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International audience; L’agriculture européenne se doit de produire plus durablement. L’agroécologie est perçue comme un moyen d’atteindre cet objectif de production en conciliant les dimensions sociale, économique et environnementale de l’agriculture durable (Rockström et al. 2017). L’agroécologie est ici définie comme l’étude des interactions entre les plantes, les animaux, l’environnement et les pratiques des agriculteurs (Dalgaard et al., 2003).Afin d’accompagner la transition agroécologique des systèmes de production, il est nécessaire de former les futurs professionnels à l’interdisciplinarité et à l’approche systémique. L’utilisation d’un jeu sérieux (ou serious game) semble un moyen pertinent pour atteindre cet objectif car il permet à l’apprenant : i) d’acquérir de façon active, ludique et, autonome, des notions complexes dans une situation proche de la réalité (Vassileff, 2003) en ayant des retours immédiats sur ses actions ; ii) d’appréhender les interactions entre les différents éléments du système de production tout comme les conséquences de changements de pratiques sur le fonctionnement de ce dernier.Le jeu-sérieux SEGAE a été conçu dans cette optique, dans le cadre du projet Erasmus+ SEGAE regroupant 6 universités européennes. Ce travail décrit le jeu SEGAE et discute de sa pertinence en tant que support pédagogique pour appréhender les concepts d’agroécologie à l’échelle d’une exploitation de polyculture-élevage laitier.

Environmental impacts of genetically modified crops are mandatorily assessed during their premarket phase. One of the areas of concern is the possible impact on nontarget organisms. Crops expressing Cry toxins might affect Lepidoptera larvae living outside cultivated fields, through pollen deposition on wild plants, which constitute their food source. While pollen toxicity varies among different events, possible exposure of nontarget species depends on the agro-environmental conditions. This study was conducted in two protected areas in Italy, characterized by different climatic conditions, where many Lepidoptera species thrive in proximity to maize cultivations. To estimate the possible exposure in absence of the actual stressor (e.g., Cry1-expressing maize plants), we conducted a two-year field survey of butterflies and weeds. Indicator species were selected—Aglais (Inachis) io in the Northern site and Vanessa cardui in the Southern site—and their phenology was investigated. Pollen dispersal from maize fields was measured by collection in Petri dishes. Duration and frequency of exposure was defined by the overlap between pollen emission and presence of larvae on host plants. Different risk scenarios are expected in the two regions: highest exposure is foreseen for A. io in the Northern site, while minimal exposure is estimated for V. cardui in the Southern site. In the latter case, locally grown maize cultivars flower in mid-summer in coincidence with an aestivation period for several butterfly species due to hot and dry conditions. Moreover, host plants of V. cardui are at the end of their life cycle thus limiting food availability.

Matrix Population Models (MPMs) are not commonly used to simulate arthropod population dynamics with applications to pest control assessment in agricultural context. However, an increasing body of studies are prompting the finding of optimization techniques to reduce uncertainty in matrix parameters estimation. Indeed, uncertainty in parameters estimates may lead to significant management implications. Here we present a case study where MPMs are used for assessing the efficacy of treatment with elicitors inducing plant resistance against pathogen, such as laminarin, for the control of the Green Peach Aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) populations on peach. Such demographic approach could be particularly suitable to study this kind of compounds, which are mainly characterized by causing sub-lethal effects rather than acute mortality. An artificially assembled system [1] was arranged since it is well suited to follow the fate and behavior of a population exposed to elicitors activating chemical defense in plant. The obtained data, consisting of population time series, were used to generate a stage-classified projection matrix. The general model used to simulate population dynamics consists of a matrix containing i) survival probabilities (the probability of growing and moving to the next stage and the probability of surviving and remaining in the same stage), and ii) fecundities of the population. Most of the used methods for estimating the parameter values of stage-classified models rely on following cohorts of identified individuals [2]. However, in this study the observed data consisted of a time-series of population vectors where individuals are not distinguished. The relationship between the observed data and the values of the matrix parameters that produced the series involves an estimation process called inverse problem. Since all demographic analyses rely on how much the estimated parameters of the matrix are able to represent population dynamics, a Genetic algorithm for inverse parameter estimation was used in order to find a better model fit for the observed stage class distributions. These results were compared to those obtained by the quadratic programming method [3] used for determining the set of parameters that minimizes the residual between the collected data and the model output. REFERENCES: 1. Macfadyen, S., Banks, J.E., Stark, J.D., Davies, A.P., 2014. Using semifield studies to examine the effects of pesticides on mobile terrestrial invertebrates. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 59, 383-404. 2. Caswell, H., 2001. Matrix population models, second ed. Sinauer Associates Inc., Massachusetts. 3. Wood, S.N., 1994. Obtaining birth and mortality patterns from structured population trajectories. Ecol. Monogr. 64, 23-44.

