Grapevine flavescence dorée (FD) is a serious economic problem for the Piedmont wine industry. In the last three years, there has been a resurgence that in some situations is justified by the high presence of the vector insect, Scaphoideus titanus. This situation requires further studies also in the light of the most recent knowledge about the insect and the disease, both with in-depth scientific studies and field trials to verify the effectiveness of insecticide treatments and the use of biostimulant formulations in order to raise plant’s defences, by stimulating the formation of natural defense substances. The project is divided into 2 subprojects. The IPSP-CNR BM1 laboratory will explore different Vitis varieties in search of FD resistant/tolerant accessions and further characterize them according to their susceptibility to the insect vector to identify interesting varieties for ‘breeding for resistance’ to FD. The project will also explore the mechanism of gene silencing (RNA interference, RNAi) applied to the control of cicadellid hemiptera vectors of phytoplasmas with a focus on S. titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), the main phytoplasma vector of FD of grapevine. Finally, the project will explore the activity of Acetamiprid and Flupyradifuron in preventing FD transmission by S. titanus.
Project Leader: Cristina Marzachì
IPSP personnel: Sabrina Palmano, Sara Ottati, Luciana Galetto, Marika Rossi, Nicola Bodino, Concetta Mottura, Josè Saporita, Annalisa Cozzolino, Francesco Catalano, Flavio Veratti, Elena Zocca.
Start: 01/01/2023
End: 31/03/2024
