovative product based on live microorganisms, it is hoped that an ecological solution will be found that will (I) improve crop nutrition and thus obtain a more fertile and productive crop, and (II) directly intervene in the regeneration of the soil microbiota.
➢ Bioassays with soil pathogens and Interjospal’s new and innovative product will reveal whether soil fortification is related to the creation of a defense barrier against these pathogens entering the root system. If the result is positive, an ecological solution will have been developed that increases crop resistance to soil diseases.
➢ The ICT tools used by GrodiTech’s technology experts will be able to collect a large amount of quantifiable data that will be used in this project and may also be used by other researchers in the future.
➢ The web app that will be developed in this project will allow olive grove professionals to view the sampled data and recommendations for action and extrapolate conclusions to their own soils and crops. It will be a very useful tool for other farmers who are interested in improving their soils.
➢ Finally, the VITA-TERRA project aims to raise awareness of the importance of soil microbiota in olive cultivation, both in terms of productivity and ecology. It is very important to convey the message that “living” (suppressive) soil is the most beneficial and that all professionals in the sector should be aware of the condition of their soil and know what to do when it needs to be regenerated.
Participating members:
- CITOLIVA
- Tecnova, Technology Center for the Agricultural Industry (Representative Entity of the Group)
- Oro del Desierto (Technical Coordinator)
- GrodiTech
- Interjospal
Duration: 2024/2025
Total budget: €260,174.52
Aid line:
Operation of European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Operational Groups on agricultural productivity and sustainability in the olive sector (Operation 16.1.3.)
Funding body:
The project is subsidized by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), by the Regional Government of Andalusia through the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development.
