STRATEGIES FOR CONTAINING GRAPEVINE YELLOWS DISEASES IN FRANCIACORTA

The Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences signed an annual research contract, funded by Consorzio per la Tutela del Franciacorta, for conducting a project focused on grapevine yellows, a complex of diseases associated with phytoplasmas. The main objective of the project is to evaluate the efficacy of sustainable strategies for the containment of such diseases. Research activities include (i) field trials based on grapevine treatments using commercial biostimulants, and ground cover managing with herbaceous plants able to decrease the phytoplasma spreading to grapevine; (ii) molecular biology analyses to identify and quantify the phytoplasmas in plants and insects (Figure 1). The project involves DiSAA (expertise in plant pathology) and the Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona (expertise in entomology).

In Figure: Scheme of the project experimental activities.

CONTACTS

Fabio Quaglino

fabio.quaglino@unimi.it