As part of the XVI Mediterranean Nursery National Day organized by ANVE in collaboration with Vivai Capitanio, which will take place in Monopoli on Saturday, May 25th, to commemorate the work of the founding member Stefano Capitanio, a competition is announced annually aimed at young graduates.

The competition offers monetary prizes for the best master’s/specialist theses and undergraduate theses, evaluated by a dedicated jury. All recent graduates interested in participating in the competition must submit their work by April 30th for evaluation by the jury, following the instructions provided in the competition announcement.

ATTACHMENT
Notice of competition

Art.1
The monetary prize amounts to €3,000.00 and is divided as follows:

• €1,000.00 for the best bachelor’s thesis;
• €2,000.00 for the best master’s/specialized thesis.

Art.2
Thesis should address botanical, agronomic, phytosanitary, landscape, logistic/distribution, economic, legislative or insurance aspects related to floriculture and nursery production, and should be conducted in the Academic Year 2022/2023. In particular, the following are suggested themes:

1. Economic and financial sustainability of nurseries: financial statements of existing agricultural nursery companies and profitability assessment;
2. Economic sustainability related to the application of innovative agronomic techniques;
3. Plant protection: agronomic techniques and phytosanitary defense with low environmental impact from plant pathogens such as nematodes, viruses, bacteria, insects, fungi, with particular attention to Xylella fastidiosa, Popillia japonica, Anoplophora chinensis, Phytophthora spp., Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Halyomorpha halys, Aromia bungii;
4. Agro-environmental sustainability and process and product quality in floriculture;
5. Landscaping and urban and peri-urban green spaces: new trends in management;
6. Analysis of regulations and policies in the landscaping sector;
7. Introduction and bio-agronomic evaluation of new varieties (shapes, colors, sizes, etc.) of ornamental species not present in the national panorama;
8. Environmental sustainability: reclamation of polluted and/or degraded sites with environmental/landscape recovery. Estimation of the conversion of such sites into technical, recreational, sports, and artistic-cultural areas;
9. Analysis of current and upcoming national and European policies in the floriculture sector and their repercussions;
10. Analysis of national and European legislation related to green area tendering. Identification of any critical issues and new proposals;
11. Innovation in agronomic techniques and mechanization of the floriculture sector;
12. Risk management, insurance coverage for natural calamity damage to floricultural productions. Analysis of the European and national legislative framework and new proposals.
13. Evaluation of the socio-economic impact caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Art. 3
The thesis document, in PDF format, must be submitted no later than April 30, 2024, accompanied by the candidate’s Curriculum Vitae, contact information (name, surname, address, email, telephone), and the attached privacy release form:

• Email to segreteria@anve.it
• It is also possible to submit the document via zip file
• Privacy Release Form (mandatory).
  Art. 4
  The thesis document must be in Italian and accompanied by a cover page, table of contents, bibliography, and indication of whether it is a bachelor’s or master’s/specialized thesis. Additionally, it is necessary to specify the degree class and the Scientific-Disciplinary Sector (SDS) of the subject area of the thesis.

Art. 5
The award ceremony will take place on May 25, 2024, during the XVI Mediterranean Nursery Day – ‘Stefano Capitanio’ Award at:
Vivai Capitanio Stefano, Contrada Conghia 298, Monopoli (BA).

For information, please contact the ANVE Secretariat at tel. 377 6919478 or email segreteria@anve.it.