Sustainable vegetable production is one of the most active areas of vegetable research and of concern to all producers. Everyone, both producers and consumers, are concerned with sustainability. Brussels sprouts and sweet basil are high value commodities, but increasing global concerns about water availability, insect-pest problems, and costly fertilizer inputs severely impact the growth and production of these crops. Low tunnels covered with spun-bonded fabric can improve production of vegetables and herbs in Virginia and the U.S. This study investigated the performance of Brussels sprouts and basil grown under low tunnels (LTs), and their relationship with water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, and the level of protection against insect injury. Low tunnels increased yield, number of sprouts, and water use efficiency of Brussels sprout production. In addition, LTs decreased irrigation requirements, irrigation events, leaf feeding injury, and insect populations in comparison to open field. Similarly, LTs increased summer production of sweet basil as measured by fresh weight and biomass. In addition, plant N uptake was greater under the LTs; however, the increase in nitrogen use efficiency was inconsistent. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Brussels sprouts and sweet basil are economically important cash crops on the East Coast. Brussels sprouts is a Cole crop and an important source of dietary fiber, vitamins (A, C & K), calcium, iron, manganese and antioxidants. Similarly, sweet basil is a member of the mint family and important high-value herb in the U.S. and the world. It is mainly grown for culinary purposes as a dried and fresh spice in the U.S. However, demand for these commodities is increasing. Low tunnels (LTs) covered with spunbonded fabric can be a practical management tool to increase yield. Results from this study indicate that LTs increase yield of Brussels sprouts and basil, water use efficiency and total nitrogen uptake, while reducing insect pest infestation. Therefore, LTs can be a useful tool to improve sustainability of Brussels sprouts and basil production.

Thesis (PhD(Agric) (Agronomy))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The adoption of the no-till planting method brought about changes to the way the wheat crop is established in the Mediterranean climate of the Western Cape. Row widths have to increase from the normal narrow rows (170-180 mm) to at least 250 mm to allow for sufficient stubble handling. Furthermore, planters are designed to place seed accurately in the soil at uniform depth, which may increase seedling survival rates. The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of the use of wide row widths on yield, the components of yield and grain quality parameters and to revisit planting density recommendations to be used with the notill planting method. On-farm, producer managed trials which included cultivars, row widths and planting density treatments were planted at Riversdale, Swellendam and Caledon in the Southern Cape region and at Moorreesburg and Hopefield in the Swartland during the 2004 to 2006 production seasons. All trials were factorial RCB designs with split-split plot arrangements. Grain yield, grain protein, hectolitre mass (HLM) and the yield components, seedlings m-2, seedling survival (%), number of heads m-2, number of heads plant-1, number of kernels head-1 and thousand kernel mass (TKM) were determined at all sites in 2005 and 2006. Seedling survival rates of 80% were easily achieved in all trials with the exception of Caledon and Swellendam in 2005. The no-till planting method may be efficient to improve on survival rates of 50-70% found with the conventional planting methods. The yield component response that raised the most concern was the clear trend of the reduction in the number of heads m-2 as row widths increased, which was significant in eight out of the nine experiments. The number of heads plant-1 decreased significantly as planting density increased in all experiments. Cultivars differed in the grain quality parameters grain protein (%) and HLM but were influenced minimally by the other treatments. Reductions in grain yield occurred in three out of eight trials in the Southern Cape and in three out of six trials in the Swartland, with reductions of between 6.8% and 33% in some seasons. The risk of yield loss due to wide row widths could not be excluded by this study and therefore the row widths used by producers should remain as narrow as practically possible. Grain yield response to increasing planting density differed between the two regions. No significant yield benefits were found in any of these trials if planting densities were increased above 175 target plants m-2. Planting densities may be reduced to between 70 and 87.5 kg seed ha-1 to achieve this target if the crop is planted in time and seedling survival rates of at least 80% can be achieved.

John Steinbeck's three novels Tortilla Flat, Cannr Row and Sweet Thursday are significant in the Steinbeck canon. Although having many elements typical of Steinbeck's fiction in general, these novels, which are referred to as the Monterey Trilogy, are unified by common elements that are either unique or handled in an unusual manner. These common elements are setting, tone, themes, structure, and characters. The novels are complementary and form a unified whole. Just as the setting reflects the evolution of Monterey over a period of almost thirty years, so do the other elements reveal a shift in emphasis or attitude indicative of Steinbeck's own changing attitudes. The concluding chapter discusses the particular significance of the Monterey Trilogy as a measure of Steinbeck's ability as artist and craftsman.

