Archives: People

Eustachio Tarasco obtained the PhD in “Entomology” in 1995 and currently he is Associate Professor at Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari “Aldo Moro” (www.uniba.it/ricerca/dipartimenti/disspa), where he teaches ” Entomology and Zoology” and “Faunal biodiversity Management”. Most important Academic career and training: 1996, 3 months, Dept. Biological Control & Quarantine (Poznan Poland); 1999, 2 months, Dept. Entomology, Oregon State University (Corvallis, USA); 2003, 2004 & 2007, for a total of 4 months, Dept. Biotechnology and Biological Control (Kiel, Germany); 2009 & 2010, for a total of 8 months, Visiting Professor at Dept. de Ciencias y Recursos Agricolas y Forestales (Cordoba, Spain); 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2016, 1 week per year, Erasmus Teaching program, Boku University (Wien Austria). He is associate to CNR-IPSP since 2012 and in March 2017, he achieved the National Academic Qualification as Full Professor.

His research interests are focused on: Urban and Forest Entomology – sustainable planning and management of forest, urban and periurban pests, ecological role of insect populations in forest, urban e periurban areas; Insect Pathology and Microbial Control – biodiversity, morphology and biology of entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi in Mediterranean ecosystems and evaluation of their potential as biological control agents of insect pest populations; Ecological Biodiversity – evaluation and monitoring of entomological and ornithological biodiversity in natural and urban areas. Recently he also carries out research on strategies for protecting forest resources by xilophagous pests in mediterranean ecosystems. The academic achievments include a total of more than 190 publications including original research papers on national and international reviews (90), monographs (4), scientific reports and comunications presented at international and national conferences (98).

Involved as a coordinator, consultant or technical advisor in several national and international projects, he first joined the IOBC-WPRS Working Group “Insect Pathogens and Insect Parasitic Nematodes” in 1999 in Wien, and participated in the meetings of Athens, Schoss Salzau (Kiel) Locorotondo (Bari), Alès, Pamplona, Innsbruck, Riga and Tbilisi.

Born in Madrid (1963), María-Esperanza Sánchez is a Senior Lecturer in Forest Pathology at the Technical School of Agriculture and Forest Engineering (ETSIAM) belonging to the University of Córdoba (Spain) since 2008. María-Esperanza got her PhD in the Autónoma University of Madrid (1990), and pursued post-doctoral studies in the Forestry Department at National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA, Madrid, Spain, 1991-1992), Forestry Department at the University of Aberdeen (Aberdeen, UK, 1993), Pathology Branch at the Forest Research Agency (Farnham, UK, 1993-1994), Agriculture Technical School at the University of Algarve (Portugal) (Faro, 1994 and 2005), and Forestry Department at the University of Florence (Firenze, Italy, 2005). She joined the Agronomy Department of the Technical School of Agriculture and Forest Engineering at University of Córdoba in 1995, where she teaches Plant Pathology, Forest Pathology and Crop Protection at the undergraduate level and Taxonomy and Identification of Phytopathogenic Fungi and Oomycetes at the postgraduate level.

Since 1993, María-Esperanza has been working on diseases associated with Mediterranean oak decline, the most important problem affecting forest ecosystems in Spain. Her research includes aetiological and epidemiological features of root diseases caused by oomycetes (Phytophthora cinnamomi and Pythium spiculum) and trunk and branch cankering caused by Biscogniauxia mediterranea (charcoal canker) and Botryosphaeraceae fungi. These insights make her possible to address the study of control methods focused on integrated control strategies applicable to open woodlands (dehesas) and oak forests. Derived from her research work, different control strategies against oak root diseases are currently available: soil calcium amendments, biofumigation, or application of resistance inducers, as well as environmental friendly treatments for preventive control of Botryosphaeria trunk cankers.

She has also been active in health preservation of highly valuable forest ecosystems, such as the Andalusian fir (Abies pinsapo) forest, a relictic forest threatened by Heterobasidion root rot, or wild-olive (Olea europaea var. sylvestris) natural forests, endangered by different Phytophthora species. She is currently leading a project to study diseases incidence in heronry-cork oak woodlands at Doñana National Park. The main objective of this research program, in close collaboration with the Spanish Research Council (EBD and IRNAS), is to monitor the spread of oomycete root diseases already detected in this highly protected Park, declared as natural heritage of the humanity, in order to recommend effective control measures. María-Esperanza scientific output is represented by over 50 papers in WoS indexed journals, besides Phytopathology, broader areas of Biology (Mycology, Ecology, Plant Sciences), twelve PhD and MSc theses, or many degree research projects.

