What does it mean?
As a group of scientists, engineers and farming experts, we know that the words we use don’t always have obvious meanings to people outside our specialisms. We want to ensure that everyone can make sense of our sustainable crop protection aims. So, here’s your essential project dictionary to translate those terms you think you understand, but you’re not quite sure and don’t like to ask.
As we move into different stages of the project we’ll check again for jargon and ensure we continue to explain these terms. In the meantime, if there’s something you think is missing, drop us an email at info@cropsafe-project.eu and we’ll make sure we add it to a future edition.
Project terms
CROPSAFE – Our project name comes from the title “crop protection strategies for the transition to environmentally-friendly agriculture”. We’re working with agricultural crops, and we want to keep them safe from pests in a way that protects both the people handling them and the environment in which they’re grown.
CBE JU – Our main funding body “Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking”: a public/private partnership formed between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium.
Cluster – a group of related public-funded projects coming together to support common aims and share communication opportunities.
Our science
Biomass – in the chemical industry, this means something that is derived from plant and animal sources. In biology it can be used to mean the total mass of living organisms in a habitat. In CROPSAFE we’re interested in the first definition and we use biomass from trees, seaweed, coffee waste, and fungi.
Biobased – (sometimes seen with a hyphen) something made from biomass.
Biorefinery – the factory where useful biobased compounds are extracted from biomass.
Biotechnology – using biological processes to produce chemicals and materials on an industrial scale. Enzyme-mediated reactions, and fermentation are examples of biotechnology processes.
Bioactive – a biobased chemical that produces an effect in biological entities such as plants, microbes, insects and animals.
Biodegradable – a substance that can be broken down to natural substances, such as carbon dioxide and water, by microbial organisms in the environment
Farming
Crop protection – methods used in farming to safeguard crops from damage and yield loss caused by pests (e.g. insects, rodents), diseases (fungi, viruses, bacteria), weeds and environmental stresses (drought, waterlogging, extreme temperatures). Often used in relation to pesticides, but in reality it has a wider meaning.
IPM – “Integrated Pest Management” is a strategy combining multiple ways of controlling pests, such as biological, cultural, physical and as a last resort, chemical methods. It relies on understanding of pest lifecycles and how they are impacted by various environmental and cultural factors. Some examples of methods used include crop rotation, barrier materials, pest traps, introduction of natural predators (such as ladybirds for aphids), and use of naturally resistant crop varieties. Because chemical use is minimized, ecosystem health is improved.
Precision farming – Often used as part of an IPM strategy, precision farming identifies precise locations in a field where a problem exists (e.g. nutrient deficiency, pest population increase) and applies treatment only in that specific location. In relation to pest control, it relies heavily on understanding of pest lifecycles and their response to environmental conditions and control treatments.
Sustainability
LCA – “Life Cycle Analysis” is the method used to understand the impact of a substance from its creation to end of life. We can use it to compare the impact of one substance with another (such as a conventional pesticide with a bio-based one) and find better ways of manufacturing a substance with reduced impacts.
Circular economy – a model of production and consumption that minimizes waste, keeps manufactured products in use for as long as possible, and then provides a way of converting that product back into new products rather than disposing of it.
Bioeconomy – an economic system where renewable, biological resources are used to produce food, energy and industrial goods. It aims to reduce our reliance on finite, fossil-based resources.
