Climate and landscape composition explain agronomic practices, pesticide use and grape yield in vineyards across Italy

Context Worldwide, organic farming is being promoted as one of the main alternatives to intensive conventional farming. However, the benefits of organic agriculture are still controversial and need to be tested across wide environmental gradients. Objective Here, we carried out an observational study to test how agronomic practices, pest management, environmental impact and yield of conventional and organic vineyards changed along wide climatic and landscape gradients across Italy. Methods We used a block design with 38 pairs of conventional and organic vineyards across Italy. Results and conclusions Most agronomic practices did not differ between conventional and organic vineyards. By contrast, landscape composition and climate were strong predictors of management in both systems. First, increasing semi-natural areas around the vineyards reduced pesticide pressure and related environmental impacts, but was also associated with lower yield. Second, irrespective of the farming system, a warm and dry climate was associated with reduced fungicide pressure. Conventional farming had a yield gain of 40% in cold and wet climate compared to organic but the yield gap disappeared in the warmest regions. Significance In both farming systems, we observed a large variability in management practices that was mainly explained by climate and landscape composition. This large variability should be considered when evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of different farming systems under contrasting environmental contexts

First record of the non-native Osbornellus auronitens (Provancher, 1889) (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) in Italy

Globalisation and international trade, in particular, are the major drivers of introduction and the spread of non-native species. To date, more than 30 species of non-native Hemiptera Auchenorrhyncha have been accidentally introduced into Europe. Some species are invasive with important repercussions primarily for agricultural activities, while almost no information exists on their impacts within natural ecosystems. Therefore, early detection of non-native species and their subsequent monitoring are extremely important actions to undertake.The North American Osbornellus auronitens (Provancher, 1889), firstly recorded for the Palearctic and Europe in Switzerland in 2016, is recorded in Italy for the first time on the basis of 77 specimens collected between August 2015 and October 2022