The European Radiation Protection Week (ERPW) is currently one of the main stages of international debate in the field of radiological protection.  Every year, this multidisciplinary scientific event brings together experts who address the state of the art of radiation protection worldwide. 

This year’s edition takes place in the Portuguese city of Estoril, with hundreds of participants, including representatives of the main international organizations and institutions involved in the radiological protection field. GreenUPorto is represented by its Director, Professor Ruth Pereira, as a member of the organizing and scientific committee. Inevitably, the debate on the effective implementation of a European Radiation Research Area will be one of the main highlighs during the event. Click here for more information about the ERPW 2022.

The most promising approach to making food production systems more efficient, mitigating the agricultural footprint and increasing farmers’ productivity and income, is digitization. This is understood as the integration of artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, unmanned aviation systems, sensors, information and communication solutions, all connected and managed by the Internet of Things (IOT).

Scientific research also encompasses several other challenges, such as: improving the nutritive quality of food, restoring soils and their biodiversity, protecting crop biodiversity, and increasing crop resilience to climate change as well as new pests and diseases.

Alongside these issues, education needs to prepare a new generation of farmers able to adopt technologies that, in turn, can make agriculture more attractive to young people, reconciling them with jobs linked to agriculture and rural areas.

In short, only through positive interactions between technology, science and education, shaped into effective and innovative policies, can the UN’s sustainable development goals be achieved. This conference aims to address issues related to this virtual triangle, inviting all actors from the academic, industrial and agricultural sectors to present their main achievements and points of view, contributing to the debate.

The congress will be divided into 4 sessions:

Session 1 – Research, Innovation and Training in Agriculture 4.0

Session 2 – Circular Agriculture and Food Systems

Session 3 – Vertical Agriculture and urban agriculture: where do we stand?

Session 4 – Pest and disease control for more sustainable agriculture: the challenging goals for 2030

Applications for SCAS2022 are open until July 15th. If you register in advance, you can enjoy a discounted rate.

Learn more and register here.

The researchers from GreenUPorto – Research Center in Sustainable Agrifood Production and from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), Célia Rocha and Luís Baião, won the awards for Best PhD Thesis 2020 and 2021, respectively, awarded by the Spanish Association of Sensory Analysis Professionals (AEPAS).

Célia Rocha, who is also a professor at FCUP, holds a PhD in Consumption and Nutrition Sciences, a joint course between FCUP and the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the U.Porto. The researcher developed her thesis focused on the evaluation of sensory and emotional profiles and extrinsic characteristics of infusions of premium organic herbs. The study was supervised by the professor of the Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Planning at FCUP, Luís Cunha, also a researcher at GreenUPorto and by researcher Ana Pinto de Moura, from GreenUPorto and Universidade Aberta.

The work of Luís Baião, PhD in Animal Science, by the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), under the SANFEED Program, focused on the sensory analysis and nutrition of the sea urchin, with the objective of understanding the perception and to improve a diet that increases the size and quality of the sea urchin’s gonads. The researcher was also supervised by Luís Cunha and Luísa Valente, professor at ICBAS and researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research.

Both theses were supported through individual Doctoral Scholarships in Companies, financed by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and the company Sense Test, and the experimental works were supported by the projects Infusion Premium (project in co-promotion, 38921) and Caviar (project Fundo Azul, FA_05_2017_015), respectively.

AEPAS is the Spanish scientific society that, since 2011, brings together efforts to disseminate and promote knowledge around Consumer Sciences and Sensory Analysis, being an integral member of the European Sensory Science Society (E3S). Resuming its activities, with the holding of the IV AEPAS Congress, which took place from June 6 to 8, 2022, in Logroño, Spain, this institution marks the passage of more than 10 years of existence, having created the I Prize for Doctoral Thesis , having retroactively awarded the prizes for the best theses defended in the years 2017 to 2021.

A diploma was awarded to the winners during the IV AEPAS Congress and a cash prize of 1,000 Euros was awarded.

The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), through GreenUPorto, will receive, next April, a technical visit from researchers, technicians and producers of a recognized organization in the horticulture area – EMBRAPA, an agricultural research company of Brazil.

Between the 4th and 8th of April, around 30 people will visit, in addition to the GreenUPorto facilities, at the Vairão hub, open-air and greenhouse farms, nurseries, vegetable processing and packaging companies. During their visit to Vairão, Brazilian researchers will be able to contact teachers and researchers to learn about research and innovation projects in horticulture that are being carried out in Portugal.