María-Esperanza Sánchez joined the IOBC-WPRS Work Group “Integrated Protection in Oaks Forests” in 2010 and she organized the 8th meeting of the group in Spain (Córdoba, 23-27 October 2016).

Luca Ruiu is a scientist engaged in research, development and technology transfer in the field of biological control of insect pests of agricultural, forestry and medical-veterinary importance. He currently is a researcher at the University of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy), where he also works as a lecturer in entomology and biotechnology. He recently achieved the National Academic Qualification as Associate Professor. He is founder and managing director of the research based company Bioecopest, located at the Technology Park of Sardinia (Italy). He graduated in Agricultural Sciences and was awarded a PhD in Entomology at the University of Perugia (Italy). He was visiting scientist at the University of Cambridge (UK) and at the University of Santa Clara (California) as a Fulbright fellow. He is author of several scientific publications and of some patents in the field of entomology with a specific focus on the interactions between microorganisms and insects. Many of his studies have been dedicated to the discovery of entomopathogenic bacteria.

Since 2005, he has regularly attended the meetings of International bodies such as IOBC, SIP and of the EU COST action 862 “Bacterial Toxins for Insect Control”.

Jordi Riudavets is an entomologist with experience in research, development and transfer of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Born in 1965 in Barcelona, he completed his B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Barcelona (1988) and his PhD at the University of Lleida (1995). During the last years, he has been participating in 65 research projects with public funding (EU, National Government) and more than 45 research contracts with several private companies.
Main fields of expertise are biological control, biology and ecology of pests and natural enemies, monitoring of pests, rearing of insects, methyl bromide alternatives for the control of stored product pest and modified atmospheres. He is author of 138 scientific and divulgation papers, with 45 publications in peer review journals (SCI Indexed). He is vice-president of the Spanish Society for Applied Entomology, and member of the committees of the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (United Nations Environmental Program) and the Controlled Atmospheres and Fumigation Organization. Since 2011 is member of the editorial board of Journal of Stored Products Research.

He attended all the meetings of the IOBC/WPRS WG “Integrated Protection of Stored Products” since 1997.

Carmelo Rapisarda is full professor of General and Applied Entomology at the University of Catania, Department of Agri-food and Environmental Systems Management, head of the Applied Entomology Section of the same department, director of the international PhD program in “Plant Health Technologies and Protection of Agro-ecosystems”, permanent member of the Italian National Academy of Entomology. Mainly involved in studies on sap-sucking insects (especially whiteflies, psyllids and scale insects), their impact on cultivated plants and their integrated control, he also carries biological and epidemiological studies on other families of insect pests in both agricultural and forest ecosystems, as well as on their biological and integrated control. He also carries out research on strategies for protecting natural resources and insect diversity while managing a rational pest control, as well as additional studies on pests in urban environments, biological control of weeds and biotechnology for pest control.

He joined the IOBC WG “Integrated Control in Protected Crops, Mediterranean Climate” in 2012 and became Convenor of the WG in the same year. He is also involved in other IOBC-WPRS Working Groups such as “Integrated Protection of Citrus Crops”.

Vladimír Půža is a researcher at Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Ceske Budejovice (http://www.entu.cas.cz/en/staff/Vladimir-Puza-r120r). He obtained his PhD in 2009 for study on Interspecific interaction and host range of entomopathogenic nematodes. He is focused on systematics and ecology of entomopathogenic and moluscoparasitic nematodes.

He first attended IOBC meeting in 2005 in Bari, Italy and became IOBC member in 2013.

Dr. Jiří Nermuť is an absolvent plant protection studies at South Bohemian University in České Budějovice, Faculty of Agriculture (Ph.D. 2012) and currently employed as researcher at the Biology Centre CAS – Institute of Entomology, Laboratory of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in České Budějovice, Czech Republic (https://www.entu.cas.cz/en/departments/department-of-biosystematics-and-ecology/laboratory-of-entomopathogenic-nematodes). His major interests are taxonomy and ecology of mollusk-parasitic nematodes, mainly genus Phasmarhabditis and Alloionema. Other fields of his work are taxonomy and ecology of entomopathogenic nematodes, evolutionary and population genetics of invertebrate-parasitic nematodes and their use in biological pest control. He also study the interactions of mites and nematodes recently.

He attends several IOBC meetings (first time as student in 2011) as author or coauthor of number of contributions and has become a convenor of slug and snail study group since September 2018.

