Domenico RONGA | Curriculum

Domenico Ronga is an Associate Professor in Agronomy and Herbaceous Production SSD AGRI-02/A (since 10/01/2020 to date) at the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Salerno where he holds the professorships of "Digital Applications in Forage Systems", "Agricultural Policy and Cultivation", "Sustainable Herbaceous and Horticultural Systems of the Mediterranean". He was the holder of the following courses: 'Plant Production for the Mediterranean Area', 'Cultivation of Plants for the Production of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals', 'Laboratory of Organic Cultivation Techniques' and 'Workshops and Seminars on Applied Mechanisation in Agriculture'. From 2020 to 2024 he taught 'Precision agriculture for vegetable crops: case studies' in the first-level university master's degree in precision agriculture in agreement between the universities of Teramo, Florence, La Tuscia, Salerno, the National Research Council, the Council for Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics and Ibf Spa. In 2013 he obtained his PhD in "Agri-food Sciences, Technologies and Biotechnologies" (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), doing his thesis at the CREA and dealing with the study of innovative agronomic techniques to increase the yield and quality of organically grown crops, using the processing tomato as a model species. From October 1st 2019 to September 30th 2020, he was researcher (TD) at CRPA - Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali di Reggio Emilia and carried out research activities in the field of agronomy and herbaceous crops. In particular, during this period he was involved in the study of sustainable production of biomass for different agricultural, energy and zootechnical uses that can also be traced back to digital and precision agriculture. From September 3rd 2018 to September 30th 2019 he was a research fellow at the Council for Research in Agriculture and Analysis of Agricultural Economics - Research Centre for Animal Husbandry and Aquaculture (CREA-ZA), in Lodi and carried out research activities in the field of agronomy and herbaceous crops. In particular, during this period he was involved in the study and valorisation of biostimulants extracted from microalgae for the sustainable production of herbaceous crops. From 2013 to 2018 he was a research fellow at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and carried out research activities in the field of agronomy and herbaceous crops. In particular, during this period he was involved in the study of the response to abiotic stresses and their mitigation through the use of innovative organic fertilisers (compost and digestates) and microbial biostimulants.

In 2022 he was awarded at the SIA conference as best reviewer for the Italian Journal of Agronomy. In 2020 he was awarded the 'Giuseppe La Malfà prize. SOI young researcher 2020 competition for publication: Ronga D., Gallingani T., Zaccardelli M., Perrone D., Francia E., Milc J., Pecchioni N., 2019. Carbon footprint and energetic analysis of tomato production in the organic vs the conventional cropping systems in Southern Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 220, 836-845. In 2019 he was winner of the "Adopt a Scientist" travel grants funded by KAGOME to present his research activities during the 16th ISHS Symposium on the Processing Tomato in San Juan, Argentina. In 2017, he was first prize winner in the competition Sudinnova, Competition of Ideas for Innovation in Southern Agriculture, MiPAAF. Title of the proposal: 'Organic Biofertilisers'. In 2014 he was the winner of the Laura Bacci Prize for the best doctoral thesis entitled "Towards identification of a processing tomato ideotype suitable for low input cultivation" and for the results of particular excellence and strategic relevance obtained at national and international level on the subject of sustainable agriculture. In 2014, he was the winner of the 2014 Lions Prize for Young Graduates, District 108Tb. Award for the ability of young graduates to develop innovative ideas and projects in the agri-food and "energy for the planet" sectors. Title of the research project presented: BIO.COMPOST (use of preparations derived from the composting of organic materials to increase horticultural yields in the organic system).

During his professional experience, he has developed interdisciplinary skills in the fields of agronomy, physiology and product quality. Currently, his research activity is strongly interdisciplinary in character, also in collaboration with international groups. It relates to the development, application and evaluation of sustainable agricultural techniques (in particular, innovative organic fertilisers and biostimulants obtained from the valorisation of agro-industrial co-products) in low-input cultivation systems, also by means of digital and precision farming techniques, dissemination of results in national and international academia through technology transfer actions to different agricultural realities. As part of his training and research activities, the undersigned has developed specific skills and has produced over 150 papers to date, more than 70 of which have been published in international journals with referees and 1 patent relating to the development of biofertilisers based on digestate. He is a member and Councilor of the Italian Society of Agronomy (SIA), a member of the European Society of Agronomy (ESA), the Italian Horticultural Society (SOI) and the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). He is an Associate at CREA-OF. Member of the Doctorate College in "Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences" in associated form with the University of Basilicata since cycle XXXVIII. Responsible for the thesis assignment commission for Agrarian Courses; member of the external thesis assignment commission and reference for Agrarian Courses; member of the research commission. Member of the scientific committee of Biostimulants in the Field, project L’Informatore Agrario. Headquarters contact person for Task 8.3.2 Valorisation and biological regeneration of wastes as resources, organic fertilisers, or amendments to improve carbon storage and soil quality of spoke 8 - "Circular economy in agriculture through waste valorisation and recycling" of the National Agritech Centre set up under Mission 4 Component 2 - From Research to Enterprise of the PNRR. From February 2022 to date. CREA Register of Experts for SSD AGRI-02/A and B. Associate Editor of the journal Frontiers in Agronomy section Climate-Smart Agronomy.

Qualifications and Training

- First level Master's degree entitled DESIGN OF A TECHNOLOGICAL PARK FOR AGRICULTURAL FOODS obtained with a grade of 110 cum laude at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, with a thesis entitled: "Innovative Fertilisers in Viticulture: experimentation in Emilia farms". Date of achievement December 2014.

- PhD in "AGROFOOD SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGIES AND BIOTECHNOLOGIES" from the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, with a thesis entitled: "Towards identification of processing tomatoes suitable for low input cultivation". Date of achievement March 2013.

