{"id":31691,"date":"2026-05-11T19:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/?p=31691"},"modified":"2026-05-15T10:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T08:44:49","slug":"ecologic-organic-plant-pathology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/ecologic-organic-plant-pathology\/","title":{"rendered":"Phytopathology applied to organic agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;PLANT PATHOLOGY APPLIED TO ORGANIC AGRICULTURE&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h1|text_align:center&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221; el_id=&#8221;el-sol&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;AN ENCOURAGING VISIT FOR THE FUTURE&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:center&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;20px&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778576012922{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]Today we welcomed students from the <strong>Master\u2019s Degree in Plant Pathology<\/strong> at the University of C\u00f3rdoba to show them our organic strawberry crop, its particularities, unique characteristics, and to allow them to observe firsthand the field study on irrigation reduction. In this way, they can clearly perceive the effect that irrigation reduction has on pests.<\/p>\n<p>For the students, it was an opportunity to experience a commercial-scale cultivation field, observe diseases, fungi, and insects within a real commercial production environment, outside of a laboratory setting, and move from theory into practice.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;31678&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778576065288{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]In addition, our organic cultivation model involves coexisting with pests. They are controlled and limited, but not eradicated, creating the ideal environment for students to learn how to identify them within a real commercial production setting.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, direct contact with the professional side of the sector is an invaluable learning experience. They represent the future of our industry, and it allows them to discover what may become their future professional environment.<\/p>\n<p>We also took the <strong>opportunity to show them our varietal trial fields<\/strong>, where the best specimens are subjected to reduced irrigation in order to determine which varieties adapt most effectively.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778506945641{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]The students are able to gain a brief understanding of the evaluation criteria used for a new variety, as well as the need to test new varieties under organic cultivation conditions, with a clear emphasis on disease resistance and adaptation to our highly distinctive organic growing methods compared to conventional agriculture.[\/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;THE REAL BENEFITS OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:center&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778508154744{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<strong>Essentially, drawing a parallel with human health, a healthy diet and strengthening the immune system will always be preferable to relying on chemical treatments and pills.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;31761&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;20px&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;OFFICIAL COLLABORATOR IN THE TRIALS&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:center&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778576116586{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]University of Huelva is our main collaborator in conducting and studying the irrigation reduction trials in strawberry cultivation, including t<strong>he benefits and drawbacks for crop performance, fruit quality, and disease development<\/strong>. These trials are carried out at the La R\u00e1bida campus of the University of Huelva under \u201claboratory\u201d conditions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Plant Pathology applied to organic agriculture<\/strong> is the discipline that studies the diagnosis, prevention, and sustainable management of plant diseases, prioritizing natural and environmentally respectful methods. Its objective is to maintain healthy crops, reduce agricultural losses, and preserve the biological balance of the ecosystem.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;31670&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;KEY ASPECTS OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY<br \/>\nIN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE:&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:center&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][mk_custom_list icon_color=&#8221;#274e13&#8243;]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Preventive diagnosis:<br \/>\n<\/strong> Early identification of symptoms and imbalances in plants, such as spotting, necrosis, wilting, or weakening, allowing action to be taken before the disease spreads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/mk_custom_list][mk_custom_list icon_color=&#8221;#274e13&#8243;]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Causal agents:<br \/>\n<\/strong> Study of the main pathogens affecting organic crops, such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, and viroids, analysing their behaviour within sustainable agricultural systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/mk_custom_list][mk_custom_list icon_color=&#8221;#274e13&#8243;]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Abiotic factors and crop balance:<br \/>\n<\/strong> Organic agriculture places special attention on environmental factors that influence plant health: soil quality, excess or deficit of water, balanced nutrition, biodiversity, temperature, and climatic stress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/mk_custom_list][mk_custom_list icon_color=&#8221;#274e13&#8243;]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Biological control and natural prevention:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Development of ecological strategies to protect crops through the natural strengthening of plants, the use of beneficial microorganisms, soil management, crop rotations, functional biodiversity, and preventive techniques that reduce the need for external treatments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/mk_custom_list][mk_custom_list icon_color=&#8221;#274e13&#8243;]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sustainability and healthy production:<br \/>\n<\/strong> Organic phytopathology seeks to understand the relationship between the pathogen, the host plant, and the environment, promoting more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems aligned with healthy and environmentally responsible food production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/mk_custom_list][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;20px&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;BIONEST AND THE FUTURE OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY<br \/>\nIN THE ORGANIC SECTOR&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:center&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778507236844{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]At Bionest, in-depth knowledge of phytopathology applied to organic cultivation is essential for the successful development of the demanding strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry varieties we grow in our fields.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;31686&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;20px&#8221;][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1712777453007{margin-right: 1em !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;19862&#8243; img_size=&#8221;300&#215;300&#8243; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1712777459646{margin-left: 1em !important;}&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;3em&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1712777551283{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}&#8221; el_class=&#8221;.nomobile&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;\u201cThose enthusiastic young people who visited us are the future of our industry, and it is always a pleasure to share our passion with the generations who may one day become part of the Bionest family.\u201d<br \/>\n<strong><em>Tom\u00e1s Cera, Commercial Director of Bionest<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong>&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:div|text_align:left|color:%238b8071&#8243; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221; el_class=&#8221;fontweight300&#8243;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text align=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778507282028{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]For more information about the latest developments and results of our organic berry varieties, please contact us. We will be pleased to keep you updated.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New generations are already tasting the future of organic agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>At Bionest, we had the pleasure of welcoming students from the Master\u2019s Degree in Plant Pathology at the University of C\u00f3rdoba to our organic berry fields.<\/p>\n<p>A day of learning, field experience, research, sustainability and shared passion for the future of bio farming. \ud83c\udf53\ud83c\udf3f<\/p>\n<p>Seeing the talent, curiosity and commitment of these young professionals gives us confidence in the future of sustainable agriculture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":31766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bionest-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bionest.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}