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Summary of the presentation "Qualità Vivaistica Italia certification: a label protecting against phytosanitary issues in berry nursery production" by Clara Contaldo (CAV CIVI Italia), presented as part of the Berry Area 2026 event programme at Macfrut.
Rising global temperatures and the intensification of nursery plant trade are reshaping the map of phytosanitary risks in the berry supply chain.
Pathogens favoured by climate-related stress are now emerging in highly destructive forms, bypassing the limited chemical control options available to growers and threatening the production continuity of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
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To manage this transition and safeguard farm income, a radical paradigm shift centred on prevention is required.
From this perspective, voluntary health certification of nursery material and advanced traceability protocols are no longer optional quality tools, but the first and most strategic barrier to protect plantations at B2B level.
Key takeaways
1. Soil-borne pathogens and climate are becoming a systemic threat.
Fungi such as Macrophomina phaseolina and Neopestalotiopsis sp. are becoming increasingly critical in berries, favoured by abiotic stress and prolonged temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius. Organisms once considered saprophytes can turn into causes of rapid plant collapse.
2. Chemical control is no longer enough.
Faced with a limited number of active ingredients and growing resistance, control must be based on agronomic prophylaxis: pre-plant soil sterilization with steam, rigorous soil management and timely removal of infected material from the field.
3. Visual diagnosis is often misleading.
The early stages of infection by Fusarium or Neopestalotiopsis can mimic physiological decline caused by post-transplant stress. Visual observation alone is therefore insufficient, and specialized laboratories must be involved promptly.
4. QVI certification raises the level of biosecurity.
The voluntary Qualità Vivaistica Italia label provides a phytosanitary standard higher than the basic European CAC level, requiring extensive screening: up to 48 laboratory investigations for strawberry, 28 for blueberry and 33 for Rubus.
5. Micropropagation is safe only when it starts from certified material.
Starting in vitro cultures guarantees plant health and uniformity only when the explant comes from pre-basic material tested and traced by the certification system. Rigorous pomological field checks are also required to prevent varietal and phenotypic deviations.
6. HTS is promising, but not yet self-sufficient.
High Throughput Sequencing can detect many threats in a single analysis, but high costs and databases that are not yet fully validated mean that traditional diagnostic methods are still required as support.
What emerges from the presentation
The phytosanitary resilience of berry plantations is increasingly threatened by two structural factors: abiotic stress intensified by climate change and the growing limits of available crop protection tools.
The technical picture shows how some fungi originally considered saprophytes, which in the past had not caused major concern, are now behaving as severe opportunistic pathogens.
The cases of Neopestalotiopsis sp. and Macrophomina phaseolina are particularly significant.
Macrophomina phaseolina, in particular, is favoured by temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius and can survive for long periods in the soil thanks to microsclerotia, colonizing roots and crowns until sudden and often irreversible decline occurs.
The new frontier of crop protection is prevention
In a context of more stressful climate conditions and fewer available active ingredients, corrective intervention is becoming less effective.
Plantation protection must begin before planting, with certified material, properly managed soils and timely diagnosis.
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Opportunistic pathogens favoured by climate stress
Climate change is modifying the behaviour of several pathogens.
High temperatures, water stress, substrate imbalances and physiological weakness in plants can turn agents previously considered secondary into primary threats for the crop.
In berries, this dynamic is particularly delicate because strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and other Rubus crops are high-value crops, often grown in intensive systems with high establishment costs.
Rapid collapse of the root system or crown can therefore result in significant economic losses, especially when the infection is detected late.
The problem is not only the presence of the pathogen, but the combination of inoculum, favourable environmental conditions and plants weakened by agronomic stress.
When symptoms look like physiological stress
One of the most relevant critical points is the difficulty of early recognition.
Initial infections by Fusarium, Neopestalotiopsis or other pathogens can easily be confused with physiological disorders, post-transplant stress, water issues or temporary plant adaptation.
This overlap of symptoms makes relying only on visual observation risky.
