The innovation of the project concerns the creation of an alternative cultivation and plant protection protocol for vegetable gardens through the innovative partnership of a research center and productive entities. The present approach is fully harmonized with the European environmental policy regarding agricultural systems with reduced inputs, while the produced products will bear the seal of integrated/sustainable management. In addition, since oregano’s allelopathy will be exploited to achieve plant protection action against the disease – for which nowadays there is no chemical control – a new way out is offered for the utilization of an aromatic plant of the 3rd grade. The incorporation of the material into the soil is likely to act as a biofertilizer, enhancing the productivity and quality of the plant stock.

Our approach is expected to penetrate the methods of production and distribution of eggplant and/or tomato seedlings in nurseries, through the addition of oregano to their growth medium, providing early and timely “shielding” of their rhizosphere. The production process will be disseminated to the production base through training of farmers in field schools as well as a digital distance learning platform.