Développement de biocides à base d’extractibles végétaux pour le contrôle des maladies lors de l’entreposage des pommes de terre

In order to ensure the long-term survival of the Lac St-Jean forest industry, several initiatives have recently begun, notably for the recovery of wood and bark residues through the extraction of molecules of interest for different markets. The Saint-Félicien Cogeneration Plant, owned by the company Greenleaf Power, is the ideal place to centralize bark residus processing activities. In fact, cogeneration uses an average of 250,000 GMT / year of bark for the production of electricity. The company has the entire logistics organization to process these barks, in addition to energy, heat and steam available for an extraction process, before the bark is burned. A regional synergy has thus been set up in order to work on the implementation of an extractible plant. A first research project was initiated in 2016, which aims to develop a process for the production of molecules with biocide activity from forest extractables for the manufacture of cleaning products. Other partners have shown interest in becoming involved in the development of the co-generation extraction process with cogeneration. Borea, a manufacturer of essential oils, has a production plant in cohabitation with the cogeneration of Chapais. The company plans to establish another plant with the cogeneration of St-Félicien where it will have a biomass that will allow it to develop new products. On the other hand, a market of interest for the biocidal molecules of bark extracts is agriculture, and more specifically the production of potatoes. Following the potato harvest, storing them can become a challenge. The elongation of germs and the development of microorganisms causing tuber rot cause many losses. In addition to bacterial soft rot and fungal dry rot, field diseases can develop on tubers during the storage period, such as silver scab. The Canadian potato industry estimates storage losses at 10% of the crop, which is approximately $ 75 million. The chemical fungicides and anti-germinatives currently used to counter these problems can be harmful for the environment and even for health. Few affordable natural alternatives are currently available on the market. In keeping with their perspective of sustainable development and preservation of the environment, the Quebec Potato Producers' Union wishes to invest in the development of biobased products to meet the needs of farmers. This project therefore aims to develop novel biobased ingredients from bark residues and potato plant (aerial part) extracts to prevent diseases and germination during potatoes storage.