“The visit aims to promote training and knowledge transfer, development and innovation in the field of vegetable production technology through contact with highly qualified Portuguese professionals”, describes Ana Aguiar (aaguiar@fc.up.pt), professor at FCUP and researcher at GreenUPorto, one of those responsible for organizing this visit together with researcher Joana Neto (joana.isa.neto@gmail.com).

Annually, EMBRAPA’s Horticulture Center organizes technical visits to different countries, having already been present, for example, in Argentina and the USA. “In 2022 it’s Portugal’s turn, the chosen city is Porto, and from here the participants will depart for a technical circuit that will include visits to the main vegetable producing areas (Minho and Oeste) and industrial tomatoes (Ribatejo), visits to warehouses commercial shipping and marketing of vegetables, and factories for processing IV gamma”, says, in turn, Joana Neto, researcher at GreenUPorto, who is also in charge of this event.

The initiative will also include a seminar organized by GreenUPorto, to promote research and innovation carried out in the horticultural sector in Portugal.

8.12.2021

The 1st workshop in the framework of the TERRATECH project (masTERs course on smArt Agriculture TECHnologies) will take place on the 13th and 14th of December. This event will have the participation of several researchers and international institutions, and the role of technological solutions in agriculture will be discussed from a multidisciplinary point of view (users, companies, research centers and students).

Registration is free but mandatory until December 9th.

For more information, please click here.

8.12.2021.

The awards “Os Melhores e as Maiores do Portugal Tecnológico” are an annual promotion event hosted by EXAME INFORMÁTICA (with the support of VISÃO) which aims to distinguish entrepreneurs, innovators and companies in the field of technology that have a major impact on the Portuguese economy.

This event took place on the 25th of November of 2021 at the EPIC Sana Marquês in Lisbon, and the Agrifood sector was analyzed in more detail due to its fundamental importance for the socio-economical development in Portugal, being currently undergoing a profound digital transformation. Therefore, this event had the participation of the director of GreenUPorto, Professor Ruth Pereira, who participated in a debate about artificial intelligence in agriculture.

The event was broadcast live and can be viewed here.

29.10.2021.

Greenuporto has recently established a partnership with Food4Sustainability CoLAB, a non-profit collaborative laboratory dedicated to innovation in food production and protecting the natural resources involved in agricultural practices. The involvement between the two institutions comes within the scope of a capacity building action by EIT Food, the largest European network on food sustainability. This action, entitled “Rethinking agriculture: soil, ideas and actions. Practical cases in the Portuguese territory” (Grow Workshops), is aimed at farmers, SMEs and the general public interested in the agrifood sector.

Participants will explore the role of soils and address trends and technologies in order to optimize businesses and offer sustainable and healthy products. In addition to having a panel of reputable speakers, including Prof. Daniela Santos (Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra), Prof. Marie Bartz (Centro de Agricultura Regenetativa e Biológica) and Prof. Marta Cortegano (Terra Sintrópica), participants will also have the unique opportunity to connect with the European EIT community for future projects and partnerships. Local cases of good agricultural practices will also be presented and discussed.

These workshops are free of charge and will be held in Portugal and France with the support of partners – Building Global Innovators (BGI), Food4Sustainability CoLAB, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vitagora, Lunds University and GreenUPorto. These sessions will also serve to establish regional and European networks of farmers and SMEs, as well as to encourage the adoption of new technologies by stakeholders.

Register by October 31st at www.eit-food-grow-workshop.com. For more information, please access the promotional video and the program of the workshops.

The tests were carried out in the best possible way, with the candidate being unanimously approved.
Congratulations to Prof. Jorge Queiroz and GreenUPorto, which has another researcher with the highest academic degree.

On the afternoon of June 29th, at Casa do Vinho Verde (Porto), the awards cerimony of the 5th edition of the ECOTROPHELIA Portugal 2021 Award took place. This is an iniciative that oughts to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, competitiveness in the agri-food sector, challenging students, professors, researchers and industry professionals to reflect and create the eco-innovative products of the future.

The competition brought together a total of 27 teams, with 5 of the 10 finalist teams made up of students from FCUP – Legumiscas, MochiPortugal, Norteggie, Os Togrões and Pro-Omega. The MochiPortugal team, which presented the LusoMochi product (glutinous rice pasta filled with salted chestnut ice cream and quince jelly core), was awarded 3rd place in the final. The team is made up of students from the Masters in Consumer and Nutrition Sciences (FCUP/FCNAUP) and their participation in the ECOTROPHELIA Portugal 2021 competition was promoted by FCUP teachers and GreenUPorto researchers Luís Miguel Cunha, Susana Caldas Fonseca and José Carlos Ribeiro, within the scope of the Curricular Unit of Sensory Analysis and Development of New Products, of the Masters in Science of Consumption and Nutrition (MCCN) and in Food Technology and Science (MTCA).