Advancements in computational capabilities have allowed researchers to turn towards modeling as an efficient tool to replicate and predict outcomes of complex systems. Computational models of the musculoskeletal system have gone through various iterations with early versions employing dramatic simplifications. In this work, a three-dimensional computational model of the wrist joint was developed. It accurately recreated the skeletal structures of the hand and wrist and represented the constraints imposed by soft tissue structures like ligaments, tendons, and other surrounding tissues. It was developed to function as a tool to investigate the biomechanical contributions of structures and the kinematic response of the wrist joint. The model was created with the use of a commercially available computer-aided design software employing the rigid body modeling methodology. It was validated against three different cadaveric experimental studies which investigated changes in biomechanical response following radioscapholunate fusion and proximal row carpectomy procedures. The kinematic simulations performed by the model demonstrated quantitatively accurate responses for the range of motions for both surgical procedures. It also provided some understanding to the trends in carpal bone contact force changes observed in surgically altered specimens. The model provided additional insight into the importance of structures like the triangular fibrocartilage and the capsular retinacular structures, both of which are currently not very well understood. As better understanding of components of the wrist joint is achieved, this model could function as an important tool in preoperative planning and generating individualized treatment regiments.

The recent 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami served as a stark reminder of the destructive capabilities of such combined events. Civil Engineers are increasingly tasked with protecting coastal populations and infrastructure against more severe multi-hazard events. Whilst the protective measures must be robust, their deployment over long stretches of coastline necessitates an economical and environmentally friendly design. The dual row retaining wall concept, which features two parallel sheet pile walls with a sand infill between them and tie rods connecting the wall heads, is potentially an efficient and resilient system in the face of both earthquake and tsunami loading. Optimal use of the soil's strength and stiffness as part of the structural system is an elegant geotechnical solution which could also be applied to harbours or elevated roads. However, both the static equilibrium and dynamic response of these types of constructions are not well understood and raise many academic and practical challenges. A combination of centrifuge and numerical modelling was utilised to investigate the problem. Studying the mechanics of the walls in dry sand from the soil stresses to the system displacements revealed the complex nature of the soil structure interaction. Increased wall flexibility can allow more utilisation of the soil's plastic capacity without necessarily increasing the total displacements. Recognising the dynamically varying vertical effective stresses promotes a purer understanding of the earth pressures mobilised around the walls and may encourage a move away from historically used dynamic earth pressure coefficients. In a similar vein, the proposed modified Winkler method can form the basis of an efficient preliminary design tool for practice with a reduced disconnect between the wall movements and mobilised soil stresses. When founded in liquefiable soil and subjected to harmonic base motion, the dual row walls were resilient to catastrophic collapse and only accrued deformation in a ratcheting fashion. The experiments and numerical simulations highlighted the importance of relative suction between the walls, shear-induced dilation and regained strength outside the walls and partial drainage in the co-seismic period. The use of surrogate modelling to automatically optimise parameter selection for the advanced constitutive model was successfully explored. Ultimately, focussing on the mechanics of the dual row walls has helped further the academic and practical understanding of these complex but life-saving systems.