PROJECTS  

• REMIND: Do crop plants remember stress? Effect of water stress memory on crop resilience in response to recurrent drought and recovery events

• PB-PINE: Short and long term effects of prescribed burning on soil-plant system in alpine forest stands (Pinus sylvestris L.) 

• MITIWOOD: Holistic understanding of xylem recovery from water stress to mitigate future climate impact on woody plants 

• MicroCT-xRec: The main goal of the proposed research is to use concurrently physiological treatments and in vivo 3-D micro-tomography to gain mechanistic insight into biological activity of poplar vessels-parenchyma complex during the cycle of embolism and subsequent recovery of hydraulic conductivity (recovery). 

Recent publications (2021-2025)

• Gamba R, Negri S, Bono A, Cavalletto S, Crivellaro A, Piermattei A, Canale L, Chicarella A, Ughetti M, Motta R, Ascoli D, Bonifacio E, Secchi F (2025) Prescribed burning has negligible effects on the plant-soil system in Scots pine forests of the European Alps. Scientific Report 15:12076. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-97239-1 

• Rolando M, Ganugi P, Secchi F, Said Pullicino D, Bonifacio E, Celi L.  (2025) Response of native (Quercus robur L.) and alien (Quercus rubra L.) species to water stress and nutrient input in temperate ecosystems. Physiologia Plantarum 177(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70070

• Piermattei A, Secchi F, Tricerri N, Aloni R, Gamba R, Ruffinatto F, Crivellaro A. (2025) First Record of Blue Ring in a Dicotyledonous Angiosperm Wood. Trees-Structure and Function 39:1. 1.  doi:10.1007/s00468-024-02592-9

• Moine A, Chitarra W, Nerva L, Agliassa C, Gambino G, Secchi F, Pagliarani C, Boccacci P. (2024) Grafting with non-suckering rootstock increases drought tolerance in Corylus avellana L. through physiological and biochemical adjustments. Physiologia Plantarum 176(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70003

• Vuerich M, Petrussa, Boscutti F, Braidot E, Filippi A, Petruzzellis F, Tomasella M, Tromba G, Pizzuto M, Nardini A, Secchi F, Casolo V. (2023) Contrasting Responses of Two Grapevine Cultivars to Drought: The Role of Non-Structural Carbohydrates in Xylem Hydraulic Recovery. Plant and Cell Physiology 7;64 (8):920-932. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcad066

• Secchi F, Bevilacqua I, Agliassa C, Maghrebi M, Cavalletto S, Morabito C, Lembo S, Vigani G. (2023) Alkaline soil primes the recovery from drought in Populus nigra plants through physiological and chemical adjustments. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 201:107838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.107838

• Rosso L, Cantamessa S, Bergante S, Biselli C, Fricano A, Chiarabaglio  PM, Gennaro M, Nervo G, Secchi F, Carra A. (2023) Responses to drought stress in poplar: what do we know and what can we learn? 15;13(2):533. https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020533

• Pagliarani C, Moine A, Chitarra W, Nerva L, Catoni M, Tavazza R, Matic S, Vallino M, Secchi F, Noris E (2022) The C4 protein of tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus primes drought tolerance in tomato through morphological adjustments. Horticulture research, 27:9:uhac164. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhac164

• Morabito C, Orozco J, Tonel G, Cavalletto S, Meloni GR, Schubert A, Gullino ML, Zwieniecki MA, Secchi F. (2021) Do the ends justify the means? Impact of drought progression rate on stress response and recovery in Vitis vinifera. Physiologia Plantarum 174(1):e13590 https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.13590

• Campobenedetto C, Agliassa C, Manino G, Vigliante I, Contartese V, Secchi F, Bertea CM. (2021) A Biostimulant Based on Seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum and Laminaria digitata) and Yeast Extracts Mitigates Water Stress Effects on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Agriculture 11(6)

• Agliassa C, Manino G, Molino D, Cavalletto S, Contartese V, Bertea CM, Secchi F. (2021) A new protein hydrolysate-based biostimulant applied by fertigation promotes relief from drought stress in Capsicum annuum L. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 166:1076-1086 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.07.015

• Morabito C, Secchi F, Schubert A. (2021) Grapevine TPS family genes are differentially regulated during development, upon sugar treatment and drought stress. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 164: 54-62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.04.032

• Secchi F, Pagliarani C, Cavalletto S, Petruzzellis F, Tonel G, Savi T, Tromba G, Obertino MM, Lovisolo C, Nardini A, Zwieniecki MA. (2021) Chemical inhibition of xylem cellular activity impedes the removal of drought-induced embolisms in poplar stems – new insights from micro-CT analysis. New Phytologist 229, 2: 820-830 https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16912