Thanks to a work that investigated the benefits of precision harvesting, testing and analyzing the effectiveness of selective harvesting, Beatrice Danesi (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Piacenza) was awarded the third prize of the first edition of the AgriFood Future Award for the agricultural specialization.
The prize was awarded on May 9 in Salerno during AgriFood Future Research, a specialized event held alongside the national AgriFood Future event promoted by Unioncamere in collaboration with the Salerno Chamber of Commerce. In just two editions, this event has established itself as a primary forum for debating the future of agri-food systems.
Under the scientific direction of Professor Alex Giordano, the AgriFood Future event in 2024 and 2025 facilitated meetings between companies, institutions, and trade associations. These meetings aim to foster dialogue between technology, communities, and food production based on the Foodsystem 5.0 concept. This serves as a concrete push to ensure that technological solutions drive sustainable development from environmental, social, and economic perspectives, rather than letting innovations alone dictate the future.
The AgriFood Future Award, in collaboration with Image Line, aims to provide further incentive by rewarding research that proposes innovations designed to bridge the gap between scientific production and the needs of the agri-food system. These are concrete studies that address real problems and propose actionable solutions for the industry.
Danesi’s work, titled “Exploiting vineyard variability through selective harvesting of a white grape variety,” took third place in the Agriculture category for its significant contribution to identifying targeted interventions capable of improving grape quality while optimizing productivity and reducing costs and environmental impact.
| Problems Addressed | Proposed Solutions | Interested Companies |
| Variability in the maturation and quality of the grape within a vineyard. Uniform harvesting that does not take into account the different qualitative characteristics of the grapes. Inefficiency of traditional harvesting with increased costs and waste. Impact of climate change on grape maturation. | Use of vigor maps and satellite imagery to identify areas of the vineyard with different maturations. Implementation of selective harvesting with advanced harvesting machines. Optimization of wine quality through the targeted selection of grapes. | Wineries and producers of quality wine. Companies that develop harvesting machines and solutions for precision agriculture. Wine consortia and research entities in viticulture. |
To learn more about Beatrice Danesi’s work, visit Agrinotizie.