Rossella Saccone
Tutor: Andrea Baglieri
- Oct 2024 - ongoing: PhD course in Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science (Di3A), University of Catania. Research project: "Bio-products to mitigate the adverse effect of climatic changes on crop performance". Supervisor: Prof. Andrea Baglieri.
- June 2023-October 2024. Research Fellow, AGR/13, at the Department Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania. Research project: "Nuovi prodotti estratti da biomasse di microrganismi unicellulari fotosintetici utili come sostanze bioattive di interesse agronomico, a sostegno del benessere delle specie vegetali".
- June 2023-April 2023: Research Fellow, AGR/13, at the Department Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania.Research project: "Prove di riuso agricolo delle acque reflue urbane depurate con biomasse microalgali"
- October 2022: Master's Degree in Food Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania. Final mark: 110/110 cum Lode.
- April 2020: Bachelor's degree in Food Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania.
"Bio-products to mitigate the adverse effect of climatic changes on crop performance".
This aim of this project is to evaluate the effects of different sustainable bio-products on the biochemical responses of the plant-soil system subjected to the climatic changes. The main objectives are the preparation of bio-products extracted starting from different substrates such as bio-wastes, vermicompost and microalgae, and the testing of their biostimulant effects on vegetable crops (e.g. tomato, pepper and lettuce) to mitigate the damages produced by different abiotic stresses (salinity and drought). The analysis will be performed by testing the bio-products at different concentrations to improve the growth, the nutrient uptake, and the crops’ tolerance to oxidative damage. The expected results refer to the production of at least one sustainable bio-product able to mitigate abiotic stresses, in the optical to reduce chemical inputs as synthetic fertilizers and phytohormones.