Title: FLORORTO - "Development of a novel precision system for detection, prevention and control of phytosanitary problems in greenhouse crops"

Call: PSR Regione Veneto 2014-2020 DGR n.736 del 28/05/2018  Misura 16 COOPERAZIONE  - Operazione  16.1.1 e 16.2.1

Coordinator: Gruppo Padano Ortofloricoltura

Duration: From 4/19/2019 to 3/31/2022(36 months)

Total budget: € 112.349,84

TESAF Budget: € 46.348,58

Responsible Scientific Officer/Investigator: Francesco Marinello

Team: prof. Francesco Marinello, prof. Roberto Causin, prof. Carlo Duso (DAFNAE), prof. Alberto Pozzebon (DAFNAE).

Brief description: The project is aimed at solving a critical aspect  in greenhouse cultivation: the increasing difficulty in controlling and preventing damages from pest, fungal and bacterial parasites in both horticultural and potted plants. In these project innovative tools  will be used to applied:  treatment of incoming nursery material (cuttings) to reduce pests and pathogens import with cultivating area (atmospheric plasma technology, exclusively based on physical means); remote sensing with optical instruments and  software for interpreting crop vegetation indices. The project will develop new control system for  pests and diseases of horticultural crops, based on the integration between biological control and precision systems, focusing on sensor monitoring (with related interpretation software of data) and on the distribution of biological control agents, in order to verify and quantify the reduction of use of conventional pesticides. The proposal fits with the aim of the Focus area 4b - Better management of water resources, including the management of fertilizers and pesticides and the objectives of the PEI-Agri: the Focus group Precision farming suggests to develop applications for the monitoring of pests and diseases by "remote sensing". In the three years of activity, indicators such as the reduction in the number and quantity of applied pesticides, will measure the results in terms of environmental and economic sustainability. The solutions to be transferred to farms will be calibrated on multiple levels of complexity, representative and appropriate to the different technical and managerial skills that are found in the field of horticultural productions. The proposal is in line with the Focus area 4b - Better management of water resources, including the management of fertilizers and pesticides of the Veneto Region's RDP 2020 and the objectives of the PEI-Agri: the Focus group Precision farming suggests to develop applications for monitoring of pests and diseases by "remote sensing".

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