VISIT TO THE EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS OF THE SODOSOST PROJECT - APRIL 5, 2022

On April 5, 2022, two field visits were conducted at the experimental fields of the SODOSOST project, funded under the PSR Puglia 2014-2020 - SM 16.2 "Support for pilot projects and the development of new products, practices, processes, and technologies", for an amount of €460,700.00.

The experimental fields are located at the CO.R.SU.D. (Rural Cooperative Subappennino Dauno) farms – the project leader, chaired by Dr. Gerardo Campanella.

During the visit, the Technical Scientific Manager, Professor Zina Flagella, from the University of Foggia, Department DAFNE, explained that durum wheat is a strategic crop in Italy for the pasta supply chain. Italy is the largest European producer with 4 million tons, providing 50% of the production in Europe. Apulia is the leading region in terms of production, accounting for 25% of the national production, and the province of Foggia contributes 70% to the regional production. In the context of the European Green Deal and the goal of achieving zero emissions by 2050, farmers are required to implement green practices. In this context, conservation agriculture (CA) and no-till seeding are practices that fall within the scope of environmental sustainability. The pillars on which no-till seeding and conservation agriculture are based include: direct or minimal tillage, permanent soil cover, and crop diversification. These practices bring significant benefits to the soil, such as increased organic matter, reduced soil erosion, greater water retention, lower greenhouse gas emissions, actions to counteract climate change, and a reduction in the environmental impact of agricultural activities. Some challenges include lower efficiency in the use of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, increased attention to weed control and fungal diseases; also, qualitative aspects need to be optimized under no-till seeding conditions.

It is from these premises that the SODOSOST project was born. At the regional level, no-till seeding is not widely adopted, despite the estimated 343,000 hectares at the national level, with 23,000 hectares at the regional level. To adopt this practice, farmers need to redesign all their farming activities; from this need arises the demand from farmers for technological innovation and knowledge transfer to increase the adoption of this practice. To address the lack of information and studies in the territory, a multidisciplinary research group has been established at the DAFNE Department of the University of Foggia, involving various sectors, from agronomy - coordinated by Professor Flagella, to microbiology, pathology, entomology, and economics. Furthermore, with the support of the other partners of the SODOSOST project, the aim is to evaluate other aspects, such as environmental and economic impact and supply chain and market analysis.

The project is in its second year of implementation and has achieved an average of 60% of the set objectives. Field experimental plot trials related to task 3.2 – Conducting field trials to optimize nutrient use efficiency (NUE and PUE) – have been replicated in this second year as well. At the experimental fields of CORSUD on two different plots, two seeding methodologies (conventional and no-till), two fertilization plans (standard and low environmental impact), two varieties of durum wheat (Marco Aurelio and Saragolla), and four types of biofertilizers (commercial, control non-inoculated, and two strains of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria - PGPB - biofertilizers, selected by the microbiology group of the DAFNE Department UNIFG) were compared. A split-plot strip experimental design with 3 experimental replicates was used. Currently, durum wheat is in the late tillering - early shooting stage, the early stage of the crop. The second fertilization will be applied shortly, and a weed control operation has just been carried out by the company.

The project partners constitute an Operational Group of the PEI AGRI, a cooperation model based on the "interactive innovation model" involving collaboration among various actors to make the best use of complementary types of knowledge, whose main objective is the co-creation and dissemination of solutions and opportunities ready to be implemented in practice.

The Operational Group consists of authoritative partners, including: Rural Cooperative Sub-Appenino Dauno r.l., Regional Agri-Food District (D.A.Re. scrl), Agricultural Company Gerardo Campanella, Cassandro Unipersonale Srl, Italian Farmers Confederation Puglia, Aretè srl, University of Foggia.