This innovation aims to investigate and experiment with materials for growing and packaging potted plants that are alternatives to non-biodegradable chemically synthesised plastics.

The objective is the replacement, which is intended to increase over time and throughout the territory, of conventionally used materials (e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene used for pots, containers, various accessories for plant identification, bags and cones for packaging) with others offering similar functions, but that are biodegradable or compostable [e.g. Polylactic acid (PLA); CPLA (crystallised polylactic acid); vegetable compost-based aggregates; rice husk and chaff thermoforms; cellulose pulp thermoforms that are waterproofed using biodegradable materials; wheat and maize flour based products (Biolice)].

These will be chosen on the basis of:

·        Comparison tests between innovative biodegradable/compostable and conventional non-biodegradable/compostable materials

·        Quality and durability of innovative materials, in relation to environmental conditions and the use requirements, both of the producer and of any intermediary and end consumer;

·        Economic costs of replacement, in relation to the environmental costs of using synthetic plastics and the effect of such replacement on the image of the products and the territory;

·        Specific requirements of the different target markets (countries), distribution groups (large-scale retail chains, garden centres, etc.) and type of production certification (integrated or organic).

This innovation envisages the creation of a 'digital supply chain traceability system' able to

·        Providing agricultural producers with a new tool for communicating with the market;

·        Restoring consumers' confidence by giving them innovative and easy access to all the information about the specific product, its processing and manufacturing phases, the environmental impact of the production cycle, the company and the territory it belongs to, thus allowing a stronger contact between the producer and the consumer.

The Italian agri-food market is one of the industries whose success is based to a large extent on quality, satisfying the preferences of increasingly demanding consumers who ask for more transparency regarding production and distribution processes, a healthy product that has not been altered by inexpert handling during transport or poor storage conditions, reliable product numbers and data, sustainability and traceability of the entire supply chain.

Today, producers also have to deal with the significant changes that are affecting consumers' eating patterns and the consequent mutation of the very concept of quality. The perception of quality today is also influenced, for example, by nutritional aspects, the origin of raw materials, and the environmental and social impacts of production processes. The concept of agri-food quality does not only concern the characteristics linked to the final product which have an impact on the consumption experience, but also those linked to the processing, production methods and origins of the product. According to a study performed by the Food Marketing Institute (2018), today, 44% of consumers demand detailed information on how food is produced, 43% want to know how products have been processed, whether organic, GMO or preservative-free, 75% do not even trust what is stated on the labels.

Traceability is now the key word on the agri-food scene, the answer to the consumer's growing demand for food safety and the tool for sharing responsibility between the players in the chain. However, it is also a tool for competitiveness and rationalisation of production systems, as well as for enhancing the value of quality agri-food production.

Traceability allows manufacturers to send out two messages: the product does not hide any mystery behind its production; the company certifies this by a formal admission of responsibility.

These two messages establish a relationship of trust between customer and producer.

In addition, the implementation of traceability systems is a fundamental tool for process control, rationalising flows, improving efficiency in logistics and reducing costs.

In spite of the fact that food quality and safety improved significantly, consumer confidence, especially in the food sector, declined. This is due to the fact that contacts between consumers and food producers are greatly extended, exacerbating consumers' feeling of lack of understanding of the mechanisms governing the supply chain.

This innovation aims to develop a strategy aimed to gradually reduce the use of plant protection products on the crops concerned by this proposal. The final objective is to market "zero residue" products, through a process that assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of both the reduction in the number of crop protection measures - with effects on the quantity of different pesticide residues, their metabolites and some co-formulants considered harmful - and the reduction in the overall number of products (chemical families) distributed - with effects on the amount of active ingredients that can be traced during analytical control.

This activity is in full compliance with the latest European and national mandatory standards on food hygiene, environmental safety and operator safety.

The "zero residue" objective will be implemented through an activity that will test and apply defence protocols characterised by a decreasing number of actions on crops on the one hand and the use of a decreasing number of chemical families on the other. Alternative techniques will be tested (e.g. introduction of biological and biotechnological means, use of tolerant varieties, evaluation of cultivation techniques that are less favourable to the establishment and spread of pathogens and pests), as well as all preventive techniques aimed at avoiding the creation of environmental conditions which could be conductive for plant pathogens and pests through the adoption of techniques and technologies typical of agriculture 4.0. Particular reference will be made to environmental monitoring through the use of the latest generation of sensors, the consequent collection and interpretation of data, the implementation of the necessary controls for the fine-tuning of climatic conditions in a protected environment. The effect of the different chemical interventions on the residual profile of the various crop species and cultivars will also be assessed.

In fact, it should be noted that the grouping of various horticultural species under the heading of 'fresh and aromatic herbs' (including all potted aromatic plants grown in the Ingauna area) and the overall authorisation of the same plant protection products for all of them led, from the point of view of the residual effect, to a very diverse scenario. CeRSAA, and, likewise, also other national and European research groups, recently published a paper highlighting the different residual behaviour of certain plant protection products in relation to the crop species on which they were administered.

For example, with the same plant protection protocol, boscalid and ethofenprox are present on ready-to-market plants with extremely low residues on rosemary and thyme, while they are highly residual on sage; similarly, copper and dithiocarbamates are highly residual on rosemary compared to sage and thyme.

This situation, together with others that are quite similar, is the cause of disorientation for farms for which the application of defence protocols is quite complex. These protocols, in theory, can be applied indiscriminately to all aromatic and officinal crops, but, in fact, they must be checked on a case-by-case basis as there are neither technical-scientific documents nor appropriate good practices.

The intermediate and final results will therefore be the development of specific protocols that take into account the needs and evidence mentioned above, in the perspective of starting a virtuous and certifiable process that, in time, may lead to the goal of "zero waste". This may be easier to achieve on some species than on others, i.e. depending on the family of plant protection products used and its specific behaviour on the target crop.

This activity will have to be carefully planned from the point of view of experimentation, pilot applications and expected results, and will have to take into account the needs of production and the market, in order to guarantee that the farmer achieves the required aesthetic and functional quality.