Anna Camilla Moonen is Assistant Professor in Agronomy and Field Crops at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy since 2008. She graduated at Wageningen University (The Netherlands) in 1995 in Biology with a specialization in Landscape Ecology. She obtained her PhD degree in ‘Sustainable Agriculture and Food Quality’ from the University of Pisa, Department of Agriculture, in 2004. Her research interest is in vegetation management of field margins and semi-natural habitats, the use of cover crops to manage weed communities, the management of functional agrobiodiversity in arable and horticultural cropping systems, and (co)designs innovative strategies for sustainable weed and pest management.

She has actively participated in various European projects (she is part of the Ex-Com of the Network of Excellence ENDURE, and was WP or task leader in QUESSA, SOLIBAM, IWMPRAISE). She is used to perform research in a participatory environment in close collaboration to stakeholders and end-users. She organized interactive teaching courses and summer schools (e.g., 5 ENDURE summer schools) and she is a tutor in the BTSF training course on IPM. She is active member of European Weed Research Society, frequently reviews papers and project proposals and is a subject editor of Weed Research. She contributes to the IOBC-WPRS WG on Landscape Management for Functional Biodiversity since 2008. She is (co-)author of 113 publications, 32 of which in Journals with Impact factor (h-index: 18). www.santannapisa.it/it/anna-camilla-moonen

Gerben Messelink is a research entomologist at Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture (https://www.greenhousehorticulture.wur.nl) in The Netherlands. This institute, where he works since 1999, is dedicated to applied research for the greenhouse industry. Much of his work was aimed at biological control of thrips, spider mites and whiteflies with generalist predatory mites in several greenhouse cropping systems. This work was also the basis for his PhD thesis, which he completed during his work at the institute in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam. His work on generalist predators now includes anthocorid and mirid predatory bugs and food web complexities among species. Right now, he is involved in several research projects which in general are about the evaluation of new natural enemies and developing systems that enhance establishment and persistence of natural enemies for control of thrips, spider mites whiteflies, aphids and mealy bugs.

He joined the IOBC-WPRS in 2002 as participant of the Working Group on Integrated Control in Protected Crops, Temperate Climate. In 2008 he was the local organizer of the meeting of this group in Sint-Michielsgestel in The Netherlands.

Jesús Mercado-Blanco (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1895-5895) is Research Scientist at the Estación Experimental del Zaidín (EEZ, Granada, Spain), belonging to the Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Previous research activities were conducted at Utrecht University (Utrecht, The Netherlands) and at Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (IAS-CSIC, Córdoba, Spain). Head of the Crop Protection Department of IAS-CSIC (2020-2022).

His research is mainly focused on microbiology, agro-biotechnology, plant-microorganism interactions, and the development of control tools within integrated management strategies of soil-borne diseases affecting crops relevant for the Mediterranean area, using Verticillium wilt of olive a study system. Fusarium wilt of banana is also an important target under investigation. The identification, characterization and use of biological control agents (BCA) constitute one of his my main research lines. Specific research topics are, among others:

1. the elucidation of the molecular bases underlying interactions involving BCAs, soil-borne phytopathogens and host plants by molecular and ‘-omics’ approaches;
2. the characterization and utilization of beneficial bacterial endophytes;
3. the analysis of the genetic and molecular diversity of rhizosphere/soil microorganisms; and
4. the qualitative and quantitative molecular detection of soil-borne fungal pathogens.

He is (co)author of over 100 research, informative, proceedings articles, and book chapters, and (co)inventor of 9 patents (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jesus_Mercado-Blanco).

He has participated in more than 20 research projects (10 as Principal Investigator).

Consulting Editor (from 2018 to date) for the journal Plant and Soil (previously serving as Section Editor from 2008 to 2018). Associate Editor for the journals BioControl (2010 to 2021) and Frontiers in Microbiology (2016 to 2019). He has also served as Guest Editor of three “Research Topics” published in the journals Frontiers in Microbiology (2) and Frontiers in Plant Science (1), and different Special Issues for the journals BioControl, Plant and Soil, Agronomy, Plants, Forests and Pathogens. Anonymous referee of scientific research proposals and of research personnel selection processes for several national and international agencies. Anonymous reviewer for more than 20 scientific journals related to the microbiology, biotechnology, plant sciences, soil sciences, etc. research areas.

Spanish representative in the Management Committee of the COST Action FP1305 “Linking belowground biodiversity and ecosystem function in European forests (BioLink)”.

He gave seminars, key-notes and invited conferences and webinars for different academic institutions as well as in diverse scientific and technical meetings (Austria, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Israel, Mexico, The Netherlands, The Philippines, PR China, Rumania, Spain, etc.).

He has participated in different IOBC-WPRS meetings, including four of the WG Integrated Protection of Olive Crops (Córdoba 2009, Jerusalem 2011, Kalamata 2015 and Lisbon 2021).

