Sara Elisabetta Legler's research while affiliated with Microwave Vision Italy s.r.l. and other places

... The practical use of the model should be confirmed by specific experiments that compare risk-based (model-based) application of fungicides with the usual calendarbased application of fungicides . Experiments should also be conducted to find new ways to control PCLS; the ban of mancozeb in the EU and the increasing worldwide restrictions on the use of the broad-spectrum fungicides that are commonly used against PCLS represent new challenges in the management of the disease (Topping et al., 2020;Duarte et al., 2021;Rossi et al., 2021). QoI and DMI fungicides have been tested in only a few experiments, with inconsistent results, and almost no information exists about biological control agents (Wilcox et al., 2015). ...

... To fill this knowledge gap, we carried out a field trial in an organically-managed vineyard of Vitis vinifera L. cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon in the wine-growing district of the Euganean hills (Padua, north-eastern Italy). In most of the vineyards planted in Southern and North-Central Italy, experiencing frequent drought in summer, mowed resident vegetation is preferred to any sown cover crop [66,67]. On the contrary, in North-Eastern Italy, due to more favourable climate conditions, most of the planted vineyards, both organically-and conventionally-managed, already use cover crops or let the resident vegetation grow in the vineyard alleys. ...

... As such a type of support has been becoming more available to farmers during recent years, the application of agronomical practices and plant protection products can be guided by predictive models. This guidance can be achieved with Decision Support Systems (DSS) that exploit the output of predictive models and provide farmers with valuable information [51]. The model developed in this study could be the core of a DSS, aimed at improving pistachio nut cultivation and reducing the inflow of chemicals in the food chain production. ...

... Different authors [104,106] analyzed and mentioned the limitations of previously developed DSSs, which have been recognized as an obstacle to their adoption and sustained use in agriculture. A new generation of DSS recently faced the complexity of decision making in agriculture under the IPM regime, but at the same time, showed how it is possible to overcome the limitations of traditional DSSs [107]. The implementation of these new generation DSSs as web applications should increase their accessibility, but also speed up and facilitate their maintenance and updating with the newest results and outcomes coming from researchers. ...

... We realise that weather conditions may strongly influence especially pesticide use since warm and wet weather, for example, increases fungal infestations (Caffi et al., 2014;Pertot et al., 2017). Thus, we have incorporated exceptional circumstances as a fifth driver category. ...

... Recently, Salinari et al. (2013) and Onesti et al. (2013) presented a web-based decision support system for integrated vineyard management providing decision support and alerts based on mathematical models including grape black rot. Contrarily to the approach by Molitor et al. (2013), this model focuses on the simulation of ascospore and conidia formation, maturation and dispersal. ...

... Surwase et al., (2009) found that Trichoderma harzianum was highly effective and economical against Erysiphe polygoni, causing pea powdery mildew. Legler et al., (2016) observed that strain of Ampelomyces spp., RS1-a and AQ10 significantly delayed and reduced earlyseason development of grapevine powdery mildew in the next year. Sawant et al., (2017) showed that T. afroharzianum strains NAIMCC-F-01938 and NAIMCC-F-01965 were superior in reducing grapevine powdery mildew by 43.67-50.36 ...

... Biotrophic microorganisms have an important function in the ecosystem because they decompose organic matter [17]. However, when P. viticola sporangia develop in large quantities under favourable weather conditions (temperatures between 20 and 25 °C and leaf wetness) [18], they cause disastrous consequences such as defoliation, reduced and/or complete loss of grape quality and quantity [16,19]. In conventional vineyards, downy mildew epidemics cause severe economic losses when fungicides are not administered. ...

... The resulting mathematical model has become part of the "Mesonet Grape Black Rot Advisor" system in the United States [100]. For detailed prediction of black rot epidemics, Rossi et al. [101] developed a new mechanistic, dynamic, weather-and phenology-driven model. The model accounts for the complexity of the G. bidwellii life cycle, specifically the maturation of ascospores and conidia in overwintering fruiting bodies, spore release and survival, infection frequency and severity, incubation and latency periods, lesion development, pycnidia production, and infection duration. ...

... Compared to the average number of treatments conducted with the farmers' strategy, the adoption of the EPI forecasting model resulted in a significant reduction of the number of treatments performed against downy mildew (14% in 2020 and 12.5% in 2021) and, more markedly, against powdery mildew (57% in 2020 and 25% in 2021). The potential reduction of treatments applied for grapevine powdery and downy mildew control is particularly important when compared to the current practises observed in Italy, where growers typically control the diseases by fixedinterval fungicide applications, or by using a calendar-based fungicide spraying program, which leads them to perform more than 10 fungicide sprayings per season against each disease [34,45]. For example, in an organic vineyard located in Veneto (North-Eastern Italy) in 2020, 12 treatments were performed to control downy mildew and 13 to manage powdery mildew [46]. ...