Students from the Landscaping and Rural Environment cycle participated in an informative day on natural fumigenic biopesticides and visited the experimental trials of the LIFE project
Almería, 16 May 2025. Yesterday, a group of 50 first-year students from the Higher Degree in Landscaping and Rural Environment at the Agrarian School of Vícar (EAV) visited the facilities of the Tecnova Technological Center to participate in a training session linked to the European project LIFE NextFUMIGREEN.
During the session, Carlos Ramos, representative of FumiHogar, the project’s lead partner, presented the Fumigreen technology — a natural fumigant developed from plant extracts. This innovation is designed to combat agricultural pests in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Then, Blanca Sabarit, specialist in the Plant Production and Environment Department at Tecnova, explained the ongoing trials to validate the product’s effectiveness against the pest Frankliniella occidentalis (western flower thrips) in greenhouse-grown pepper plants.
The session also featured a presentation by José Francisco Díaz García, plant production technician at Tecnova, who introduced the supra-regional operational group Demoextract, focused on the valorisation of plant residues through sustainable techniques.
Afterwards, students toured the experimental greenhouses, where they observed the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN trials, the composting areas of the GO Demoextract, and other greenhouses related to different innovative agricultural projects.
This type of activity not only brings research closer to future professionals in the sector, but also strengthens the commitment to a safer, more sustainable and efficient agriculture.
About the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN Project
LIFE NextFUMIGREEN is a European project that aims to develop natural fumigants based on plant extracts to control whitefly populations and outbreaks of Botrytis fungus in greenhouse-grown horticultural crops. The project is led by FumiHogar, in partnership with B&B Asesores, Comercial Química Massó, Tecnova Technology Centre, BrioAgro Tech, and Fundación Finnova. It is co-financed 60% by the European Union’s LIFE programme, has a total duration of 4.5 years, and a total budget of €2,758,921.01.