ABOUT US

The Centre for Innovation and Development in Planth Health (CIDSAV) is a research centre of the University of Girona located at the University’s Research and Innovation Park with the primary aim of carrying out research, services, transfer, training and dissemination in the field of plant health.

Main aspects are the advice on the phytosanitary quality of plant materials marketed by nurseries and seed producers, the diagnosis and proper application of disease control measures during production, storage and commercialization of plant products.

CIDSAV wants to implement innovation in disease diagnosis and control methods in integrated crop production. CIDSAV has the facilities and Official Permits for working with plant pathogens considered of quarantine (EPPO A2 list) and with GMO plants.

Our social commitment

OUR SERVICES

The CIDSAV facilities include two SL2 level biosafety laboratories (EPPO PM3/64 2006 criteria), one located at the greenhouse of the Research and Innovation Park of the UdG and another at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Technology of the University of Girona at the Montilivi Campus. There is also a biosafety greenhouse authorized by the Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock, of the Council of Agriculture of the Generalitat de Catalunya, for research with quarantine pathogens in the European Union and with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). CIDSAV has a specific authorization for working with Xylella fastidiosa in the laboratory and with inoculated plants in the biosafety greenhouse.

IN VITRO ACTIVITY ASSAYS

EX VIVO ASSAYS

WHOLE PLANT ASSAYS

GREENHOUSE AND POSTHARVEST ASSAYS

PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING ASSAYS

INDUCED DEFENSE RESPONSES IN PLANTS

PLANT PATHOGEN DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION

QUALITY CONTROL AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROBIAL PESTICIDES

PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL DISEASES

PROJECTS WITH COMPANIES

The CIDSAV has achieved a balance between private contracts with industry and basic and applied research. One of the aims of our collaboration with the private sector is that it is technologically challenging and related to our field of interest. Our reward is applying the experience and knowledge we have acquired from research projects to the pesticide industry, growers, cooperatives, nurseries, etc…

Currently, we carry out collaborative agreements with a range of companies and institutions to complete a wide range of services covering most part of plant health.

DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIAL BIOPESTICIES, BIOFERTILIZERS AND BIOESTIMULANTS

DEVELOPMENT OF FUNGICIDES AND BACTERICIDES

PRODUCTION AND FORMULATION OF BIOCONTROL AGENTS

PUBLIC PROJECTS

The CIDSAV is currently developing publicly funded research projects acquired in competitive calls. These projects are grouped into three lines of research consisting of: (1) the study of the efficacy and environmental impact of biopesticide products developed by our group against vine and peach diseases, (2) the pathogenicity of isolates of Xylella fastidiosa, and (3) the development of control methods with antimicrobial and functional peptides administered to plants by endotherapy against diseases caused by X. fastidiosa (sudden death of the olive tree, Pierce’s disease of grapevine, Prunus leaf scorch) and Ca. Liberibacter spp. (citrus greening or Huanglongbing).

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DIRECTOR

Dr. Emilio Montesinos Seguí

Institute: INSTITUT DE TECNOLOGIA AGROALIMENTÀRIA
Research group: PATOLOGIA VEGETAL

Emilio Montesinos is currently Professor of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Girona (Spain)(since 1986), and was visiting Researcher in INRA (Angers, France)(1990) and Department of Plant Pathology at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA)(1994). His area of research and development is focused on Plant Pathology (epidemiology and biological control), in the field of biopesticides (beneficial microorganisms and antimicrobial and plant defence elicitor peptides), for the control of plant quarantine bacteria of economical importance. He is author of up to 100 scientific papers in SCI Journals (H-index 34) and editor/contributor in several books. He contributed to the development of novel biopesticides with proven efficacy against several fungal and bacterial plant diseases, and some of them are under exploitation. He is inventor in several patents, and has been member of expertise panels of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and of the Plant Health Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). He was President of the Spanish Society of Plant Pathology (2000-2004) and currently he is a Honorary Member. He was honoured with the Narcís Monturiol Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya to his scientific contribution to Plant Health (2012).

Researchers

LAST NEWS

BeXyl project participants visited nurseries and the Mas Badia experimental station during the 3rd General Meeting

On the second day of the 3rd General Meeting of the BeXyl project, held in Girona from 1 to 3 October 2025, participants visited four […]

Cidsav-UdG hosted the 3erd BeXyl Project General Assembly

From 1 to 3 October 2025, members of CIDSAV participated in the 3rd BeXyl general assembly. Project coordinator Blanca Landa, together with work package leaders […]

CIDSAV participation in the Benefruits 2025 congress

Doctoral researchers Zohra El Khattabi and Marc Vila, members of CIDSAV, attended the Benefruits 2025 congress held in Wageningen (The Netherlands) between 14 and 18 […]

CIDSAV participation in the Biosolutions 2025 Congress

From 23 to 26 September 2025, CIDSAV members attended the international congress on biosolutions, organized by BioV (Le Réseau Francophone d’Étude des Biosolutions Agricoles pour […]

CIDSAV’s Participation in the COST Action MiCropBiomes CA22158

The CIDSAV researchers, Anna Bonaterra (leader of WG 4, From current microbial inoculants to synthetic communities) and Esther Badosa participated last June in the 2nd […]

Functional peptides for plant disease control. Sources, development and challenges

Emilio Montesinos gave a webinar at IBMA Global on peptides for disease control, with over 100 attendees. I’m proud of such a large and select […]

Núria Daranas, postdoctoral researcher at CIDSAV group, completes the COST action MiCropBiomes stay at the University Claude Bernard Lyon in France.

During April, Núria Daranas, a postdoctoral researcher at CIDSAV group, completed the Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) of the cost action MiCropBiomes at the University Claude […]