Copyright 2019 Accademia dei Georgofili
La difesa delle piante da parassiti e patogeni è “sostenibile” quando l’obiettivo di garantire la salute delle piante, in ambito agricolo, forestale e paesaggistico, è ottenuto attraverso strategie e pratiche con nullo o ridotto impatto sull’ambiente e sull’economia, a garanzia del benessere sociale. Dopo una fase iniziale prevalentemente rivolta alla riduzione della pressione chimica che negli anni immediatamente successivi al secondo conflitto mondiale erano diventati eccessivi, si è verificato una rapida e continua evoluzione delle strategie di difesa antiparassitaria. Anche le normative sull’autorizzazione all’impiego dei prodotti fitosanitari sono state adeguate alle maggiori sensibilità ambientali e sanitarie. Una sintetica rassegna delle principali tematiche di ricerca nei settori della Patologia vegetale e dell’Entomologia agraria forniscono un quadro, sia pur riassuntivo, delle principali linee di ricerca in atto. Molto è stato fatto, ma tanto rimane da fare in considerazione del fatto che il quadro fitosanitario subisce continue variazioni. La gravità di molte esigenze fitosanitarie in atto evidenzia l’importanza della ricerca e la necessità di introdurre innovazioni.
The control and management of plant pathogens and insect pests can be defined as “sustainable” if the goal to safeguard plant health in agriculture, forestry and food production, is obtained through strategies and practices having null or neglegible negative impact and harmful effects both on the environment and on profit, and without affecting the social well-being. Although the wide use of plant protection products was essential in the past to increase primary production in agriculture, their use had become excessive in the years immediately following the Second World War. This also contributed to the onset of resistance phenomena in target pathogens and pests, thus to reduce their efficacy. After an initial phase mainly aimed to reduce the chemical pressure deriving from their excessive application, plant diseases and pests control strategies rapidly started to move towards the search and application of low impact and safer solutions, as well as able to preserve production, biodiversity and incomes along the whole production chain. The current public perception and concerns about environmental pollution and healthy risks have been among the most fundamental drivers for the design of the new regulations about the authorization and use of plant protection products, which are undergoing to continuous changes to continuosly adapt to the current and most urgent phytosanitary needs. In this overall frame, research is currently pivotal also to develop innovative approaches to preserve plant health and able to face the challenges posed by the ongoing global changes, including climate change and globalization of trades. Here, a concise overview of the main current research topics in this areas is provided for both Plant Pathology and Agricultural Entomology.
