If a crop presents weird symptoms, producers immediately start to panic. The same goes for seed companies and nursery gardens. It could be due to a plant disease, nutritional imbalance or the weather. Verdelab's work focuses on trying to solve problems through agronomic and phytosanitary assistance.
Verdelab's staff. Simone Pizzagalli in the centre surrounded by his young collaborators.
"I started Verdelab 15 years ago as a small consultancy studio after my time as a phytopathologist in a multinational seed company. I now work with five other people for both Italian and foreign companies," explains founder and owner Simone Pizzagalli.
In addition to diagnostic analyses, Verdelab also provides breeding assistance to companies located in the Netherlands, Israel, France and Jordan, among others.
Tests in air-conditioned room.
"We focus on innovation and invest a lot on new equipment every year. It is an entirely private laboratory, but we also work with university researchers to remain up to date and share experience and knowledge. We can provide reliable responses in short times, are open throughout the year and can develop customised solutions with the maximum confidentiality."
State-of-the-art biomolecular technology at Verdelab.
Plant diseases multiply and often show symptoms that are different from those in the books, this is why training and technological innovation are essential. In the last few years, the seed and nursery garden sectors understood the importance of providing agronomic and phytosanitary assistance. "Verdelab can also carry out genetic analyses on seeds for some species or plants to verify their purity. Biomolecular technologies work well alongside traditional microbiological methods and improve diagnostic and genetic research performances."
For example, it was precisely in Verdelab laboratories that the first lettuce highly tolerant to Fusarium oxysporum was identified ten years ago.
Verdelab is equipped with various air-conditioned rooms where breeders can carry out tests with in vivo inoculations of fungi, viruses and bacteria to assess the resistance of new selections.
"Most of our analyses are part of self-certification plans. Compulsory checks are a pre-requisite nowadays. Companies understand that it does not make sense to be checked just to obtain a piece of paper, and are doing what they can to improve themselves. Verdelab is recognised by Emilia Romagna's Servizio Fitopatologico Regionale, with which it collaborates.
Contacts:
Verdelab
Via Eugenio Curiel 78/A, Rimini
Tel.: +39 0541 747028
Email: info@verdelab.it
Web: www.verdelab.it