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T14:58:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006- Vlamir Fortes de Azevedo.pdf: 2176373 bytes, checksum: 3bbb1382e86e5d66a9e847d2c49e7275 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-02-17 / Tomato plants are highly susceptible to a great number of pests and diseases . This is a constraint to organic production, especially under field conditions. New technologies should be developed to improve organic tomato yields and reduce disease incidence. Row spacing and pruning regimes are two aspects which may be targeted to achieve these goals. Since cherry-type tomatoes are small, size variation resulting from pruning, will not significantly affect market value. The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate the effect of the number of stems per plant (through pruning) and plant densities on the yields and fruit quality of cherry-type tomatoes. Also, the labor required to prune the plants was estimated. Two experiments were performed at the experimental field of Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Serop?dica-RJ in the Spring-Summer 2004 and Fall/Winter 2005. The first experiment evaluated the effect of three pruning regimes (free growth, one stem per plant and two stems per plant) three plant densities (1.5 X 0,4m,1.5 X 0,6m and 1.5 X 0,8 m) and two cultivars (hybrid Super-Sweet and a local self pollinated - Perinha ). The second evaluated the effects of three pruning regimes (free growth, two stem per plant and three stems per plant and two cultivars (hybrid Super-Sweet and a self pollinated - A ). The spacing used was 1.0 X 0.6m. In the first experiment, fruit yields were equivalent on the free growth and the two stems treatments. The free growth treatment had lower labor cost, since no pruning was done. In the second experiment, the number of harvests was lower compared to the previous experiment, since a severe occurrence of blight occured. Higher yields were achieved on the three stem treatment, although a higher labor cost was associatesd to this treatment. / O tomateiro ? uma esp?cie altamente suscet?vel a um grande n?mero de pragas e doen?as, o que dificulta o seu cultivo em sistemas org?nicos de produ??o, principalmente quando conduzida em ambiente n?o-protegido. Assim, novas tecnologias que possam vir a viabilizar o seu cultivo em sistemas org?nicos devem ser testadas, visando n?o s? o aumento da produ??o, como tamb?m a redu??o dos problemas fitossanit?rios. Entre os fatores que podem ser trabalhados est?o o espa?amento e a elimina??o sistem?tica das hastes laterais, pr?tica esta conhecida como desbrota , deixando-se uma ou mais hastes por planta. Como o grupo do tomate cereja apresenta frutos pequenos, o tamanho do fruto n?o afeta significativamente a sua valoriza??o no mercado. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do n?mero de hastes por planta, combinado com diferentes espa?amentos, sobre a produtividade e a qualidade de frutos de tomate tipo cereja e o gasto com m?o-de-obra para se efetuar a desbrota. Para tanto, foram realizados dois ensaios no Campo Experimental da Horticultura do Departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, em Serop?dica-RJ, nos per?odos de primavera-ver?o de 2004 e outono-inverno de 2005. No primeiro ensaio, foram avaliados os efeitos da combina??o de tr?s formas de condu??o (sem tutoramento e sem limita??o do n?mero de hastes por planta; tutoramento e condu??o de uma haste por planta e, tutoramento e condu??o de duas hastes por planta), tr?s espa?amentos entre plantas (0,4, 0,6 e 0,8 m) e duas cultivares de tomate cereja, o h?brido Super-Sweet e a variedade Perinha . O espa?amento entre linhas utilizado foi 1,5 m. No segundo ensaio, foram avaliados os efeitos da combina??o entre tr?s formas de condu??o (sem tutoramento e sem limita??o do n?mero de hastes por planta; tutoramento e condu??o de duas hastes por planta e, tutoramento e condu??o de tr?s hastes por planta) e duas cultivares de tomate cereja, o h?brido Super-Sweet e variedade A . O espa?amento adotado foi de 0,6 m entre plantas e 1,0 m entre linhas. No cultivo realizado no per?odo de primavera-ver?o, observou-se que o sistema n?o tutorado apresentou produtividade de frutos comerciais igual estatisticamente ? do tratamento onde as plantas foram conduzidas sob tutoramento e mantendo-se duas hastes por planta. O tratamento onde n?o foi feita a condu??o das plantas apresentou, ainda, menor custo de produ??o, decorrente do fato de n?o se ter gasto m?o-de-obra para a pr?tica da desbrota. No cultivo realizado no per?odo de outono-inverno, no entanto, observou-se redu??o acentuada do n?mero de colheitas neste sis tema devido, principalmente, ao ataque severo de requeima. Neste mesmo per?odo, constatou-se que o sistema de condu??o com tr?s hastes foi o que proporcionou maior produtividade de frutos comerciais, por?m com maior custo de produ??o devido ao aumento do gasto com m?o-de-obra para realiza??o da referida opera??o.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:37:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Darci da Fontoura.pdf: 826056 bytes, checksum: 1b3391a06601ecc47dcf500fcd4942db (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-11-25 / Although the safrinha (short season) corn area had almost a tenfold increase during the last 15 years, few studies were reported on this specific environment. