(3 Jul) – Next Thursday, the University of Milan will host the conference entitled “Biodiversity and nutrition in the Mediterranean area – The case of the phytoplasma of stone fruit trees in Lebanon.” It will be the second event of the disclosure project “Management of the phytoplasma Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium and biodiversity valorization of the stone fruit orchards in Lebanon”, conducted by the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milan, in collaboration with the University of Turin and prestigious Lebanese research institutions: the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese Agriculture Research Institute, the University of Saint-Esprit de Kaslik and the Lebanese University. The meeting represents an opportunity to show the results of research on the disease caused by the bacterium “Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium”, that caused over 10,000 deaths in Lebanon in the last 10 years. The project – funded by the City of Milan, Fondazione AVSI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – is another example of scientific and technological cooperation between Italy and the Middle East in the agri-food sector, in line with the theme of Milano Expo 2015: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life “. In the program, in addition to the interventions of the research team, there will be the presence of Salah Hajj Hassan, director of the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture. (Red)
