EXPLOITING BIODIVERSITY IN PERENNIAL CROPS TO REDUCE PESTICIDES USE, INCREASE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVISION AND MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS

Large volumes of pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in the production of conventional agricultural products are seriously affecting global warming and climate change, which gives for the agriculture sector the great challenge of shifting to alternatives with environmentally friendly practices and products, without implying a reduction in crop yields. In accordance with this context and from the point of view of crop health, integrated pest management (IPM) is recommended. This concept has been widely studied in recent years. It consists of reducing pests to tolerable levels while maintaining a quality environment. In this sense, sustainable biological, physical and other non-chemical methods are used for pest control. Within IPM, techniques such as mulching and the use of soil microbial inoculants, among others, are mentioned. The research focused on viticulture because it is a perennial crop severely affected by climate change, where pesticides are widely used to protect plants from harmful organisms. Also, because it provides a variety of ecosystem services, including provisioning (e.g. grapes, wine and natural medicines), regulating (e.g. air quality, water run-off, erosion), supporting (e.g. biodiversity, nutrient and water cycles) and cultural (e.g. ethical and amenity values, recreation and enotourism). The topics covered by this thesis were related to the use of soil microbial inoculants on crops: Evaluating possible alterations in the rhizosphere biodiversity and if and how the sole application of microbial inoculant affects grapevine leaves susceptibility to downy mildew infections. The other major thematic studied was to understand how crop management affects the aerial microbiome and its impact on fungal diseases. (i) By evaluating the effect of different soil management techniques on aerial fungal biodiversity in vineyards and the impact on grapevine diseases in a small-scale case study. (ii) By studying the effect on aerial fungal communities and disease development when cover crops are used in the vineyard inter-row.

Il focus dell'attività di ricerca durante il dottorato è stata la ricerca di alternative di gestione sostenibile per le colture arboree, con l'obiettivo di ridurre l'uso di fitofarmaci, aumentare la fornitura di servizi ecosistemici e mitigare gli effetti del cambiamento climatico valorizzando e sfruttando la biodiversità. A tal fine, è stata scelta come caso di studio la vite, una coltura molto colpita dai cambiamenti climatici, dove i fitofarmaci sono molto utilizzati per proteggere la pianta da organismi nocivi, ma anche perché fornisce un'ampia gamma di servizi ecosistemici. Gli obiettivi specifici del progetto erano valutare l'effetto dell'uso di inoculanti microbici e di diverse alternative di gestione dell'interfila nel vigneto sul controllo delle malattie fungine e i possibili effetti sulle comunità microbiche.