Research Projects

The main objective of BIORES is to explore natural and biotechnological resources for genetic resistance of grapevine against Flavescence dorée (FD). This important quarantine disease, caused by phytoplasmas strains within the 16SrV ribosomal group, is controlled only by indirect and preventive measures, with important economic and environmental concerns. Genetic resources ...

Vineyard pest management involves a considerable cost, both from an economic and environmental point of view. The European Commission has already decided to cut down on many pesticides, including copper-based fungicides and neonicotinoid insecticides. There is therefore a need to identify new pesticides or to improve the already available ones ...

Action type: PSR Emilia-Romagna 2014-2020 – Operazione 16.1.01 Funds received: € 68.992,80 European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development   The project aims to develop and validate innovative molecular diagnostic tools (LAMP = Loop-mediated isothermal amplification, ddPCR = Droplet Digital PCR) to early identify resistant weeds, insects and pathogens, considering the ...

The Project will evaluate the response to natural infections of olive tree cultivars and clones of the cv Leccino to Xylella fastidiosa, for which there are field and molecular evidence indicating resistance to the bacterium. Transcriptomic and anatomo-physiology studies will be carried out in Leccino and in the susceptible cultivar ...

OPTIMUS PRIME pursues the use of bioresources (including natural compounds and soil microorganisms) as seed priming treatments to improve resilience of widespread commercial varieties and local adapted landraces of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. Mill) to the combination of water deficit, high temperatures and the incidence of two important tomato pests. ...

The aim of PHASER is to study the presence of bacteriophages in four insect vectors of important plant diseases, using both an innovative, based on RNAseq analysis, and a traditional, based on microscopic observations, approach. The chosen insects are the phytoplasma vectors Scaphoideus titanus and Euscelidius variegatus, and the virus ...

Phosphorus is an essential compound for wheat growth. Due to massive phosphorus fertilizer applications from the 60’s to the mid 80’s, phosphorus availability from the soil is, nowadays, not a major issue for bread wheat in most Western European countries. Nevertheless, recent studies demonstrated that it could become a real ...

PROSPECT will use tomato, a crop globally cultivated and of remarkable economic importance for agriculture, particularly in Italy, as the experimental model plant to unravel the functional and metabolic bases underlying the network of trophic interactions among soil beneficial microbiota, plant, pests (phytophagous insects and plant pathogens), and pests’ antagonists. ...

Microorganisms are ubiquitous in the environment and represent the major form of life on Earth. They play fundamental roles in ecosystems, contributing to their functioning, and cover the surface of other organisms, interacting with their physiology. Viruses, besides our common negative vision of their role as pathogens, are now recognized ...

Pre-HLB is an EU H2020 project aimed to develop a contingency plan to protect the citriculture in the EU from huanglongbing (HLB, also known as “greening”) disease. Through a multidisciplinary approach and in collaboration with experienced partners from America and Asia, Pre-HLB aims to find innovative measures to prevent the ...

This project focuses on the development of a sustainable innovative way to enhance the productivity of rice (Oryza sativa) under resource-limiting, sub-optimal environmental conditions. The research activity aims at investigating the co-cultivation of rice with Azolla spp., an aquatic pteridophyte that has co-evolved with Anabaena azollae, a symbiotic nitrogen fixing ...

Title: Tomato genetic diversity for enhancing Resilience of Agro-systems in Mediterranean environment Acronym: TomResAMed IPSP Project Leader: Vincenzo Montesano National Project (PRIN PNRR) Start: November 2023 End: November 2025 Abstract: Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic factors threatening food security worldwide by limiting the land use and significantly ...

Despite the overwhelming amount of recent advanced studies, the current knowledge of the plant microbiome is far from being complete. Unravelling the complexity of the microbial systems within the same host and their interactions with external factors represents a major challenge. The current project aims at the production and use ...

PROTECTION project aims: creation of innovative products, services and technologies to be applied in agriculture to promote the use of biological control and sustainable defense strategies. General objectives: Selection and application of novel natural bioformulates (i.e. based on microorganisms, or plants extracts) to improve crops production. The implementation of appropriate ...

The ReSet project aims to explore the mechanism of RNAi applied to control phytoplasma insect vectors, endowed with pierce/sucking mouthparts. Research activities will be focused on the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), main vector of the grapevine Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasma. The presence of an effective RNAi mechanism in the ...

RESCHEDULE principal goal is to develop scientifically-informed  and locally-adapted solutions that improve the resilience of smallholder farms to climate change (SOM and nutrient depletion, desertification, erosion). Solutions targeting mainly on soil health restoration consistent with agroecology principles (no tillage, intercropping, tolerant to abiotic factors genotypes, soil microbiota) will be evaluated ...

In the HEMINT Project, RNAi will be explored for the control of two hemipteran species that cause severe damages to crops: the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), main vector of Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasmas of grapevine. Both species currently require ...

In the present project, RNAi will be explored for the control of the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), an alien quarantine species highly polyphagous that cause severe damages to crops. The management of P. japonica in Italy is under the official control of the National Plant Protection Services and ...

Root2Res, which is a Horizon Europe project, will deliver novel tools to help in designing climate resilient crop rotational systems that are adapted to a range of environments across Europe. Beyond the project, these future-proofed systems will provide plentiful, healthy and nutritious food from crops that are resilient to stress, ...

Bio-based solutions, such as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), are a sustainable agriculture practice to promote crop yield under increasing stress conditions caused by Climate change (CC). The Joint Lab project between Italy and Pakistan will assess the effects of PGPR strains selected from arid environments on the performance of ...