- MSc degree in INNOVATIVE PLANT PRODUCTION (classe 77/S - Classe delle lauree specialistiche in Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie - D.M. 509/1999) achieved with a grade of 110 cum laude at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, with a thesis entitled: " Use of defatted flours and compost on field-grown aubergines ". Date of achievement July 2009.

- BSc degree in AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES, MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY CONTROL IN THE AGRICULTURAL AND VEGETABLE SECTOR (class 20 – Degree class in Agricultural, Agri-food and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – Italian Ministerial Decree 509/1999) obtained with a grade of 110 cum laude at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, with a thesis entitled: “Use of growth-promoting bacteria (PGPR) in open field for the production and defence of tomatoes”. Date of achievement July 2007.

Experience abroad

- From January 9th to July 9th 2018 course and field experience on precision agriculture at THE JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE (JHI), Dundee, Scotland, UK, under the supervision of prof. Davide Cammarano.

- From February 20th to April 30th 2012 advanced course in statistics at the WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY, BIOMETRIS DEPARTMENT, HOLLAND, under the supervision of prof. Fred van Eeuwijk.

Component of Research Units

- PNRR AGRITHECH: Headquarters contact person for Task 8.3.2 Valorisation and biological regeneration of wastes as resources, organic fertilisers, or amendments to improve carbon storage and soil quality of Spoke 8 - "Circular economy in agriculture through waste valorisation and recycling" of the National Agritech Centre established within Mission 4 Component 2 - From Research to Enterprise of the PNRR. Commitment of 9 man-months from September 1st 2022 to August 31th 2025.

- NRP BIODIVERSITY: Scientific collaboration under Task 2.3 of Spoke 5 - "Urban Biodiversity": Role of urban soils in atmospheric CO2 reduction and carbon sequestration, also in response to the use of soil improvers. Commitment of 6 man-months from September 1st 2022 to August 31th 2025.

- PSR "Innovative digital systems for native Campania truffles - siditac". At the University of Salerno, scientific responsible prof. Enrica De Falco. Amount 109,186.86 euro. Commitment of 1 man-month from February 8th 2024 to June 30th 2025.

- PRIN-PNRR 2022. "Smart agriculture to assess biostimulants solutions on durum wheat to overcome abiotic stresses in southern italy". At the University of Salerno, scientific responsible prof. Enrica De Falco. Amount € 96,650.00. Commitment of 1 man-month from November 30th 2023 to November 30th 2025.

- PON RESO Resilience and sustainability of the fruit, vegetable and cereal food chains, respecting vocation and enhancing territories. At the University of Salerno, scientific responsible prof. Giuseppe Celano. Amount 853,574.00 euro. Commitment of 7.2 man-months from January 1st 2022 to June 30th 2024.

- RDP operation 16.1.01 - Focus Area 4B - Sustainable, precision and integrated agriculture in the supply chain to combat the Asian bug Halyomorpha halys. Project: Stop-Haly. Agro-ecological innovations aimed at containing and combating Halyomorpha halys on livestock crops. At the Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali- CRPA S.p.A.

- LIFE18/CCM/IT7001093 AGRICOLTURE F94E19000220004 - Livestock farming against climate change problems posed by soil degradation in the Emilian. Project on the sustainability of agro-livestock production. At the Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali- CRPA S.p.A.

- LIFE15/CCM/IT/000039 Forage system for less GHG emission and more soil carbon sink in continental and Mediterranean agricultural areas - FORAGE4CLIMATE. At the Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali- CRPA S.p.A.

- BIOPRIME: Enhancement of natural products for the defence of organically grown horticultural crops. Responsible for the agronomic part. At CREA-ZA.

- MIREAZOC: Enhancement of aqueous microalgal extracts as biostimulants in herbaceous crop production. At CREA-ZA.

- Site-specific agronomic management systems (SSAMS): A framework for developing site-specific management based on understanding the causes of the yield's variability. Scottish Government (Edinburgh) 2018-04 to 2019-03|Grant number: Seedcorn Application 18.12. I was responsible for the agronomic field trials.

Performances in commercial contracts

- Soremartec srl: agronomic manager in the cultivation of high value-added horticultural and industrial plants for confectionery production.

- Storm Seeds: evaluation of leek pollen fertility.

- Nestlé: studies on the potential of exploiting coffee grounds as compost or substrates for growing herbaceous plants.

- Assobioplastiche: Coordinator of the project concerning the agronomic evaluation of innovative mulching sheets with increased biodegradability supplied by the companies Novamont and BASF. Experimentation conducted on industrial tomatoes grown organically in Parma.

- Novamont: Coordinator of the project on the agronomic evaluation of the direct seeding technique on biodegradable mulch sheets for processing tomatoes.

- SQM: Project coordinator for the agronomic evaluation of a new potassic fertiliser for the cultivation of table tomatoes.

- A2A: Project coordinator for the agronomic evaluation of microalgal extracts grown on agro-industrial by-products as biostimulants.

- PRO-BE: Project coordinator for the agronomic evaluation of biodegradable paper mulches for baby leaf cultivation.

- CRPA: Project coordinator for the agronomic evaluation of microbial biostimulants for fodder plant cultivation.

- OP Isola Verde: Implementation of 4 different approaches to combat nitrate accumulation in leaves. Active collaborations

- Aarhus University

- WPTC

- Italian Biogas Consortium

- ISI Seeds

- Tera Seeds

- CREA-ZA

- CREA-OF

- CREA-CI

- UNIMORE

- UNISS

- OP Isola Verde

- UNITE

- UNIPZ

UNINA

- UNIFE

- IBE-CNR

- CRPA

- University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland

- OP Altamura

- OP Terramore

- Spazio Verde

- Op Terraorti