For the “World Bee Day” on May 20th, the international conference ‘Apis silvatica‘, which outlined concrete measures for protecting the wild colonies of Apis mellifera and all pollinators, took place in the National Park of the island of Pantelleria (south Italy).
In this context, Gennaro Di Prisco, a researcher at the Institute for the Sustainable Protection of Plants (IPSP-CNR) of Portici, who has been involved in monitoring the biodiversity of Apoidea in natural and agricultural ecosystems, presented a scientific poster with colleagues Massimo Giorgini, Pasquale Cascone, Michelina Ruocco and Emilio Guerrieri on the project ASTER, a study on the below/above ground biodiversity within the tomato agro-ecosystem (ASTER), with fundamental importance for the Mediterranean Basin.
The proposed model will improve the resilience of this entire crop in the economy of all Mediterranean Basin countries, where it can be grown in open fields or protected systems during the whole annual season, particularly on small farms.