Michael Meissle is Senior Scientist at Agroscope, the agricultural research institute of the Swiss government. He studied biology in Munich and conducted his PhD at Agroscope in Zurich until 2009. Research fellowships allowed him to gain experience in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. He is currently deputy leader of the Biosafety research group at Agroscope, which is focusing on risks and benefits of genetically modified (GM) plants and of introduced exotic arthropods.

Michael Meissle has been working in the area of non-target risk assessment since 2001. His research interests cover laboratory, field, and landscape-level effects of GM crops on arthropods; multitrophic interactions between plants, arthropods, and microorganisms; transfer of Bt proteins between trophic levels (using ELISA); bioactivity of insecticidal proteins in plants and arthropods (using sensitive insect bioassays). His involvement in the EU project ENDURE allowed him to gain experience with IPM in European maize production, where he published on pests, pesticide use and the role of Bt maize in IPM. Systematic literature reviews on arthropods in European agricultural crops have been conducted by Michael Meissle for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the EU-project GRACE.

Michael Meissle has been active in the IOBC-WPRS Working Group on GMOs in Integrated Crop Protection since its establishment in 2003. He attended all meetings and presented his research in oral and poster presentations. He has also been co-editor of the IOBC-WPRS Bulletins of the Working Group. Since 2013 he acts as convenor of this group.

Maria Teresa Martinez Ferrer (PhD in Agricultural Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia) is a senior researcher at the Government of Catalonia’s Agrifood Research and Technology Institute (IRTA) since 1991, primarily on citrus entomology, within the Sustainable Plant Protection Program. Her research work focuses on pest biology, ecology and seasonal dynamics, the development of sampling methods, establishing economical thresholds for intervention, and the improvement of chemical, biological, cultural and biotechnical pest control methods. She was associate lecturer for Production Technologies II: Plant Protection at the International University of Catalonia (UIC) in the Horticulture and Gardening Bachelor’s Degree.

She has played an active role on the Catalonia Citrus Crops Integrated Production Committee since it was established in 1994. This group was founded and continues to update the technical standards for citrus production. She is also the Technical Coordinator of Citrus Committee of Fruit.Net Program (Government of Catalonia ) for the optimization of the application of phytosanitary products and the reduction of residues on fruit. She joined the Subtropical and Citrus Crop Pests National Working Group from 1991 until it ended in 2011.
She has been involved in numerous national and international public-funded research projects and numerous contracts with private companies all in the field of biological and integrated pest control for citrus crops. She has participated in national and international congresses, and has extensive experience of knowledge transfer through training courses, seminars and workshops addressed to technicians and farmers. She has published more than 60 scientific and technical articles.

Born in 1960, Italian.
University Degree in Agricultural science in University of Bologna.

Employed by Emilia-Romagna Regional government is in charge of planning, organisation and co-ordination/ management of activity of research/ experimentation and technical support in the sector of the cultivation with particular reference to:

• Integrated protection / biological and integrated production aimed to the reduction of the environmental impact from pesticides and fertilisers including (including definition of regional guidelines of integrated production, planning regional application of agroenvironemental measures under Regg. CEE 2078/ 92, CE 1257/99, 1698/06)
• Information systems to support of programs of research/ experimentation and of technical advisory service (data base on agronomic data/ biologic and meteorological, forecasting models);
• POD and PGI registration procedures and other quality schemes.
• Connection with corporate body and scientific and administrative national and international Institutions for development common initiatives.

From 1985 member of several IOBC-WPRS WGs. Elected, in the 1.1.1996, from the OILB (International organisation for biological and integrated control of noxious animals) member of the “IP Commission: Guidelines and endorsement”; in this role he has participated to the institutional meetings held and edited the General principles and Crop specific Guidelines for integrated production of pome, stone and soft fruits, arable crops, open field vegetables, olives and grapes. Member of OILB/WPRS Council during the period 1997/2001 and 2002/2005.

Michael Maixner obtained his PhD in Biology at the University of Mainz (Germany) for a study on insecticide resistance of predatory mites in viticulture. As a Postsdoc at Cornell University he started working with insect vectors of grapevine yellows. His research focuses on phytoplasma diseases of grapevine, their epidemiology and control. Additional aspects of his work are integrated control strategies for pests and diseases in viticulture.
Maixner is senior scientist of the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (Julius Kühn-Institute, JKI) where he works at the Institute for Plant Protection in Fruit Crops and Viticulture at Bernkastel-Kues.

He first joined the IOBC-WPRS WG “Integrated Protection in Viticulture” in 1987 at Logrono.