The dependence on tillage in organic agriculture has raised questions regarding soil management in organic systems. Recently, Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC) and roller crimper (RC) technology have attracted attention in organic farming circles. ASC are sown before cash crops to provide benefits for agro-ecosystem services. RC permits the creation of a mulch on the soil surface consisting of ASC plant material with no need for tillage. Studies carried out in the USA, Canada and Latin America on RC reveal some of the potential benefits and drawbacks of this technology. However, only a few such studies have taken place in European agroecosystems. The objective of the SoilVeg project (ERA-Net CORE Organic Plus) is to study RC under European environmental and agronomic conditions. This paper shows how sowing ASC before autumn-winter cash crops and the termination strategy affect (i) the abundance of soil arthropods and (ii) the diversity of both pest and beneficial insects in Italy and Spain. Roller crimper, agro-ecological service crops, ground-dwelling arthropods, aphids, parasitoids, aphidophagous predators

The dependence on tillage in organic agriculture has raised questions regarding soil management in organic systems. Recently, Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC) and roller crimper (RC) technology have attracted attention in organic farming circles. ASC a The dependence on tillage in organic agriculture has raised questions regarding soil management in organic systems. Recently, Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC) and roller crimper (RC) technology have attracted attention in organic farming circles. ASC a The dependence on tillage in organic agriculture has raised questions regarding soil management in organic systems. Recently, Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC) and roller crimper (RC) technology have attracted attention in organic farming circles. ASC a

In questo capitolo sono trattate le tecniche di gestione delle infrastrutture ecologiche per valorizzare la conservazione della biodiversità funzionale e la lotta biologica contro insetti dannosi

In questo capitolo sono trattate la biologia e l'ecologia di diversi specie di artropodi utili, sotto forma di schede pratiche che guidano nel loro riconoscimento e nell'utilizzo

Sulle colline imolesi (a circa trenta chilometri da Bologna) sorge l’ospedale di Montecatone circondato da un parco di 30.000 mq. Si tratta dell’ex-sanatorio di Montecatone, dal 1997 denominato Montecatone rehabilitation institute S.p.A. E’ una struttura nata nel periodo fascista, nel 1935, e da allora funzionante per accogliere i malati di tubercolosi. Attualmente è un ospedale rinomato al livello nazionale che si occupa della cura dei comi protratti e delle mielolesioni pediatriche e che ha provveduto a potenziare i reparti preesistenti finalizzati al trattamento dei tetraplegici e paraplegici grazie all’aggiunta di importanti progetti medici sperimentali per le neuro protesi dell’arto superiore. L’esteso parco circostante è ricco di biodiversità animale e soprattutto vegetale. E’ infatti costituito per la maggior parte da alberi ad alto fusto che incorniciano l’ospedale, creando un bellissimo angolo ombreggiato dove potrebbero passeggiare o comunque sostare in tutta tranquillità i pazienti e le persone in visita. E’ opportuno usare il condizionale dato che dall’anno della fondazione ad oggi la situazione è cambiata enormemente e purtroppo in senso negativo. Chi si reca oggi in quest’area verde nota il profondo stato di abbandono in cui versa: in molte zone la vegetazione (arborea ed arbustiva) risulta talmente trascurata e danneggiata da essere del tutto inaccessibile. In questo modo, è venuta meno la funzione benefica che il “verde” da sempre riveste soprattutto in aree come questa di Montecatone dall’elevato significato terapeutico. E’ questo il motivo fondamentale per cui si reputa necessario dare il via ad una specifica riqualificazione degli spazi pertinenziali dell’ospedale tramite una progettazione integrata ad un’analisi dello stato fitosanitario, unitamente alla verifica preliminare delle potenzialità del sito come serbatoio faunistico di organismi utili all’ambiente. Solo con un approccio multidisciplinare è infatti possibile considerare tutti i più importanti aspetti alla base di un’appropriata progettazione, come: la fruibilità, la sostenibilità ambientale ed economica, nonché le valenze ecologico-paesaggistiche, insieme alla valorizzazione culturale, storica e vegetale. Alcuni lavori per dare di nuovo lustro al complesso e farlo ritornare allo splendore precedente sono già iniziati, a dimostrazione della sensibilità da parte di enti pubblici e privati nel confronti di questo importante centro ospedaliero-riabilitativo.

