BIG interview: Séverine Maldes explains how orchards can defend themselves naturally

Apple and fruit production face mounting challenges: climate change (water stress, emerging pests, unpredictable weather), regulatory pressure to reduce phytosanitary products, and strong societal expectations for healthier, more sustainable produce. These combined pressures mean growers, distributors, and retailers are under increasing strain to ensure consistency, quality, and resilience.

Blue Whale’s answer is bold — reinvent arboriculture itself. Through the (Re)Generation Fruit project, the company is leading a consortium of six partners, including agritech start-ups, academic researchers, and industrial players, to develop orchards that defend themselves naturally, keep apples fresher for longer, and boost nutritional quality without heavy chemical input.

For buyers, that means a future of steadier volumes, longer storage windows, and a story consumers actually want to hear. Here, Séverine Maldes, Quality Manager at Blue Whale and scientific coordinator of the project, explains how the company and its partners are shaping orchards that work better for growers, retailers, and consumers alike.

How did this idea to “reinvent arboriculture” first come about? Was there a specific challenge or moment that sparked it?

Séverine Maldes: Climate change, the desire and need to reduce the use of plant protection products, strong societal expectations for healthier, more sustainable products, and the declining attractiveness of our agricultural professions: these realities present a major challenge. That's why we wanted to be the driving force behind an ambitious R&D project to invent the arboriculture of tomorrow.

When you talk about the “orchard of the future,” what does that look like in your mind?

SM: Today, producing fruit in orchards requires the use of phytosanitary products, and agroecological techniques are beginning to be developed in parallel to maintain resilience, yields, and quality.

But the current context requires us to find other, complementary solutions if we are to succeed in tomorrow's production. That’s why, within the consortium, we’re testing innovative solutions to boost trees’ immune defenses, combat scab (in the orchard and in packhouses), improve fruit shelf life, enhance nutritional density, and more: photobiology in the orchard and packhouses, micro-peptides, and ozone techniques.

Could you explain in simple terms what photobiology, micro-peptides, and ozone techniques do for the apples and the trees?

SM: Yes, sure.

-Photobiology: Asclipios Tech is developing a technology using soft light signals to boost the plant's natural defenses. This technology will also be tested on-station, for storage.

-Micro-peptides: Micropep identifies and selects the most appropriate micropeptides for plant protection before formulating them into effective treatments. As part of the (Re)Generation Fruit project, Micropep aims to develop an antifungal peptide against apple scab.

-Ozone: Development and evaluation of the application of oxidative techniques in orchards against fungi, as well as ozonated water in packing stations and ozone gas in apple storage rooms.

One part of the project also aims to define agroecological processes in high-performance orchards. For example, planting autumn and spring seedlings between the rows to stabilise and nourish the soil, making it more permeable and resilient.

Have you seen any early results yet in terms of apple quality or biodiversity in the orchards?

SM: It’s a 5-year project. We started 2 years ago. We’ll be sharing the results of our work at the end.

Finally, at its core, what is this project really aiming to achieve?

SM: Our main goals are:

-Reducing fruit losses, from orchard to plate

-Strengthening plants’ natural defenses

-Reducing the use of phytosanitary products

-Improving soil health through appropriate agroecological practices

-Producing fruit with improved nutritional density for enhanced health benefits

-Offering a more virtuous production process that respects the entire ecosystem and ensures the sustainability of our tree farms

Work with Blue Whale to reduce risk, secure steadier volumes, and answer consumer demand for sustainability.

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