What SEAWINES measured, and what it did not

Who took part and what was funded

SEAWINES ran from 2021 to 2025 with funding from AEI/MCIN. The consortium brought together IFAPA, the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), the Institute of Grapevine and Wine Sciences (ICVV) and NEIKER. Ecoalga took part as the supplier of the Ulva ohnoi extract under study.

What was actually studied

The work focused on the defence response of Vitis vinifera and on the behaviour of the vine against downy mildew, Plasmopara viticola, after treatment with Ulva ohnoi extracts. In other words: whether the plant reacts, and how, rather than how many kilos more it produces.

That distinction is the important one. A defence-response study is not a yield trial, and presenting one as the other is the most common way of overselling a biostimulant.

What we do not claim

We do not publish percentage yield increases, because we do not yet have a published trial of our own that supports them. Under the European framework, an efficacy claim for a plant biostimulant is demonstrated in line with EN 17700-1:2024, and until that evidence exists a figure on a website is only marketing.

What we can say is narrower and more useful: which extract was used, in which crop, with which partners, and over which period. Anyone can check the project and reach their own conclusions.

Why viticulture first

Because it is a crop with high technical demands, a well-documented disease pressure and teams used to reading trials. If something works there, the conversation with any other crop starts from a better place.