The BIOS4Grass Project

Irish agriculture is mainly grassland-based, and is key to the success of the dairy, beef, and sheep sectors. The Irish Climate Action Plan, the EU Green Deal, and the EU Farm to Fork strategy has placed ambitious reduction targets for the use of chemical inputs in the form of fertilisers and pesticides in grasslands. The use of sustainable bio-based products and innovations that can stimulate growth and protect plants from pathogens could provide an alternative to such inputs, reducing the environmental footprint of the Irish agricultural sector while at the same time reducing chemical inputs.

 

BIOS4Grass will develop new elite grass germplasm with better nitrogen use efficiency, test and evaluate three classes of bio-based products, singly or in combinations, for their functionality in perennial ryegrass and multispecies swards under reduced chemical input regimes.

 

These bio-based products are (1) algal biostimulant, (2) microbial panel of N-fixers and P- mobilisers, and (3) dual function fungal endophytes that act as both biostimulants and biopesticides. Life-cycle analysis will deliver a system-level analysis of bio-based products, and consider impacts across the full life cycle to avoid burden shifting from one environmental impact to another.

 

By integrating these analyses within contemporary pasture management practices, the project will position Ireland at the leading edge of agricultural innovation. BIOS4Grass will also provide farmers with elite germplasm, and sustainable bio-based alternatives in the face of national and EU regulations on the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

Partners

University College Dublin (UCD), Munster Technological University (MTU), Teagasc, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)