From Italy to Argentina to study Neutral Weed Communities

In October, Paola Cassiano from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies completed her secondment at the School of Agriculture, University of Buenos Aires (FAUBA) within the NeutraWeed project.

Her research focused on understanding interactions between Neutral Weed Communities (NWCs) and crops in the Argentine Rolling Pampas, investigating how agronomic practices - such as crop rotation, fertilisation, and herbicide use - affect weed communities and crop yields.

Paola collaborated closely with FAUBA researchers and AAPRESID agronomists, conducting field visits and on-site data collection at commercial farms. She also participated in seminars and workshops with FAUBA’s Industrial Crops and Agroecology research groups, and attended a technical day organised by AAPRESID, fostering knowledge exchange and strengthening Italy-Argentine collaborations.

The secondment produced a structured dataset covering six farms, including soil characteristics, crop rotations, fertilisation, herbicide use, weed community composition, and crop yields. These data will support future modelling, comparative analyses, and sustainable weed management strategies.

Paola’s visit enhanced scientific and institutional collaborations, strengthened NeutraWeed’s capacity-building efforts, and opened new opportunities for interdisciplinary research between Italy and Argentina.

Stay tuned for upcoming results and publications from this work!