CURRICULUM VITAE ET STUDIORUM

Born Palermo, 16.08.1960).
Present rank Full Professor of Horticulture
Degree 110/110 cum laude 1983, University of Palermo
Highest degree PhD, 1985, University of Florence .

Academic position and Activities

• Full Professor of Horticulture since 2000 at the University of Palermo (Italy).
• Associate Professor of Horticulture since 1998 at the University of Palermo ( Italy ).
• Researcher from 1987 to 1998 at the University of Reggio Calabria ( Italy ).
• NATO-CNR senior Fellowship, July-September 1997 - UCDavis Department of Pomology (with T. DeJong)
• CNR Senior Fellowship, May 1993 - November 1993 - UCLA, Dept. of Biomedical and Environmental Science, California (with P. S. Nobel).
• November 1986 - April 1987 - Volcani Center , Dept. of Horticulture, ( Israel ) (with S. Lavee and A. Erez).
• Director of the Master in "Organic Farming and Quality Management (2004-2005) at the University of Palermo .
• Director of the Master in "Quality Management, Certification and Food Safety", 2007-2008 University of Palermo .
• Elected Member of the Consiglio Universitario Nazionale (CUN) from 1997 to 2007.

  Responsability of National research projects:

• Influence of environment and orchard management on olive oil quality, CNR-RAISA 1991-1995.
• Ecophisiology and fruit quality of Rubus, Ribes and Vaccinium species 1991-1996 (Cofin-Miur).
• Correlative inhibitions fruit to shoot growth and fruit quality in peach, 1992-present ( University of Palermo ).
• Improvement of O. ficus-indica production, 1993-1997, 2003-2007 (Regione Siciliana).
• Horticulture in Mountain Areas in Sicily, 2006-2009 (Regione Siciliana).
• CO2 entrapment in fruit-tree horchards. 2004-2006, (PRIN-MIUR).
• Citrus reticulata genetic resources selection (CRA-MIPAF 2003-current).
• Post Harvest Management of selected Temperate Fruit (2007-2009).
• Proline effect on Citrus ( Orange ) quality granted by Ajinomoto JP).

Membership and Societies

• President of the Italian Society for Horticultural Science (2007-to date).
• President of the Fruit Section of the Italian Horticultural Society (2001-2006).
• Member of the Board of SOI-IHS since 1995
• Coordinator of the Working Group on Cactus Pear and Cochenille of the International Society for Horticultural Science.
• Member of the ISHS Council from 2008.
• Member of the Advisory Board of IHC 2010 Lisbon.
• General Coordinator of FAO International Network for Technical Cooperation on Cactus pear from 1994 to 2000.
• Member of Accademia dei Georgofili.
• Member of the Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forestali.
• Member of the Accademia Italiana dell'Olivo e dell'Olio.
• Member of the Accademia Italiana di Agricoltura.

 

Referee & Journal Board Membership

•  Referee for: Horticultural Reviews, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science; HortScience, Journal of Arid Environment, Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology, Journal of Food Chemestry, PACD Journal.

•  Member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Horticultural Science since 2003

•  Associate Editor del Journal of Applied Horticulture.

•  Member of the Editorial Board of ARPAVIEW ARPASicilia - Regione Siciliana.

•  Member of the Editorial Board of Italus Hortus (SOI) from 1998 to 2003.

 

  Other Activities

•  Senior Consultant for FAO project TCP/AGR/0821 from 1999 to 2001 (Development of Mediterranean Fruit Crops in Argentina).

•  Senior Consultant for FAO project TCP/AGR/0893 from 2007 to 2008 (Development of Temeperate Fruit Crops in Argentina ).

•  Senior Consultant for FAO project GCP/ETH/073/ITA from 2007 to 2008 (Development of Temperate Fruit Crops in Ethiopia ).

•  Senior Consultant for FAO project TCP/NAM/3004 from 2008 to date (Development of Cactus pear cultivation in Namibia ).

•  "Young Associated Expert" FAO in 1984.

•  Consultant of the Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente della Regione Siciliana (ARPA Sicilia) from 2002 to 2004.

•  Member of the Board of the Istituto Regionale dell'Olivo e dell'Olio della Regione Siciliana, since 2007.

•  Chairman of the Organizing Board for the ISHS SHE08 "First Sympsium on European Horticulture" (Wien, 2008).

•  Member of the Organizing Committee and Scientific Committee of more than 20 National and International Congresses and Symposia.

•  Invited speaker for the University of Davis Ca, UCLA CA, Chapingo Mex, Zacatecas Mex, Mendoza Arg, Torino I, Napoli I, Catania I.

  Publications

•  Author of the book: La coltura del ficodindia, Calderini Edagricole (Bologna), 1993, 189 pp (with G. Barbera).

•  Author of the book: "Ficodindia" with G. Barbera. Edizioni Epos, 2001 (winner of the "Menzione speciale" of the Grinzane-Cavour prize in 2002).

•  Author of the book: L'olivicoltura ed il paesaggio della Piana di Gioia Tauro. Con Tommaso Calabrò, Ed. La Ruffa, 2002.

•  Editor of the book: Agroecology Cultivation and Uses of Cactus-pear Opuntia sp. pl. FAO (Roma), 1995, Paper 132, 211 pp. (con G. Barbera ed E. Pimienta Barrios).

•  Editor of I.S.H.S. Acta Horticulture 438 and 581.

•  Co-author of the chapter "Cactus Pear as a Fruit Crop" in Cacti: Biology and uses edito dalla California University press ( Los Angeles , California ).

•  More than 100 papers published on national and international journals and Congress proceedings.

Research Fields

• Main research interest is focused on physiological and horticultural aspects of fruti growth and reproductive biology. In details, sink-source relatioships in relation to fruit growth had been studied in olive and peach as a function of fruit position within the canopy, fruit thinning, thermal time for fruit growth, training system and rootstock. In prickly pear it has been defined the model of fruit growth and the ripening process, including some post-harvest aspect and the metabolic activity of the fruit during its growth. Thinning and pruning effect on fruit growth had been studied together with sink-source relationship between vegetative and fruit growth.

Pubblicazioni