Alternatives to the use of copper Sample Clauses

Alternatives to the use of copper considerable research prompting the need for a critical synthesis The increased restrictions on the amount of copper growers can apply, together with the looming threat of a total ban at the European level, presents a challenge for organic growers who cannot replace it by other synthetic pesticides. A recurrent demand thus exists for research on “alternatives” to copper. First articulated some twenty years ago, the need for viable alternatives to the use of copper continues to appear on recent lists of agricultural research priorities (for example, within the French framework programme for OA development Ambition Bio). As a result, the question of “alternatives” to copper has been the focus of considerable research and R&D activity, including three major European research programs since the beginning of the 2000s alongside numerous other prominent, but more limited, research efforts in different parts of the world. Countless trials of alternative methods and products have been conducted, both by technical centres and by growers themselves, to evaluate the potential of different molecules and/or formulations. Other research has focused on elucidating the underlying biological mechanisms involved (in particular the elicitation of plant defences, the ecology of disease organisms and of biocontrol agents, etc.). While a significant number of scientific and technical references has thus been accumulated, practical adoption of these potential innovations remains limited. Relevant findings are scattered across a variety of sources, are often fragmentary in nature, and are not always readily accessible. No complete critical synthesis of this research has been published to date. Scientists and technicians alike lack access to a consolidated “state of the art” on the topic, one which offers a scientific evaluation of the efficacy and limitations of the various possible alternatives to copper. Such a review could assist in identifying research priorities and developing recommendations for the practical implementation of these alternatives.