The oral communication presented by the student Carla Santos, entitled “Application of the defatting process as an enhancer of the sensory profile and level of acceptance of snack bars with incorporation of Tenebrio molitor powder”, is part of the list of Distinguished Works of the recent IJUP 2021, among the oral communications submitted to the “Agrofood & Environment” panel . The aforementioned work was developed in the context of the student’s master’s thesis in Consumption and Nutrition Sciences as as part of  Summer School – “Hands on Sustainable Agrifood Production: from soil to fork”, organized by GreenUPorto and financed by FCT, under the guidance of Prof. Luís Miguel Cunha and in collaboration with José Carlos Ribeiro, GreenUPorto researcher and PhD student.

It was announced at May 31st, the list of finalist teams of the ECOTROPHELIA Portugal 2021 award, with 5 products developed by teams from FCUP being among the 10 finalists. The participation of the teams was promoted by FCUP teachers and GreenUPorto researchers Luís Miguel Cunha, Susana Caldas Fonseca e José Carlos Ribeiro, in the context of the class “Sensory Analysis and Development of New Products” of the Master Degrees Food Consumption and Nutrition Sciences (MCCN) and Food Science and Technology (MTCA). The finalists will attend the final which will be at June 29 in Casa do Vinho Verde (Porto).

Team| Product: LEGUMISCAS | Pataniscas vegan, ultracongeladas com farinha de grão-de-bico e uma diversidade de legumes

Team| Product: MOCHIPORTUGAL | LucoMochi – Massa de arroz glutinoso com recheio de gelado de castanha salgada e núcleo de geleia de marmelo

Team| Product: NORTEGGIE | AL’CAST – Almôndega de castanha portuguesa congelada, inovação vegan, fonte de fibra com baixo teor de gordura

Team| Product: OS TOGRÕES | Torrão de grão de bico e casca de laranja – Snack doce composto por casca de laranja e grão de bico, com uma aparência irresistível e crocante

Team| Product: PRO-ÓMEGA | Filete vegan de tremoço – Filete vegan de tremoço com linhaça, resíduo de levedura de cerveja, temperado com garam masala

31.05.2021.

Within the scope of the EU-Project RadoNorm (www.radonorm.eu), GreenUPorto, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and University of Aveiro have organized and will offer a theoretical and practical course on laboratory techniques and standardized tests to be applied in scenarios contaminated by Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM). The course will also focus on the advantages of applying optical technologies and genotoxicity and cytotoxicity parameters in environmental risk assessment schemes. This course will take place between 30th of August and 10th of September 2021, and will be lectured by renowned scientists from Europe and Japan. For more information, please consult the program and additional information about the course.

12.05.2021.

Last Friday, GreenUPorto opened its doors to the visit of Minister Manuel Heitor, who was received with enthusiasm at Campus de Vairão. Researchers from GreenUPorto guided the visit through the Research Center facilities, showing some of their projects. The visit culminated with an open-air debate session, next to the old agricultural museum, on the state of scientific research in Portugal.

Led at FCUP by Jorge Queiroz, professor in the Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Plannings (DGAOT) and researcher at GreenUPorto, this project was distinguished for its contribution “for a sustainable and resilient wine production” and for the “European strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change ”,“ forging a Climatically Resilient Europe ”.

“VISCA aimed to develop a Decision Support System (VISCA DSS) which, integrating climate, agricultural services and viticultural practices, would provide wine producers with a software integrating the information they need to better adapt to the conditions of climate change and thus guarantee a better wine “, explains the FCUP/GreenUPorto researcher.

GreenUPorto members Susana Carvalho, Anabela Carneiro, Ana Aguiar and Inês Cabral were also part of the FCUP research team involved in this project, whose work incided in the Douro wine region, in collaboration with the Port wine company “Symington Family Estates ”.

VISCA was funded by the Horizon 2020 program and also involved researchers from Spain (coordinating country), Italy, France and England.

Find out more about VISCA on the project website (https://www.visca.eu/).

24.03.2021.

In the last evaluation exercise of Research Units (RU) under the responsibility of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), GreenUPorto presented its application to be recognized as a national RU. The acceptance of this RU by the international evaluation panel could not have been better, receiving in 2019 the maximum grade of “Excellent”.

