Dr Ruggero Petacchi

Dr Petacchi's research interests focus on applied insect ecology in olive-grove agroecosystems, biological and integrated control of pests in olive crops and vegetables, and information and communication technology in integrated pest management. His main research projects are focused on development in plant protection, aiming at validation of simulation models, as well as the bio-ecology, damage assessment, and natural enemies of insect pests. Since 2001, he has been studying insect population dynamics and focused on the use of spatial data analysis in entomology and functional biodiversity of different agroecosystems. He has published more than 100 national and international papers (h-index: 9).