TECHNICAL PHYTOSANITARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE LANDSCAPE

12 CFU - 1° Semester

Teaching Staff

GAETANA MAZZEO - Module Pest management of artropod parasites of forest, wild area and landscape plants - AGR/11 - 6 CFU
SANTA OLGA CACCIOLA - Module Environmental Applied Plant Pathology - AGR/12 - 6 CFU

Learning Objectives

Pest management of artropod parasites of forest, wild area and landscape plants
Providing: 1) information on the species of harmful insects and other arthropods in the green areas, parks and natural environments in order to manage their population density and implement appropriate control strategies and 2) theoretical knowledge for planning plant protection and environmental restoration approaches taking into account local resources and operational factors in compliance with phytosanitary regulations.
Environmental Applied Plant Pathology
The main objective is to provide the knowledge of plant pathogens, mode of infection, damage, diagnosis and strategies to control diseases of plants in green areas, parks and in natural environments. To provide also theoretical and practical knowledge to plan environmental and landscape protection measures as well as bioremediation strategies in compliance with both phytosanitary legislation and the health of workers and citizens.

Course Structure

Pest management of artropod parasites of forest, wild area and landscape plants
Frontal lessons; practical exercises in the laboratory; individual or group reports or research carried out by the students; educational experiences in the field; in-depth seminars.
Environmental Applied Plant Pathology
The course will consist of lectures and laboratory exercises are planned; the activities will include i) the recognition of the main symptoms of plant diseases; ii) learning the main techniques of isolation of fungal pathogens from infected plant tissues. Students are required to participate actively during both the lectures and laboratory activities. Furthermore, students will be asked to prepare a report on a monographic topic chosen with the teacher which will then have to be presented during the lessons as a power point. This will allow students to acquire a series of knowledge related to the following aspects: a) perform a bibliographic research by consulting articles and websites on the chosen topic, taking care to select the most reliable bibliographic sources; b) prepare a report on the basis of a well-drawn outline; c) set up a power point by choosing appropriate images and structuring the slides in an appropriate manner; d) present the talk in public and answer to the questions of the teacher.

Detailed Course Content

Pest management of artropod parasites of forest, wild area and landscape plants
Phytosanitary problems in different types of green areas. Biological characteristics and methods of control of arthropods harmful to urban green spaces, garden trees, forests and natural environments. Pest management systems with low environmental impact in relation to specific contexts and peculiar ecological conditions of the area under pest management actions. Basic phytosanitary concepts in designing new green areas and maintaining stable ecosystems in urban areas.
Environmental Applied Plant Pathology
Reminding of knowledge of general Plant Pathology: concept of disease, symptomatology, diagnosis, major conventional and innovative methods of diagnosis , main characteristics of plants pathogens, disease development phases, how pathogens attack plants, how plants defend themselves, epidemiology.

Patologia vegetale speciale.

Main diseases of ornamental and Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub: wood rots, root rot, powdery mildews, chestnut blight, Dutch elm disease, blue stain canker of plane, crown gall, vascular diseases.

Diseases caused by abiotic stresses.

Plants and pollution: effects of polluting substances on plant; phytotossicity of polluting substances; biological monitoring of polluting substances.

Beneficial microrganisms: microorganisms of the rhizosphere, biofertilisers and antagonists; role of pathogens and antagonists in plant remediation.

Wood decay processes of trees: Visual Tree Assessment (VTA); diagnostic methods for wood alterations.

Principles of control of plant diseases: integrated control strategies; principles of plant health legislation; plant quarantine measures and mandatory control measures.

Laboratory exercises: recognition of symptoms of major diseases of ornamental and forest plants observation under a stereomicroscope of phytopathological samples; examination of reproductive structures of plant pathogenic fungi with MO; Isolation methods of some causal agents responsible for serious diseases of the forest and ornamental plants and their molecular characterization.

Field trips: monitoring of diseases in nurseries and in forest. seminars on specific topics held by experts in the field. Reference databases, reference texts and scientific periodical consultation, web surfing of phytopathological websites.

Textbook Information

Pest management of artropod parasites of forest, wild area and landscape plants
Testo 1: BATTISTI A., DE BATTISTI R., FACCOLI M., MASUTTI L., PAOLUCCI P., STERGULC F., Lineamenti di Zoologia forestale. Padova University Press, 2013.

Testo 2: ARRU G., Entomologia forestale. Clesav, Milano, 1980.

Testo 3: COULSON R., WITTER J. A., Forest entomology, ecology and management. A Wiley- Intersc. Publ. USA.

Testo 4: CAMPBELL N. A., REECE J., L’essenziale di Biologia. Zanichelli Editore Bologna

Testo 5: DAVIES R.G., Lineamenti di entomologia. Zanichelli Editore , Bologna.

Testo 6: GULLAN P.J., CRANSTON S., Lineamenti di Entomologia. Zanichelli editore Bologna.

Testo 7: MASUTTI L., ZANGHERI S., Entomologia generale ed applicata, Edizioni Cedam, Padova, 2001.

Testo 8: TREMBLAY E., Entomologia applicata vol. 1-2-3, Liguori Editore, Napoli.

Testo 9: FERRARI M., MENTA A., MARCON E., Malattie e parassiti delle piante da fiore, ornamentali e forestali. Vol 1, 2. Edagricole, 2003.

Testo 10: ALFORD D.V., Pests of ornamental trees, shrubs and Flowers – A coulour handbook, Manson Publishing, 2012

Testo 11: PONTI I, LAFFI F, POLLINI A., Avversità delle piante ornamentali, Ed L’Inf. Agrario.
Environmental Applied Plant Pathology
1) Belli G. -.2006 - Elementi di Patologia Vegetale (seconda edizione, 2012) - Editore Piccin, Padova

2) George N. Agrios – Plant Pathology – Academic. Press. Inc., San Diego, California (VI edizione)

3) Capretti P. e A. Ragazzi- Elementi di Patologia Forestale – Patron Editore Bologna

4) Garibaldi A., M.L.Gullino, V. Lisa - Malattie delle piante ornamentali- Calderini Edagricole

5) Lorenzini G. – Le Piante e l’inquinamento dell’aria - Edagricole, Bologna.

6) Forest Pathology and Plant Health - Special Issue Published in Forests - Editori M. Garbelotto & P. Gonthier. MDPI AG Basel, Switzerland

Further reading on
7) F. Moriondo – Introduzione alla Patologia forestale- seconda edizione. Utet, Torino
8) N. Anselmi, G. Govi , 1996, “Patologia del Legno”, Edagricole, Bologna

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