9th Technical Forum on Plant Health

On November 26, 2025 , the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza will host a new edition of the Technical Forum on Plant Health , a benchmark meeting that each year brings together researchers, advisors, farmers and companies from the agricultural sector around the latest advances in crop protection, experimentation and precision agriculture .

Organized by the Government of Aragon , the event will feature the participation of leading specialists and will be structured in three thematic blocks: experimentation in crops, plant health and a debate panel on digitalization and artificial intelligence in the Aragonese countryside .

Part I. Experimentation in crops

The day will begin at 09:00 with a speech by María Aitziber Lanza , Director General of Quality and Food Safety, followed by a session on experiences in plant health by technicians from CITA-CSCV , who will present practical cases in fruit trees (Carol Sánchez) , extensive crops (Javier Nocito) and vineyards (Idoya Serrano) .

Part II. Plant Health

Starting at 09:55 h , topics of the highest current interest will be addressed, such as precision crop protection , by Emilio Gil (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), the use of drones in plant health , with Ana Isabel de Castro (INIA-CSIC), and the early detection of diseases , presented by Pedro Castro (University of Seville).

Digital tools applied to crop management will also be presented, with the case of the apple tree presented by Joan Bonany (IRTA-Mas Badia), and the importance of the pneumatic system in application equipment will be discussed by Javier García , professor at the University of Zaragoza.

Part III. Panel discussion and closing remarks

The forum will close with a panel discussion on precision agriculture and artificial intelligence in the Aragonese countryside , moderated by Ángel Jiménez , which will bring together José Ramón Acín (farmer, Finca Bizcarra), Adrián Jarné (Bodega Viñas del Vero) and Manel Porqueras (Bayer Cropscience SL), who will share their practical experience on the use of emerging technologies in agronomic management.

The day will conclude with the presentation of the II Carlos Lozano Aragón Photography Prize and the official closing by Jorge Badules , head of the Plant Health and Certification Service.

The meeting will be presented and moderated by journalist Carlos Espatolero .