Abstract:

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on the prospects of exploiting allelopathy as an alternative strategy for controlling weeds, insects and diseases. However, the environmental and toxicological consequences of this should be investigated. The objective of the present project is to perform an environmental and human risk assessment of exploiting the allelopathic properties of wheat in modern farming, and to develop a framework for future assessments of allelopathic crops. Well-described allelopathic properties of wheat combined with low environmental persistence and low toxicities will enhance the possibilities for farmers to make a reliable production. If the evaluation of environmental persistence and human as well as environmental toxicities shows that the allelochemical compounds constitute a higher risk than the risk of low doses of synthetic pesticides, new views must be presented on the exploitation of allelopathy.

Objectives:

The overall objective of our project is to perform an environmental and human risk assessment of exploiting the allelopathic properties of wheat in modern farming and to develop a framework for future assessments of allelopathic crops.

This objective will be reached through the fulfilment of the following objectives:

1. to quantify the amount of allelochemicals and their metabolites a) in wheat of different origins and grown under different environmental conditions and b) in the surrounding soil environment.;
2. to generate dose-response relationships of major wheat allelochemicals on important target weeds and pests;
3. to assess the risk to environment and consumers of wheat allelochemicals and their metabolites in comparison with synthetic pesticides; and
4. to compare the empirical results with theoretical results using rules-based prediction of toxicity and rule-based prediction of environmental transformation.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Inge S FOMSGAARD / Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences Research Centre Flakkebjerg / DENMARK

Participant

• Emilio BENFENATI / Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri" (IRFMN) / ITALY
• Damiá BARCELO / Centre d'Investigació i Desenvolupament Departament de Quimica Ambiental / SPAIN
• Per KUDSK / Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences Department of Crop Protection / DENMARK
• Department of Organic Chemistry Faculty of Science / SPAIN
• Rudolf BRAUN / IFA Tulln Institute for Agrobiotechnology / AUSTRIA
• Arnold KOECHL / Institute of Phytomedicine Department of biological plant protection & horticulture / AUSTRIA
• Silvio GARATTINI / Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research ITALY
• Asger HANSEN / National Environmental Research Institute DENMARK
• Francisco MACIAS / Universidad de Cadiz (UCA) Dpto. Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias / SPAIN
• Ona SHAKALIENE / Voke Branch of Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture Laboratory of Herbicides / LITHUANIA
• Ona SAKALIENE / Voke Branch of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture LITHUANIA