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of the spatial arrangement created by row spacing or by plant population on corn disease intensity in the safrinha environment. The experiment was installed in Toledo/PR for two consecutive years, 2004 and 2005. It was a randomized complete block design with 4 replications, on a factorial scheme with hybrid as the first factor (X1392D, 30F80, 30K75 and 30P70) and row spacing (38 cm, mix with 38 and 76 cm or 76 cm) or plant population (45, 60 and 75 thousand plants ha-1) as the second factor. The hybrids were selected in order to fill the following requirements: two of them had erect leaf architecture and the other two had horizontal leaf architecture, besides a different tolerance level for the main corn diseases. The incidence and severity of the leaf, stalk and ear pathogenic fungus, the incidence of generic parameters as kernel rot, root lodging, stalk lodging, besides the production factors and productivity were evaluated. Although higher plant populations and narrower row spacing resulted in higher disease intensity, there was a tendency of better yields under these treatments. On the other hand, it was dependant on the hybrid and climate condition of each growing year. The internal temperature of each plot was not affected by the spatial arrangement, however the leaf architecture affected the maximum temperature, even though it was not directly related to the disease intensity / Apesar da área de milho safrinha ter aumentado em aproximadamente dez vezes nos últimos 15 anos, poucos estudos foram relatados nesse ambiente específico. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito do arranjo espacial gerado pelo espaçamento entre linhas e pela população de plantas na intensidade de doenças em milho safrinha. O experimento foi conduzido em Toledo/PR por dois anos consecutivos, nas safrinhas de 2004 e de 2005. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições, em esquema fatorial, tendo como primeiro fator o híbrido (X1392D, 30F80, 30K75 e 30P70) e como segundo fator o espaçamento entre linhas (38 cm, misto com 38 e 76 cm na mesma parcela ou 76 cm) ou a população de plantas (45, 60 e 75 mil plantas ha-1). Os híbridos foram escolhidos de forma que dois tivessem arquitetura foliar ereta e dois tivessem arquitetura foliar horizontal, além de níveis diferentes de tolerância às principais doenças. Foram avaliadas a incidência e a severidade dos principais fungos fitopatogênicos responsáveis por doenças foliares, de colmo e de espiga, a incidência de parâmetros genéricos como grão ardido, acamamento de raiz, acamamento de colmo e doenças da base do colmo, além dos fatores de produção e produtividade. O microclima gerado pela redução do espaçamento entre linhas ou pelo aumento da população de plantas resultou em aumento na intensidade de doenças de colmo e de espiga, porém não reduziu a produtividade na mesma proporção. Por outro lado, essa resposta é dependente do híbrido e da condição climática de cada ano agrícola. A temperatura interna da parcela não foi afetada pelo arranjo espacial, porém a arquitetura foliar afetou a temperatura máxima ainda que não estivesse diretamente relacionada à intensidade de doença

Many Departments of Transportation (DOTs), including Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), have been challenged by inadequate funding from traditional federal and state fuel taxes, increasing construction cost, aging highway system, traffic congestions, and recent natural disasters, compromising their primary mission to provide safe vehicle transportation routes with adequate capacity. Furthermore, environmental awareness and sustainability concept have strengthened and sparked debates in Congress, culminating with several regulatory policies that affect, inclusively, transportation projects. This scenario has prompted DOTs to pursue innovative ways to reduce maintenance cost (at minimum) and generate revenue (at maximum) exploiting their assets, and to meet the new regulations. Likewise, the Center of Transportation Research at The University of Texas at Austin undertook a comprehensive research study to identify and determine when, where, and under what circumstances TxDOT should pursue the implementation of which Value Extraction Application (VEA), and how to effectively recognize and involve key stakeholders. As a result, 11 VEAs were identified. In addition, a methodological framework – embedding a multi-attribute criteria analysis matrix as the decision making method - was devised to guide TxDOT throughout the process of identifying, evaluating, comparing, and selecting the most appropriate VEA while a list of stakeholders associated with each VEA and a stakeholder analysis framework was provided to help TxDOT to identify and reach out key stakeholders. / text

