Good weeds

“To control weeds in agricultural processes we cannot simply look for substitutes for chemical herbicides and/or seeds that have been genetically modified for this purpose; it is important to intervene in all processes relating to the lives and growth of plants. One might, for example, intervene in the germination rate of individual seeds in competition with one another by knowing how and when weed seeds that have been present in the soil for some time might germinate. If we think of weeds as an enemy that we have to fight, we will undoubtedly emerge defeated, but if we try to get to know them, we will also be able to take advantage of them to help us achieve a biological balance between mankind and the rest of the living world.”

Valentino Mercati

Valentino Mercati is the founder of Aboca S.p.A. Società Agricola. He has a degree in Plant and Microbial Biotechnology and is the inventor and owner of several product and process patents in the field of medicinal plants, their transformation and extraction. An Honorary Fellow of the Accademia dei Georgofili and the Accademia dei Fisiocritici, he is the author of scientific publications and articles and a speaker at conferences and congresses.

Stefano Benvenuti is a member of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Agri-Environmental Sciences at the University of Pisa. In 2018, he was appointed tenured professor of Agronomy and Herbaceous and Horticultural Systems. In 2019, he was nominated as a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili. He is the author of some 200 scientific publications. He has been collaborating with the company Aboca for over twenty years in projects focusing on the sustainability of agroecosystems which are managed by organic farming systems.