Ascolese Roberta

Since 2019, I have been working at the Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP CNR) within the URCoFi project, in collaboration with the Plant Health Service of the Campania Region. My work focuses on monitoring and managing agronomic and forestry pests, with particular emphasis on alien pests of recent or potential introduction. My activities include field monitoring, morphological and molecular species identification, the study of pest biology, and the identification of potential natural regulators and biological control agents. I also support Plant Health Inspectors in the inspection of plant material at Border Control Posts.
Within IPSP-CNR, I am also a member of the “Emerging Pests” Working Group, which addresses risks associated with the introduction, establishment, and spread of emerging plant pests, with particular attention to climate change, surveillance, prevention, and early detection strategies.
I hold a PhD in Artificial Intelligence applied to agri-food and environmental systems, with expertise in AI-based and data-driven approaches for sustainable pest management. My technical expertise includes the development of Degree-Day and phenologically-based models, Artificial Neural Networks for pest emergence forecasting and population dynamics analysis, and the integration of electronic traps with automatic image-based pest recognition systems.
My profile combines entomology, Artificial Intelligence, predictive modelling, computer vision, remote monitoring, and biological control, with a focus on developing precise, sustainable, and data-driven pest management strategies within Integrated Pest Management (IPM) frameworks.