In pursuit of its consolidation, at the end of 2020, following successful collaborations in the past, GreenUPorto joined the CITAB – Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences and formed the Institute for Innovation, Training and Sustainability of Agrifood Production (INOV4Agro), which had its status as an Associate Laboratory approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), for the next ten years.

INOV4Agro thus emerged with the mission of promoting the transition of the agricultural sector to sustainability, promoting precision and conservation agriculture (with a special focus on the horticulture value chain), contributing to the implementation of the sector’s necessary adaptations to climate change, increasing the attractiveness of low-density territories and promoting the optimization and valorization of endogenous resources. For this purpose, INOV4Agro will increase the capacity of new generations of growers and other stakeholders of the agrifood sector, providing them with the necessary scientific and technological background for the conversion of the sector.

With the coordination from CITAB, INOV4Agro is based on a governance structure that was designed to ensure equal representation of the two R&D units involved in the decision-making process, as well as to clearly demonstrate the commitment assumed by both in the implementation of the strategic plan presented for the next ten years.

This plan is structured in four thematic lines of investigation: 1) Efficiency in the use of resources and product quality; 2) Aquatic resources, soil health and food; 3) Value creation within local food systems and 4) Technological development and innovation. These research topics will be conducted by researchers from GreenUPorto and CITAB, who have already started to collaborate intensively in the organization and coordination of European consortia, to obtain European funds.

This initiave, which began in 2019, returns with two seminars that will be held in 17 March, wednesday, at 14:30 GMT. The researchers Tânia Fernandes and João Oliveira-Pacheco, which have joined GreenUPorto recently, will be the speakers presenting their research about the control of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum in tomato and about the genotype and phenotype of the fungus Candida tropicalis, respectively.

You can access the sinopsis of the first presentation entitled “The role of pH on control of Fusarium wilt on tomato” and the sinopsis of the second presentation entitled “Genotype and phenotype diversity of Candida tropicalis isolates” to know a little more, beforehand, what both researchers will tell us about.

The seminars will be held online, via ZOOM. To access the event, on the scheduled date and time, use this link.

10.03.2021.

Agriculture dates back to thousands of years ago: even the ancient Egyptians were engaged in large scale farming. Nonetheless, the agriculture industry has evolved immensely over time, fueled by the new scientific discoveries and the consequent technological developments. Precision agriculture is among the newest advancements in this sector. It consists of using the latest technology to monitor crops and the surrounding environmental conditions in real-time with the ultimate aim of supporting better management decisions to boost crop productivity and sustainability. Its growing popularity among farmers alongside its rising market demand created the need for professionals with a dual background in agriculture and in IoT (Internet of Things) engineering. To address this market gap, University of Porto researchers are coordinating the project TERRATECH – masTERs course on smArt Agriculture TECHnologies, which intends to launch an advanced international master course that provides students with the necessary knowledge and skills to work on the field of precision agriculture.

TERRATECH started in November 2020 as a partnership between University of Porto (Portugal), International Hellenic University (Greece), University of Debrecen (Hungary), University Pompeu Fabra (Spain), Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy), Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia), Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (Greece), Cerca Trova Ltd (Bulgaria), ECQA GmbH (Austria), Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL (Spain), Ktima Filippou- Schoinoplokakis (Greece), AgriWatch BV (Netherlands), Agroop Lda (Portugal), and Regional Federation of CUMA of the West (France). This project was funded by the Erasmus+ Programme “Knowledge Alliances” (Project Number: 621568-EPP-1-2020-1-PT-EPPKA2-KA). More information and updates are available at TERRATECH’s website here.

17.02.2021.

GreenUPorto integrates the consortium of 13 institutions from Portugal, Spain and France from the wine sector, which are joining forces to significantly reduce copper use in viticulture, thus decreasing the environmental impact in wine production.

COPPEREPLACE is a R&D + i Project led by the Spanish Wine Technological Platform and financed by the Interreg SUDOE program, an innovative initiative which focuses on providing integrated and sustainable solutions, aligned with eco-friendly production methods in Europe. In this regard, COPPEREPLACE will be developed from November 2020 to February 2023 (28 months), and counts with a solid international consortium composed by ADVID (Associação para o Desenvolvimento da Viticultura Duriense, Portugal), the French Institute of Vine and Wine (IFV, France), the Portuguese company Sogrape Vinhos, the technology company CVAN (Centro de Valorização Ambiental do Norte), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC-UMA), Vignerons Bio Nouvelle Aquitaine (SVBNA; France), EURECAT Foundation (Spain), the Familia Torres Foundation (Spain), University of Porto (GreenUPorto), University of Vigo (Spain), LBS (the Gérard Bertrand Group; France), the company Jean Leon (Spain) and the Spanish Wine Technological Platform, in the lead. Moreover, the consortium counts with the support from the consultancy agency Artica Ingeniería e Innovación (artica+i) as the project´s technical office, providing support in the development as well as in the technical-economic monitoring and justification of the Project.

