SPIN-FERT celebrates the Italian National Day of the Tree

Alessandria, Italy

SPIN-FERT celebrated the Italian National Day of the Tree (November 21) participating at the conference ROOTS for GROWING, TREES – WOODS – LANDSCAPE, and the HIDDEN PART of the PLANTS, which was organized by the Academy of Agriculture of Turin in Alessandria, Italy and hosted by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano, a Foundation dedicated to the protection of the environment and Italian landscape and arts. Prof. Eligio Malusà had a talk about the “Hidden side of the plants”, where the relations between the plants and the microbiome, both endophytic and rhizospheric, were presented. Reflections on the usefulness of trees and their ‘good deeds’ in favour of the environment (in particular the soil health) were also highlighted from various points of view.

At the end of the conference, the public (about 30 persons) was engaged in a workshop organized by SPIN-FERT. The Memory Nexus artistic project was proposed and a substrate prepared by ENOMONDO, a project partner, was used for exploring the link between the substrate scent and the emotional aspects that it would bring to the participants, asking them to express what memory that scent brings to mind.

To promote the project activities toward the use of peat-free substrates, Giovanni Ferrucci, from ENOMONDO, provided a brief presentation of the process used by the company for producing such kind of growing substrate. Dr Ilaria Borri, from CREA, conducted an exercise of sensorial analysis of growing substrates. Four various substrates produced by ENOMONDO were proposed to the audience asking for an assessment of their color, odor and texture characteristics. They were provided together with two different peat substrates, which were considered as reference material. This exercise was for the first time proposed to non-professional users as a result of an activity of the project aiming at defining a new quality standard for peat-free substrates.  The analysis of the participants assessment will be useful to fine tune the sensorial test.