Būdvardžių darybiniais sinonimais laikytini iš to paties pamatinio žodžio su skirtingais darybos formantais sudaryti dariniai, kuriems būdinga ta pati darybinė reikšmė ir tapati arba artima leksinė reikšmė. Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti būdvardžių darybinių sinonimų vartoseną. Medžiagos šaltiniu šiai analizei buvo pasirinktas Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas. Iš viso išrinkti 1556 būdvardžių dariniai, sudarytos 724 darybinių sinonimų eilės. Daugiausia priesagų vedinių – jų net 1251, t. y. 80,4% visų būdvardžių darinių. Daugiausia darybinių sinonimų eilių, kuriose sinonimiškai santykiauja du dariniai, tokių eilių – 642, t. y. net 88,7% visų darybinių sinonimų eilių. Sinoniminiai santykiai gali susiklostyti tarp 53 priesagų, 3 galūnių ir 3 priešdėlių vedinių. Iš viso buvo sudarytos 99 afiksų kombinacijos. Darbe išsamiau nagrinėtos tos darybinių sinonimų eilės, į kurias įeina dominuojančių priesagų -inis, -ingas, -uotas, -ėtas, priešdėlio apy- ir galūnės -us vediniai. Priesagų -inis, -ingas, -uotas, -ėtas, priešdėlio apy- ir galūnės -us vediniai dažnai įeina į darybinių sinonimų eiles, kuriose jie darybiškai santykiauja su kitų, t. y. retesnių, tarminių darybos afiksų bendrašakniais vediniais ir sudaro pavienes darybinių sinonimų eiles. Pavienėms eilėms būdingas kombinacijų įvairumas, sinonimiškų darinių eilėje gausumas, t. y. eilių ilgumas, ir vartosenos subtilumai. Detalesnė būdvardžių darybinių sinonimų vartosena grindžiama Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstyno... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Derivative synonyms of adjectives are derivatives formed from the same underlying word with different derivative formatives and having the same derivative meaning and identical or very similar lexical meaning. The main aim of this paper is to analize the use of derivative synonyms of adjectives. The Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian has been chosen as a source material for this analysis. 1556 derivatives of adjectives have been selected and 724 rows of derivative synonyms have been formed. Derivatives of suffixes comprise the largest group (in total 1251, i. e. 80.4 % of all derivative adjectives). There are 642 rows of derivative synonyms, i. e. 88.7 % of all rows of derivative synonyms, where two derivatives correlate synonymously. Synonymous correlation can be developed among 53 suffixes, 3 endings and 3 derivatives of prefixes. In total 99 combinations of affixes have been formed. The rows of derivative synonyms which include derivatives with predominant suffixes -inis, -ingas, -uotas, -ėtas, prefix apy- and ending -us have been more deeply analysed in this paper. The derivatives of suffixes -inis, -ingas, -uotas, -ėtas, prefix apy- and ending -us often comprise those rows that derivatively correlate with other, i. e. more rare, conjugate derivatives of the afixes of dialectal derivation and compose single rows of derivative synonyms. Diversity of combinations, richness of synonymous derivatives in the row, i.e. length of rows and subtlety of the use, is typical to... [to full text]

Il controllo in agricoltura delle malattie causate da patogeni fungini può essere effettuato attraverso l’uso di modelli di previsione che si basano comunemente sul monitoraggio in tempo reale di una serie di variabili di input. Queste informazioni generalmente combinano dati metereologici locali con modelli matematici costruiti allo scopo di predire il rischio di malattie. Il processo decisionale si attiva quando un avvertimento sul potenziale rischio viene riconosciuto da parte dei modelli. Diversi modelli epidemiologici sono stati sviluppati e validati nel mondo. Negli Stati Uniti d’America, ad esempio, l’università della California ha sviluppato un supporto decisionale on-line per gestire la coltura secondo i principi della lotta integrata (Integrated Pest Management - IPM). Ciascun agricoltore può consultare il proprio database informativo e prendere decisioni sui trattamenti da effettuare basandosi su dati sito-specifici. Le difficoltà sorgono quando non sono disponibili dati meteorologici da stazioni poste nelle vicinanze del sito in studio o per le zone montane caratterizzate da una forte variabilità altimetrica. Inoltre i dati meteorologici disponibili possono presentarsi in formato non adeguato rispetto alle esigenze del modello previsionale. Con l’intento di avere una visione regionale e una maggiore accuratezza nella gestione del controllo delle malattie, l’obiettivo della tesi è stato l’utilizzo contemporaneo di modelli epidemiologici (Lobesia botrana e Erysiphe necator, agente causale dell’oidio della vite) con modelli fenologici (cultivar di vite Chardonnay) utilizzando parametri meteorologici come la temperatura per creare mappe a livello regionale, a frequenza giornaliera e con una risoluzione spaziale di 200 metri. L’utilizzo contemporaneo di entrambi i modelli aiuta ad essere più precisi nel consigliare interventi colturali nel periodo di sensibilità dell’ospite nei confronti del patogeno o della malattia in modo da poterne stimare il reale rischio di diffusione o insorgenza. Dopo aver calibrato e validato i modelli in Trentino-Alto Adige (Nord Italia) con dati metereologici locali, basandoci sul modello del cambiamento climatico HadAM3 dell’Hadley Centre (Pope et al., 2000),l’andamento climatico previsto è stato proiettato e statisticamente portato. in scala, utilizzando lo scenario A2 e B2. L’algoritmo statistico utilizzato per ridurre la scala giornaliera di