Alternative methods
Decrease the use of herbicides in agriculture and promote the use of alternative methods for weed control. This is the objective of Oper8, a new three-year Horizon Europe project coordinated by the University of Athens which involves for Italy the "Enrico Avanzi" Agro-environmental Research Center of the University of Pisa together with eight other partners from seven European countries. To meet the needs of Italian farmers, the project will involve all operators in the sector including consultants, representatives of the technical means industry and researchers. Oper8 will also provide indications for the National Action Plans for the non-chemical control of weeds in the main crops (fruit trees, olive trees, viticulture, arable crops, forage crops, open field horticultural crops). The promotion of alternative uses appears more and more to be a necessity in the light of various factors. Indeed, although herbicides are the second most widespread category of plant protection products in the European Union, it must be considered that they can have a harmful effect on the environment, natural resources, and human health.
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Resistant weeds
The number of active ingredients available is increasingly limited by legislation, while the effectiveness of those still usable is limited by the emergence of populations of resistant weeds. The introduction of alternative methods is therefore crucial for sustainable crop production, even if many farmers are still reluctant because they consider them too complex to use and more expensive.
Needs of farmers
"The involvement of farmers and the main stakeholders is essential for the project to be successful - explains Daniele Antichi, associate professor of Agronomy and Herbaceous Crops at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-environmental Sciences of the University of Pisa - Their feedback and their experience will assist in the development of National Action Plans and future alternative strategies for non-chemical weed control that are socially acceptable and in line with environmental objectives, but also with the needs of farmers to produce crops in an economically profitable way'. For the University of Pisa, together with Daniele Antichi, Christian Frasconi, professor of Agricultural Mechanics and Agricultural Mechanization at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-environmental Sciences, and their research teams are involved in the project (source: Federcaccia).
