[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9429\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETaking pray out of spray and Spotify for blossoms\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2017, serendipity brought Martina Drobn\u00e1 into contact with biologist and entomologist, Dr Bruno G\u00e1bel.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It all started with my mum,\u2019 said Drobn\u00e1, a Slovakian-based graphic designer and coordinator of the CITRUS-PORT project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018She told me about her new neighbour in Modra (Slovakia), a brilliant scientist, who was working on ways to help fruit growers predict the disease and pest risk for their crops,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen the two met, G\u00e1bel explained how his hand-written calculations had helped local grape growers by forecasting likely disease risk at different times. This meant producers could target spraying when treating their crops and they didn\u2019t need to spray continuously as they had in the past. Drobn\u00e1 was sold.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETogether with IT entrepreneur Roman Korba\u010dka they created a website and app called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/viti-group.com\/en\/about-us\u0022\u003EVitiPort\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our aim was to create a decision support system \u2013 which could advise growers on whether or when to treat crops,\u2019 she explained. Calling themselves VitiGroup, the trio have since commercialised Vitiport, and have also developed a sister platform, Genimen-port, for apples and pears.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELemon squeezy \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ENow they are using the same technology to help citrus growers of, for example, lemons, grapefruit and oranges, many of whom are based in Mediterranean countries. Every year, citrus farmers\u2019 crops are threatened by disease and pests such as grey mould, brown rot and black spot fungal disease, as well as orange tortrix and the citrus leafminer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In many growing areas we find it\u2019s common to spray every week but that soon becomes a vicious cycle of over-spraying,\u2019 said Drobn\u00e1. \u2018The more you spray, the more the pathogen builds up resistance and the more you then need to spray to control it; it just gets worse and worse.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith CitrusPort - which is soon to become operational \u2013 the team hopes to challenge conventional wisdom about the importance of spraying by providing timely, user-friendly information about when and how best to treat. Subscribers download an app, find their farm via GPS and from then on, at the start of each week receive an accurate indication of disease risk and advice about treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EThe more you spray, the more the pathogen builds up resistance and the more you then need to spray to control it.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EMartina Drobn\u00e1, CITRUS-PORT\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGiven time, Drobn\u00e1 hopes that CitrusPort can replicate some of the impressive results the team already achieved for grapes and apples. In Champagne, where VitiPort has operated since 2018, targeted information about when to spray has helped decrease pesticide use by 58%.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThey see global potential for CitrusPort with interest already coming in from Australia, the US and Tunisia.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpotify for flowers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEntrepreneur Eric Egberts has a passion for flowers and a 30-year history in the business. One thing that increasingly troubles him are restricted markets and limited consumer choice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I used to see all kinds of flowers on my travels and would bring different types home for friends,\u2019 he said. \u2018Everyone would always ask, \u201cWhere can I get these?\u201d I realised that in most florists, consumer choice was restricted to just the best-sellers such as red roses, pink daisies, white and yellow chrysanthemums,\u2019 said Egberts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe likens the problem in the flower industry to the music industry pre-streaming services. \u2018Like with music back when we just listened to the radio, with flowers you only ever get the options that the DJ plays,\u2019 he said. \u2018But there are so many more options that could be available.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHis concept is to unlock the hidden gems of the flower world through digital innovation. With his EU-funded FLOURISH project \u2013 which comprises growers, wholesalers, and a team of computer scientists \u2013 he hopes to do for the flower industry what Spotify has done for music.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EFlowers are key to so many important milestones in our lives. I want to bring flowers to more people.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EEric Egberts, FLOURISH\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe plan is to increase consumer choice while offering a new route to market for growers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmpowered flowers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHis system enables florists to pool their inventories, Egberts explained. Instead of relying on florists to present ready-made bouquets, with Egberts\u2019 innovation consumers are in charge of mixing and matching flowers to suit their moods and desires all via an app.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our system can create automatic bouquets based on a variety of consumer preferences, as well as their previous choices, potentially introducing thousands of new varieties to customers,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For the consumer it\u2019s all about tailoring bouquets to suit particular tastes and personalisation. For the growers, it\u2019s about opening access to new markets, but also offering them better insight into where their flowers are going and where they are popular,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom the environmental perspective, the system allows you to choose to have flowers that are produced with a lower carbon footprint or from local growers only. \u2018Currently, as a consumer, you have very limited knowledge about any of these factors,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAdmittedly, consumer costs would be slightly higher and delivery times slightly longer as different flowers get sourced from different locations. However, Egberts is convinced demand is there for his idea.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe has already spun-out part of the work through the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bloomypro.com\/\u0022\u003EBloomyPro\u003C\/a\u003E website and the team now wants a big commercial partner to come on board to provide scale.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEgberts is passionate about flowers and has big ambitions for the work. \u2018Flowers are key to so many important milestones in our lives,\u2019 he said. \u2018I want to bring flowers to more people, and I want to be in the cell phone of every person in the world to help do this.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEach of these projects were supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) which helps game-changing innovations to scale up. Follow the link to learn more \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eic.ec.europa.eu\/index_en\u0022\u003Eabout the EIC\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch5\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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