Innovative green technologies to improve the sustainability of viticulture and the safety of grape products

The viticulture has been expanding in Italy for several years and Puglia is one of the leading regions of the sector. In recent years, however, climate changes and the growing need for production sustainable for the environment and humans and which ensures the economic competitiveness of the company at a global level is pushing the research towards the adoption of innovative and green technologies. Agriculture is considered one of the factors most affecting climate change, however it is itself one of the main victims. In this context, phytosanitary management in viticulture is a crucial point, since there are over 70 microorganisms that afflict the crop, causing plant diseases that can even evolve into epidemics. Considering the objectives for sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goals SDGs) of the FAO 2030 Agenda, research in this area is fundamental for reducing potential sources of pollution, safeguard human health, protect the environment, and ensure positive economic outcomes. It is necessary to adopt new disease management strategies which, drawing energy from a multidisciplinary approach, lead to the satisfaction of market demands in favor of production with low environmental impact, as well as respectful of the constraints imposed by European regulations and focused on the context designed by FAO, WHO and OIE for the "green" post-Covid-19 recovery in the National Prevention Plan (PNP) 2020-2025 and towards a "One Health" vision, in which health is the result of a harmonious and sustainable development of the humans, nature and the environment. The general objective of this thesis was to integrate highly innovative green technologies into the production system to improve the sustainability of the viticultural sector with a multidisciplinary approach. The first objective was to improve knowledge on plant-pathogen relationships, focusing on Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, that is one of the causal agents of the grapevine trunk diseases, which has become increasingly important in recent years, also to identify potential new tolerant cultivars (Chapter I). On grapes, some pathogens belonging to the Aspergillus genus, in addition to causing bunch rot, are responsible for contamination by ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin that is highly harmful for human and animal health. Given the high stability of the toxin, managing the OTA contamination risk in the field is crucial to ensure food safety. In this work, a new molecular diagnosis method for Aspergillus carbonarius, the main producer of the toxin on grapevines, is proposed (Chapter II). Furthermore, the study of the role of two methyltransferases on the epigenetic regulation of the primary and secondary metabolism of A. carbonarius allowed to identify a potential new target for the management of the pathogen and the risk of OTA contamination (Chapter III). Help in reducing phytosanitary treatments can come from the use of predictive models and decision support systems (DSS), which however are often adopted without adequate field validation. In Chapter IV the application of different predictive models for the spread of downy mildew, powdery mildew, the flights of Lobesia botrana and the risk of OTA contamination in different areas of the Apulian territory is evaluated. Finally, to improve the effectiveness of the active compounds, bio-based liposomal nanocarriers were developed and in vitro tested for the control of Botrytis cinerea (Chapter V).