12. April 2024 LigniLabs ist seit April 2024 ein Portfolioprojekt...
R&D
Against the background of massive Esca outbreaks in recent years, LigniLabs has developed special microcarriers with the ESCApe technology, which are able to encapsulate active ingredients effective against ESCA and make them directly applicable in the plant to make the ESCA disease effectively controllable for the first time.
Our microcarriers in the ESCApe product are made of lignin, a biobased and biodegradable raw material that is the main component of wood along with cellulose. The transport vehicles prepared in this way are loaded with fungicides and injected directly into the stem of the plants. Since ESCA fungi degrade the lignin of our microcarriers and simultaneously release the active ingredient, they can be effectively controlled directly on site. This highly selective release mechanism controls fungal infestations on the spot and with maximum efficiency. Our ESCApe product thus offers the possibility of achieving both curative and protective long-term treatment of Esca disease with a single application. The quantities of fungicide required are reduced to a minimum and product application is safe for users and the environment.
How does ESCApe work?
ESCA
Esca has become one of the most contagious and feared vine wood diseases worldwide, threatening viticulture to a similar extent as phylloxera at the beginning of the 20th century. Esca is a complex of different fungal pathogens that spread inside the vine and lead to blockage of the conductive pathways and eventually to decay of the vine wood (white rot). Due to the brittleness and easy combustibility of the infected vine wood, the name "Esca", Latin for "tinder", was derived for the disease. Once a plant is infected with Esca, there is still no crop protection product that can cure the disease. Conventional sprays with fungicides are ineffective because the pathogens inside the plant are not reached. Ultimately, affected vintners must remove all infested vines from the vineyard and replant them.