Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;
Francesco Vinale is an Associate Professor at the University of Naples Federico II. His research focuses on the purification and characterization of microbial bioactive metabolites and their roles in biological systems and plant–microbe interactions, using metabolomics approaches. He leads a research group working on the application of beneficial microorganisms and their metabolites in agriculture, industry, and environmental bioremediation. Dr. Vinale acts as a reviewer, editor and panel member for international journals and projects, is involved in several national and EU-funded research initiatives. He is the author of four patents and over 200 scientific publications.

Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy;
Full professor of Plant Pathology at Marche Polytechnic University, he investigates sustainable innovative approaches for the management of plant diseases, with a focus on basic substances. One of them, chitosan, was investigated since 30 years in different pathosystems, to control preharvest (e.g. grapevine downy mildew) and postharvest diseases of fresh fruit. He is Chair of COST Action CA22134 FoodWaStop

Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy;
I'm associate professor in Agronomy and Crop Science at the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Bologna University (Italy). I mainly focus on oilseed crops and pulses studies. In particular I carried out studies on the cropping systems, crop management, aiming at input reduction, as well as facing the effect of climate change and related abiotic stresses.

Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;
Marco Masi is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II. His research primarily focuses on the isolation and chemical characterization of bioactive natural substances. Over the past 15 years, Prof. Masi has specialized in the extraction and purification of low molecular weight compounds derived from plants and microorganisms, utilizing advanced spectroscopic techniques for structural determination. He also carried out several studies on the mode of action of the these bioactive compounds and on their structure-activity relationships. Prof. Masi is co-author of more than 220 articles and of several communications at national and international congresses. He has established national and international collaboration with Research Centres and Universities and has participated to several scientific research projects. He currently serves on the editorial boards of several leading journals in his field.

Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;
Associate Professor of organic chemistry since October 1, 2018 at the Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II. He has acquired over 20 years of experience mainly in organic chemistry, isolation and chemical characterization of bioactive metabolites produced by microorganisms and plants. In particular, the stereo structural determination and hemi synthesis of bioactive metabolites and studies on structure-activity relationships and on their action mode, have been carried out by using advanced spectrometric, spectroscopic and chiroptical methods. He has established national and international collaboration with Research Centers and Universities and has participated to several scientific international and national research projects. He is co-author of more than 249 scientific publications in the international journals and 80 communications at national and international congresses. h index 47. Citations 7421.

Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia;
Prof. Weston’s research focuses on chemical ecology and physiology with an emphasis on the generation of a deeper understanding of the plant rhizosphere and its associated microbiome, and how plant interactions with weeds, herbivores, and pests as well as biocontrol organisms are mediated by secondary products. Research interests have included development of a fundamental understanding of the localization, biosynthesis, and regulation of secondary plant products including those in root exudates as sources of novel chemistry. Recently, metabolomics and genomics approaches have been undertaken to investigate complex biosynthetic pathways impacting plant defense and microbial interactions. Applied research has focused on large multidisciplinary research projects for prevention of herbicide resistance in common pasture and crop weeds, and development of alternative management strategies for weeds and livestock pests, including the use of biocontrol agents such as dung beetles, crown weevils and flea beetles. Prof Weston also explores soil health and microbial diversity within the plant rhizosphere and the role of bioactive molecules in plant defense and weed suppression. In May 2023, Leslie was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

SCU Plant Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia;
Carlo Leifert (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2974-3612) is currently an Adjunct Professor at Southern Cross University (SCU) and visiting professor at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science and the Department of Nutrition at the Oslo University Medical School. Prior to retiring in 2020 he was Director of Organic Farming Research Centres at Southern Cross, Newcastle and Aberdeen University (1998-2020) and served part-time as Dean for Business Development (2014-2016) in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering at Newcastle University. He owns and manages a small certified organic farm in Crete, Greece producing organic olive oil and herbs.

Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain;
He has been a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Cádiz (Spain) since 2000 and served as Director of the Institute of Biomolecules (INBIO) from 2014 to 2021. He has been distinguished with several prestigious awards, including the Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Award from the Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE) in 1999, the Molisch Award from the International Allelopathy Society (IAS) in 2011, and the Gold Medal of the European Forum in 2015. He has also been recognised among the top 2% of scientists worldwide by the Stanford University Ranking of World Scientists for 2021-2025. His scientific philosophy is founded on learning from nature. His research interests concentrate on various aspects of allelopathy, involving higher plants and microorganisms, and include studies of natural and modified ecosystems, as well as the development of new methodologies for allelopathic research. During this period, his research group has isolated, identified, characterised, synthesised, and evaluated the bioactivity of more than 3,500 potential allelochemicals and their derivatives, covering a broad range of chemical families, including aglycones and glycosides such as simple phenolics, coumarins, flavonoids, lignans, and terpenoids (mono-, sesqui-, di-, spirodi-, mero-, and triterpenoids), as well as benzoxazinoids and steroids, among others, with applications in agriculture and medicine. He is the author of more than 15 international patents and has published over 360 scientific contributions, including journal articles and book chapters. He has supervised 35 PhD theses and has delivered more than 400 invited lectures worldwide.

Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel;
Joshua D. Klein has worked at  the Israel Ministry of Agriculture's  Volcani Center-Agricultural Research Organization since 1986, on subjects such as apple and citron storage, induced drought resistance in wheat  and leafy green vegetables, and willow silage as a healthy food supplement for cows, sheep and goats. He has collaborated extensively with researchers around the world.

Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Slagelse, Denmark;
Per Kudsk is a professor emeritus at the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University in Denmark. He has done research on various aspects of integrated weed management. He has coordinated and been a partner in several national and international research projects in the EU, Africa and South America. He served as President of the European Weed Research Society from 2008 to 2009. In 2014, he was appointed Honorary Member of the Weed Science Society of America. He is regularly involved in providing research-based policy support on pesticide use to relevant Danish authorities. He has authored or co-authored more than 130 papers published in peerreviewed articles and as book chapters. He edited the book ‘Advances in integrated weed management’ published in 2022. He has been an invited speaker at more than 25 international conferences. Homepage: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/per.kudsk%40agro.au.dk/.

The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas, USA;
Tim Crews is the Chief Scientist and Director of the International Initiative of the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. He is broadly interested in which attributes of natural systems, like grasslands or forests, can be integrated into agroecosystems to improve agricultural sustainability through ecological intensification. He is currently focused on helping to facilitate the international expansion of research on perennial grain agriculture. Before coming to The Land Institute in September 2012, Tim was a Professor of Environmental Studies and Agroecology at Prescott College in Arizona for 18 years. He was also a visiting researcher in Australia with CSIRO and with Rothamsted Research in the U.K. Tim received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and was an Ecology post-doc fellow at Stanford University.

Harper Adams Business School, Harper Adams University, Newport, UK;
Professor Karl Behrendt is the Elizabeth Creak Chair in Agri‑Tech Economic Modelling and research centre lead of the Global Institute for Agri‑Tech Economics at Harper Adams University (UK). He is an applied agricultural economist with over 30 years of international experience spanning academia, agricultural consultancy, and livestock farming. His research focuses on the bioeconomic modelling of regenerative and sustainable farming systems, agri‑tech adoption, soil health, and net‑zero transitions, working closely with policymakers, industry, and farmers. Professor Behrendt has led major projects funded by Defra, UKRI, AHDB, EU Horizon, and international partners, providing evidence that directly shapes agricultural and environmental policy.

Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy;
Giovanni Dinelli, PhD, is Full Professor at the University of Bologna since 2014, Director of Master course on Organic Production. His research interests are focused on the various forms of low-impact agriculture (organic farming), with particular emphasis on the environmental impact and the effect on human health. Currently his research focuses on the theme of winter cereals and legumes. He is engaged in national (BIOADAPT, BIOVANT, SAVE) and international (FOODSTAR, DIVERSIFOOD, GREAT LIFE, ENFASYS, CONSERWA) research projects. He is the author of over 200 papers, published in national and international journals with impact factor.