Acute mortality estimates are the most widely used measures of toxicity and often they are used as endpoint in ecological risk assessment. Such methods do not provide enough information about the actual effects that may occur in pesticide-exposed populations over longer time periods than a few days. In this study we utilize demographic and population modelling for estimation of pesticide effects on a beneficial species. Bioassays were carried out in the laboratory to assess the demographic responses of the coccinellid Adalia bipunctata, exposed as larvae or adults, to four neonicotinoids, including imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid at sublethal dose. Demographic parameters were calculated by means of life tables. Life table data were also used to generate an ageclassified projection model (Leslie matrices). The elasticity of population growth rate to change in each of the individual vital traits was calculated. Finally the Delay in Population Growth Index, a measure of population recovery, was calculated to compare the time required to a control population and pesticide-exposed populations to reach a predetermined number of individuals. Exposure of larval stage to imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid, and adult stage to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, significantly reduced all the demographic parameters in comparison with control, with the sole exception of mean generation time, and results in a pronounced slower increase in the coccinellid population. For all the insecticide tested, the perturbation analysis showed that survival, in particular of larval and imaginal stages, had the greatest effect on population growth. Neonicotinoids caused significant population delays with a more pronounced effect when the coccinellid were exposed as adult.

L’uso di piante nettarifere contro i fitofagi del vigneto

This paper presents 3 years of GIS-based monitoring of western corn rootworm (WCR – Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte), a pest which invaded Northern Italy in 1998. The Veneto Region established a regional monitoring network to detect this important quarantine pest and to employ an eradication programme. Data were collected by means of sex pheromone PAL traps and analysed by Indicator Kriging, a geostatistics tool that determines the probability of data values in a given area being greater than a defined threshold value. Geostatistical analysis proved to be effective in mapping the spread of WCR. The temporal sequence of the probability maps was useful in interpreting the expansion of the insect. The detailed description of the pattern of WCR presence in 2006–2008 proves the temporary and local efficacy of the eradication programme carried out up to the 2006 season in Venezia province. An interpretation of the spatial pattern of WCR between the 2006 and 2008 seasons suggests that the pest colonized the eradication area coming from other invasion fronts. The large-scale pattern of WCR dispersion can be accurately described by the spatial approach, thus optimizing the monitoring and subsequent control of this important insect pest of Northern Italy. Other data analyses, based on stochastic interpolations and a demographical approach are in progress. An interesting perspective would be to build predictive simulation models based on climatic and agronomic data taking into account the spatial representation of WCR patterns.

Nessun abstract

Con satellite e computer si controllano gli elateridi, metodi di analisi spaziale per monitorare insetti di importanza economica.

The tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a devastating pest of tomato originating from South America. After its initial detection in eastern Spain in 2006, it rapidly invaded various other European countries and spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. If no control measures are taken, then the pest can cause up to 80–100% yield losses in tomato crops in recently invaded areas and may pose a threat to both greenhouse and open-field tomato production. The exceptional speed and extent of T. absoluta invasion have called for studies documenting its biology and ecology, while indicating an urgent need for efficient and sustainable management methods. The development of approaches to manage T. absoluta would be facilitated through a detailed revision of information on this pest in its area of origin. This review combines information on the invasion by T. absoluta, its ecology, and potential management strategies, including data that may help the implementation of efficient biological control programs. These programs, together with a variety of other management tactics, may allow efficient integrated pest management of T. absoluta in Europe and Mediterranean Basin countries.

Utilizzo dell’artropodofauna del terreno come indicatore dell’evoluzione di due sistemi orticoli: confronto fra biologico e convenzionale

Analisi della biodiversità riferita a ogni gruppo studiato: Ditteri Sirfidi

Gli insetti come indicatori della qualità degli agro-ecosistemi e degli interventi agro ambientali

This research aimed at verifying the efficacy of some homeopathic and mineral treatments on Alternaria brassicicola/cauliflower interaction. Growth chamber experiments and a field trial were performed, using Brassica plants artificially inoculated with the fungus. In growth chamber experiments, infection was significantly reduced by arsenic trioxide 35 decimal potency and in field trial by both arsenic trioxide 35 decimal potency and bentonite treatments.

Vengono descritti e mostrati tramite fotografie i principali insetti predatori di insetti fitofagi: Coccinellidi, Antocoridi, Sirfidi, Crisope, Mantidi

Vengono presentati i risultati di analisi di correlazione tra ricchezza in specie o abbondanza di alcuni gruppi di insetti e struttura o biodiversità della vegetazione

