On September 10, 2020, despite the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, a meeting co-organized by the publisher of the technical magazine “WiOM” and the company Hodowla Roślin Kalinowa sp. z o.o. was held in Kalinowa, a town located in west-central Poland (Greater Poland Voivodeship), to discuss about different methods of soil and crop management with farmers and advisors working on that district. At the meeting, Dr. Małgorzata Tartanus gave a lecture on the use of bio-fertilizers, in which the benefits of microbial-based or plant-derived fertilizers on plant nutrition and soil fertility were presented along with the assumptions of the Excalibur project. The topic fuelled a lively discussion with the audience, especially concerning the most effective and efficient application method of biofertilizers and the relationships between microorganisms and plants.
The most recent success of Excalibur project is thanks to our colleague Jaka Razinger from the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia (KIS) who gave an interview for the Slovene national radio for the weekly show “For our farmers”.
The interview was about the use of microbial soil inocula and microbial biological control, and how these innovative technologies can help the famers and the environment in attaining the goal of sustainable agriculture. During the interview he emphasized how modern intensive agriculture can deplete the soil, and how Excalibur aims to reverse this process, by enhancing and utilizing the rich soil biodiversity.
The whole interview is available on the link below in Slovenian language:
https://radioprvi.rtvslo.si/2020/06/za-nase-kmetovalce-62/
Excalibur project was recently introduced in the Spanish media by series of articles publishes on the local news channels.
Articles could be read on:
There is as well a special article dedicated to Excalibur on the website of University of Granada (UGR) here.
The Excalibur project was presented at the 19th International Conference on Organic Fruit Growing, held at the University of Hohenheim (Germany) on 17-19 February 2020. Ecofruit is a forum that brings together researchers and consultants working on organic fruit growing, giving them the opportunity to communicate and discuss latest innovations and achievements.
https://www.excaliburproject.eu/excalibur-at-eco-fruit-conference/
The work performed in EXCAIBUR related to the innovative approach of exploiting the soil microbial biodiversity to enhance soil fertility and reduce the impact of chemical inputs in horticultural crops. The essential of the project was presented as a case study showing how to achieve an environmental friendly production of fruits during an international webinar organized by the ECO Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ECO-IEST) and the International Entrepreneurship House on 21-23 April 2020.
We are happy to announce that on May 26, Prof. Eligio Malusa will provide a webinar titled “Bioproducts for organic and integrated management of horticultural crops: opportunities and challenges”.
The webinar is expected to present theoretical and practical aspects about biofertilizers and biopesticides, which are products whose impact on soil biodiversity is studied by Excalibur project.
Excalibur project was part of the European Geoscience Union (EGU) General Assembly 2020. Titled “Sharing Geoscience Online“, the event took place virtually due to the extraordinary COVID-19 pandemic situation. The event was happening the whole week from 4 until 8 May 2020.
Excalibur was presented during a session dedicated to Plant-Microorganism-Soil interactions in the rhizosphere (from chemical, biological, and physical perspectives to an interlinked understanding of processes). All presentations delivered during that session are available online and are open to discussions to all interested stakeholders. You can access all presentations here: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2020/session/35040.
https://www.excaliburproject.eu/excalibur-was-part-of-the-the-egu-general-assembly-2020/
A webinar on the topic “Bioproducts for organic and integrated management of horticultural crops: opportunities and challenges” was held on May 26, 2020, by Prof. Eligio Malusá from the Research Institute of Horticulture. The webinar was held under the aegis of the Societa’ di Ortoflorofrutticoltura Italiana (SOI) – Working Group “Organic Agriculture and Agro-Ecology”. The event was dedicated to Italian researchers and students with the aim of presenting the work of EXCALIBUR project.