COPPEREPLACE will create a stakeholders network which will integrate growers and other players of the viticulture international sector, with the objective of involving all agents interested in the project so that they can contribute with knowledge and experience.

The Project has a total budget over 1.6 million euros and has received more than 1 million euros from the Interreg SUDOE financing program.

For more information about COPPEREPLACE, you can visit the Project website here.

Plant Stress lab (GreenUPorto) and Integrative Biology and Biotechnology lab (iB2, LAQV-REQUIMTE) from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal, have the pleasure to announce the Plant Pest and Diseases Forum: Redefining concepts, mechanisms and management tools, on the 24th of March 2021 (via Zoom). Aiming to get a broader scope and audience, this forum will also be integrated within the EUGLOH network, a consortium of five European Universities [https://www.eugloh.eu/]. This will be the first of three yearly organized International Conferences on plant stress management. By contacting top researches in the fields of plant and pest sciences, this forum will be designed to an international audience with the participation of nine relevant key-note speakers on the topic. Furthermore, an opportunity for early-career researches and/or post-graduate students to present their works, either as oral or e-poster presentations, will take place in this event. More info at the website https://www.ib2lab.com/ppd. Registration is open and is free-of-charge!

Registration here.

The CROPEO project is in the strict group of twelve finalists of the 7th Prize of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2020 (Crédito Agrícola), which distinguishes innovative projects on the sectors of agriculture, agroindustry and forestry. This project aims at improving protection against pests and diseases in stored cereals, with special focus on corn grains. In the project´s framework, it was developed a device for encapsulation of essential oils with activity against insects and fungal diseases, allowing a slow and controlled release of their volatile compounds, thus representing a sustainable solution which ensures food safety in developing countries with limited access to resources for protection of stored cereals.

The CROPEO project was developed within a Portuguese consortium, including the participation of ISA of the University of Lisbon (R&D unit – LEAF), Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto (FEUP; R&D unit – LEPABE) and INIAV, and counted with the collaboration from GreenUPorto (Laboratory of Crop Protection).

15.01.2021.

AgriNuPes (www.agrinupes.eu) is an EU-Project financed under the ERA-NET Cofund WaterWorks2015 call (integral part of the 2016 Joint Activities developed by Water JPI) and coordinated by the Portuguese research institution INESC-TEC. The project AgriNuPes began in 2017 and had the participation of FCUP/GreenUPorto and other international entities, namely the Turkish Water Institute (SUEN), EGE University, EGE Life Sciences (Turkey), the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE, Sweden), Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands) and the Spanish company Riegos y Tecnología S. L. (RITEC, Spain), dedicated to water use efficiency in agriculture. This international consortium has been developing a sensing system consisting in NPK optical sensors and biosensors for detection of residues of phytopharmaceutical products, to be integrated in smart systems for supporting irrigation management in agriculture. FCUP/GreenUPorto is responsible for WP5 – Cascade ReUse Systems, which aims at assessing the suitability and impact of these production systems on water/drainage quality, soil quality and at plant level. In the closing webinar, the prototype sensors developed were presented and all the outcomes from more than three years of research were disseminated, including regional case studies which aimed at assessing the applicability of the sensors and the adequacy of the production systems commonly utilized nowadays.

The webinar detailed program is available here.

01.11.2020.

From July to October 2020, a Summerschool entitled “Hands on Sustainable Agrifood Production: from soil to fork” was hosted by GreenUPorto, involving students in scientific projects related to sustainable agrifood production. Under the scope of the program “Summer with Science”, promoted by the Portuguese public agency Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in collaboration with the Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES), GreenUPorto research center had a group of students working in the fields of Biology, Agricultural Sciences and Consumer Sciences and Nutrition.

20.05.2020.

Research fellow Saul Fernandes explained the phenomenon known as bystander effect, in which genetic damages observed in organisms can be communicated to other living beings, not themselves exposed to stress agents. Saul Fernades talked about the results obtained by the research team he is working on, which have demonstrated, for the first time, the bystander effect between earthworms and enchytraeids exposed to cadmium.
The oral communication took place during the 13th Meeting of Young Researchers of U. Porto (IJUP 2020), held in Februrary 2020, in Porto.

13.11.2019.

Read more here.