An incorrect intervention, such as modifying nutrition or irrigation when the problem is phytopathological, can waste valuable time and favour the spread of infection.
This is why laboratory diagnosis plays a central role: it allows rapid distinction between physiological stress and active pathogen, guiding technical decisions with greater precision.
| Critical factor | Risk for the supply chain | Strategic response |
|---|---|---|
| High temperatures | Favour opportunistic pathogens such as Macrophomina phaseolina. | Stress management, soil control and early monitoring. |
| Limited active ingredients | Reduced effectiveness of chemical control and increased resistance. | Agronomic prophylaxis and pre-plant prevention. |
| Insufficient visual diagnosis | Delayed pathogen identification and incorrect technical interventions. | Prompt use of specialized laboratories. |
| Uncertified nursery material | Introduction of pathogens already at planting stage. | Adoption of QVI standards and material traceability. |
| Uncontrolled micropropagation | Possible varietal deviations or propagation of inadequately tested material. | Use of certified pre-basic explants and pomological field checks. |
Agronomic prevention: from steam to removal of infected material
With an increasingly limited portfolio of active ingredients, the operational strategy must shift towards prevention.
The most concrete solutions include physical soil treatments before planting, such as high-temperature steam sterilization.
This approach reduces the initial pressure of soil-borne pathogens and provides young plants with safer conditions during establishment.
Equally important is the management of symptomatic material.
Leaving infected plants or plant residues at the edge of the field can favour the movement of fungal conidia towards healthy plots, increasing the risk of spread.
Timely physical removal of contaminated material therefore becomes a biosecurity practice, not merely a cleaning operation.
QVI: a higher standard for nursery material
The technical cornerstone for growers remains the health and genetic quality of the starting material.
The Qualità Vivaistica Italia standard represents a higher level of assurance than basic European requirements.
While CAC material guarantees minimum compliance, the QVI system includes more extensive controls, stricter traceability and a high number of laboratory investigations.
For strawberry, up to 48 specific screenings are required, while blueberry reaches 28 checks and Rubus 33.
This level of rigour reduces the risk of introducing pathogens into plantations and allows growers to start from a safer base.
Plant health is the first production investment
In the new phytosanitary scenario, nursery material cannot be evaluated only on the basis of price or availability.
Certification, traceability and laboratory controls become essential tools to protect agricultural investment from the outset.
Micropropagation: speed yes, but only with certified material
Micropropagation is a fundamental technology for obtaining uniform, rapid and potentially healthy material.
However, the in vitro process does not automatically guarantee safety if the starting material has not been properly certified.
The explant must come from pre-basic material tested by the certification system, to prevent any health issues from being multiplied on a large scale.
Alongside phytosanitary control, rigorous pomological monitoring is required during the subsequent multiplication stages.
This prevents varietal differences, phenotypic deviations or unwanted alterations that could compromise the commercial and agronomic consistency of the plants distributed to growers.
HTS and deep sequencing: the diagnostic frontier
Looking ahead, the sector is exploring next-generation diagnostic techniques such as High Throughput Sequencing and deep sequencing.
These technologies promise to detect a broad spectrum of pathogens simultaneously through a single analysis.
In perspective, they could represent a breakthrough for phytosanitary diagnosis, allowing a deeper reading of the health status of plant material.
However, large-scale application is still limited by high costs and the need to complete and validate international reference databases.
For this reason, at the current stage, new techniques should be considered complementary rather than substitutes for traditional diagnostics.
In summary
Phytosanitary protection in berries is entering a new phase, in which climate change, the reduction of chemical options and the complexity of nursery plant trade require a prevention-based strategy.
Pathogens such as Macrophomina phaseolina, Neopestalotiopsis sp. and Fusarium require timely diagnosis, rigorous agronomic management and highly controlled starting material.
Qualità Vivaistica Italia certification, together with correct micropropagation protocols and new diagnostic frontiers such as HTS, represents a strategic barrier to protect plantations and reduce production risk.
For the supply chain, the message is clear: in the new phytosanitary scenario, prevention is no longer an accessory cost, but the first tool for competitiveness.
