I am an Italian PhD candidate of Crop system analysis and Forest ecology and management group. My research work focus on modelling cocoa pruning and shading responses. More generally my research interest ranges from modelling to plant ecophysiology and plant responses to environmental drivers both in managed and natural systems. I hold a MSc degree in Environmental Biology at Utrecht University where I worked on plant economy spectrum in response to water availability and on stomatal adaptation to high CO2.
I am one of the PhD candidates of the WOTRO -Cocoa project, where I work on developing a functional structural model of cocoa to simulate pruning and shading responses. Next to modelling I am also running field experiments in Ivory Coast to explore effect of pruning in adults and juvenie cocoa plants