risoluzione è chiamato “transfer function” (Eccel et al., 2009). Per completare l’analisi, è stato inoltre utilizzato lo scenario ridimensionato di ENSEMBLES attraverso l’uso di set di dati provenienti da 49 stazioni meteorologiche della FEM e dal pacchetto “RMAWGEN” (Cordano et al., 2012) creato con il software statistico R. (Gentleman et al., 1997). Per mappare i modelli è stata sviluppata una semplice piattaforma modulare WEB-GIS chiamata ENVIRO. I moduli sono “Open Source” e seguono gli standard internazionali dell’“Open Geospatial Consortium” (OGC) e sono stati implementati come segue: i) enviDB è il database per i dati spazio-temporali, ii) enviGRID permette agli utenti di navigare attraverso i dati e i modelli nello spazio e nel tempo, iii) enviMapper è l’interfaccia web per prendere le decisioni, consiste in uno stato dell’arte per mappare la vulnerabilità del cambiamento climatico a diverse scale di aggregazione nello spazio e nel tempo, iv) enviModel è l’interfaccia web per i ricercatori a cui viene fornita una piattaforma per processare e condividere modelli di rischio ambientali utilizzando il “web processing Technologies” (WPS) seguendo gli standard OGC. Con l’obiettivo di diventare ancora più accurati nelle previsioni dei volumi per i trattamenti contro insetti e malattie, in accordo con la direttiva 2009/128/EC, il seguente lavoro dimostra che il sensore LIDAR può essere utilizzato per caratterizzare la geometria della pianta della vite e stimare l’area fogliare (LAI) ad ogni stadio di crescita. Inoltre permette di calcolare il volume da applicare (Tree Row Volume -TRV) visualizzato nelle mappe 3D in GRASS. (Neteler et al., 2008, Neteler et al., 2012). / Control of agricultural pests and diseases is often based on forecasting models commonly based on real time monitoring of inputs variables. This information generally combines meteorological local databases and mathematical models designed to forecast pest and disease risk. The decision process starts when an alert or a potential risk event from the outputs of the models is issued. Epidemiological models based on local datasets have been created and validated worldwide, for example in USA, the University of California developed the online Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program where each farmer can consult with his own database and make the pest management decision based on site-specific conditions. Difficulties arise when no data from a close weather station are available, in mountain areas where weather conditions highly depend on the altimetry, or if data are not in a standard format to feed the model. In a view of having a regional vision and an increased accuracy in the pest control management, the goal of this thesis was to run contemporaneously epidemiological (the pest Lobesia botrana and the pathogen causing Powdery mildew Erysiphe necator) and phenological models (grapevine cv. chardonnay) using environmental variables as temperature and to create maps at regional level, with 200 meters of resolution and daily scale or frequency. Running both models together helps to be more precise in the sensibility period of the host versus the pest or the disease and to understand the real final risk. After calibrating and validating the models in the Trentino-Alto Adige Region (Italy) with local weather data, the forecasted climate was projected and statistically downscaled, based on the output of the Hadley Centre climate model - HadAM3 (Pope et al., 2000) under scenarios A2 and B2. The statistical downscaling algorithm was “transfer function method” (Eccel et al., 2009) at daily resolution. In order to complete the analysis, the downscaled scenario from ENSEMBLES was also used with the datasets of 49 weather stations from FEM and the “RMAWGEN” packages (Cordano et al., 2012) created for this project in R statistical open source software (Gentleman et al., 1997). In order to map the models, a friendly modular WEB-GIS platform called ENVIRO was developed. Modules are Open Source, follow international Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards and were implemented as follows: i) enviDB is the database for spatial temporal data, ii) enviGRID allows users to navigate through data and model in space and time, iii) enviMapper is the web interface for decision makers, a state of the art client to map vulnerability to climate change at different aggregation scales in time and space; finally, iv) enviModel is the web interface for researchers that provides a platform to process and share environmental risk models using web geo-processing technologies (WPS) following OGC standards. With the aim of being even more accurate in pests and diseases spraying volumes and according with the Directive 2009/128/EC, the current work shows that the LIDAR sensor can be used to characterize the geometry of the grapevine and the Leaf Area Index (LAI) at each growth stage and calculate the Tree Row Volume (TRV) visualized in 3D maps in GRASS (Neteler et al., 2008, Neteler et al., 2012).