La recente nascita e sviluppo del mercato nutraceutico sta portando ad una sempre maggiore richiesta di colture ad elevato contenuto in composti noti per possedere effetti benefici per la salute dell’uomo. Tra questi i fitoestrogeni (FIT) e la melatonina (MEL), prodotti dalla pianta in condizioni fisiologiche e ancor più in risposta a stress biotici e abiotici, sono di grande interesse principalmente grazie alle loro proprietà antiossidanti, in un’ottica di rafforzamento delle difese naturali dell’organismo e per la prevenzione di patologie e disordini che colpiscono la donna e l’uomo occidentali (osteoporosi, sindromi pre-mestruali, neoplasie ormone-dipendenti). La presente relazione descrive la sperimentazione condotta dal nostro gruppo di ricerca su piante di leguminose. In particolare, i principali obiettivi sono stati la valutazione delle potenzialità di leguminose tipiche degli ambienti mediterranei, quali fagiolo comune ed erba medica, come fonti di FIT e MEL a livello del germoglio e della pianta adulta; la valutazione degli effetti di stress abiotici (fisici e chimici) e biotici (insetti e miceti) sulla sintesi e l’accumulo di FIT e MEL nel germoglio e nella pianta adulta; l’identificazione di nuove destinazioni d’uso per erba medica e fagiolo comune come piante funzionali per il consumo umano diretto (germogli per l’alimentazione) e indiretto (integratori e/o preparati nutraceutici); la definizione di nuovi protocolli produttivi in grado di assicurare un elevato e costante contenuto di FIT e MEL; infine, la valutazione della ricaduta clinica della ricerca in chiave di ottimizzazione dell’interazione in vivo di FIT e MEL.

Analisi della biodiversità riferita a ogni gruppo studiato: Coleotteri Carabidi

Prove di lancio meccanico di Phytoseiulus persimilis e Orius laevigatus in colture protette

Ecological compensation areas (ECAs), defined as all natural vegetation and non-crop plants within the rural landscape, are considered an important tool in multifunctional agriculture. In particular, ECAs are crucial in enhancing functional biodiversity for pest suppression and for the conservation of rare species. In my PhD thesis I focused on the role of ECAs on functional biodiversity, which is associated with the ecological services employed by the beneficial fauna. Within multifunctional agriculture, functional biodiversity is particularly aimed at establishing strategies for farmers to enhance ecosystem functioning for pest suppression and for conservation of insect diversity. I performed several case-studies about insect conservation within the rural landscape of the Po Valley in northern Italy. First, I carried out two case-studies at the farm-scale, which are presented in the first two sections of the thesis that address (i) the role of ECAs on generalist predators and (ii) the role of ECAs and flowering plants on parasitoids of leafminers. Then, in the last part of the thesis (section 3), I report a case of insect conservation at the landscape-scale, which involved the sampling of different insect bioindicators, like syrphids, carabids, butterflies and sawflies. The research described in the first two sections, resulted in the identification of many non-crop plants within ECAs that play an important role in the conservation of beneficial insects, including generalist predators and parasitoids. Knowledge about the role of non-crop plants on the multiplication, life cycle and population dynamics of these beneficial arthropods can be helpful to select weeds, trees and shrubs, in order to restore degraded agroecosystems. In the thesis I provide detailed lists of non-crop-plants and related beneficial insects that will assist in the implementation of management techniques of non-crop plants within ECAs. In the third section, I was able to demonstrate that each insect group displayed different biodiversity patterns in relation to the different landscape/micro-habitat categories. Bioindicators like syrphids and carabids were strongly affected by the landscape complexity, while butterflies were mainly influenced by the micro-habitat characteristics. I discuss the role of these insect groups as landscape/micro-habitat indicators and I provide faunistic list of species which may be helpful to compile regional lists for studies on insect conservation. Next, I discuss the importance of assigning a “functional meaning” to faunistic lists of insects in a landscape management approach. In order to develop this aspect, I used an expert system, called Syrph the Net, which is a tool that uses the so-called biodiversity maintenance function to explore elements of site quality and site management. In all the sections, I discuss the importance of sampling techniques for quantification of insect diversity. In conclusion, my thesis project demonstrates the importance of ECAs on insect conservation and biodiversity, and also provides information about management strategies for non-crop plants to improve conservation biological control and conservation of rare insect species.

Un prototipo per la distribuzione meccanica di Artropodi utili su colture protette è stato verificato con prove di laboratorio e di campo. In particolare, è stata valutata la distribuzione di Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot. Nelle prove di laboratorio il prototipo ha dimostrato una capacità di esecuzione corretta del lancio di artropodi con un’ampia regolazione del flusso di materiale (da 0,14 a 0,88 g/s), senza compromettere la vitalità e l’efficienza del fitoseide. Nella sperimentazione in serra su melanzana, eseguita su due differenti livelli di infestazione di Tetranychus urticae Koch, la distribuzione meccanica ha avuto la stessa efficacia di quella manuale di riferimento per il controllo del patogeno e per le conseguenti rese produttive. L’utilizzo della macchina ha consentito inoltre di intervenire con tempi molto più contenuti e realizzare una distribuzione idonea agli spazi limitati della serra.