Athens – “Pistacia vera” is a new and as yet unclassified vegetable syndrome that affects the pistachio plant. This new syndrome is the focus of a survey that involved Antonino Testa, assistant professor in the Department of Agriculture of the University Federico II of Naples, who just completed a work experience at the University of Athens as part of the Erasmus + program. Testa worked alongside colleagues in the Department of Crop Science of the Greek University, with Epaminondas Paplomatas, Vice Dean of the Agricultural University of Athens, and Elisavet K. Chatzivassiliou. The pistachio is of primary importance for the economy of the area especially in this particular economic situation. Paplomatas sought Testa’s cooperation as part of a task force set up to deal with the new outbreak, as an expert of diseases caused by Oomycetes. The area where monitoring and sampling began is in the region of Fthiotida, the largest area with planted pistachio in Europe, with about 2,000 hectares of cultivation. The task force involved about 120 students. (9Colonne)
