Italian and UK Manufacturing compared

Although the Italian economy has seen a steady growth in the importance of the service sector, manufacturing still plays a key role in the economy. It employs 32 per cent of the active population and accounts for about 33 per cent of the country’s gross national product. For this reason, the performance of Italian manufacturing plants relative to their international counterparts is of considerable domestic importance, as well as highly relevant for those interested in wider European comparisons and benchmarks. This article reports on a research project that looked at the performance of manufacturing plants in Italy, and in the

Participatory Barley Variety Selection and Farmers’ Selection Criteria in the Bale Highlands of Southeastern Ethiopia

The aim of the study was to identify farmers’ selection criteria, preferences and generate baseline information on the importance of participatory  barley breeding in Southeastern part of Ethiopia. The experiment was  conducted in non-replicated plots at each location on plot size of 16m2 in 2007 Bona and on 25m2 in 2008 Ganna and Bona cropping seasons. Yield data was taken in kg plot-1 and converted in to t ha-1 .Selection criteria was set together with farmers; and ranked by farmers and breeders. Farmers and breeders made visual score of each plot on 1-5 scale beside variety selection. Some farmers were supported by the staff in case of datarecording problem. The result showed that grain yield, disease resistance, effective tillers, early maturity and kernel size (plumpness) were among the most important selection criteria commonly used farmers. While, breeders preferred high yielding variety with insect and disease resistant and early maturing types. And farmers were able to identify the higher yielding barley varieties as breeders. Varieties such as Guta, Dinsho, Biftu and Abdane were selected as the best varieties preferred by most of the local farmers across locations except at Hora Soba (Upper Dinsho) site. Shage, Dimtu varieties and 27th IBON 73/99 (semi-dwarf advanced line) were preferred by the Hora Soba local farmers. Thus, attention should be given to seed multiplication and dissemination of barley varieties which have been highly preferred by the local farmers. It is important to consider farmers preferences in crop improvement to improve the adoption of  agricultural technologies which ultimately have significant contribution in production and productivity

Selection of artichoke plants and analysis of correlation between quantitative traits for fresh consumption

The goals of the present study were to evaluate and select artichoke plants suitable for fresh consumption and to establish correlations between quantitative traits. Clones from 39 accessions were obtained from the germplasm collection of the University of Passo Fundo and evaluated for 17 quantitative and 3 qualitative traits. Data on quantitative traits were subjected to analysis of variance followed by a Tukey test at p<0.05 to compare averages, and correlations were analyzed using the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. Significant differences were observed for 9 of the 17 quantitative traits analyzed, and 10 of the 39 accessions presented higher values for some of those traits than the remaining tested accessions. Significant correlations were observed between several traits and the capitulum yield, which makes indirect selection easier. For the qualitative traits, nine accessions were selected that presented circular head, violet colored bracts and absence of thorns, which are desirable traits for fresh consumption.Los objetivos del presente estudio fueron evaluar y seleccionar plantas de alcachofa aptas para consumo en fresco y establecer correlaciones entre caracteres cuantitativos. Treinta y nueve accesiones pertenecientes a la colección de germoplasma de la Universidad de Passo Fundo fueron clonadas y luego evaluadas para 17 caracteres cuantitativos y 3 cualitativos. Los datos correspondientes a los caracteres cuantitativos fueron sometidos a análisis de varianza seguido por una prueba comparación de valores medios de Tukey (p<0,05); las correlaciones fueron analizadas utilizando el coeficiente de correlación de Pearson. Se observaron diferencias significativas para 9 de los 17 caracteres cuantitativos analizados y 10 de las 39 accesiones mostraron elevados valores para algunos de esos caracteres. Se observaron valores significativos de correlación entre varios caracteres y el rendimiento, lo que facilita la selección indirecta. Considerando los caracteres cualitativos, se seleccionaron nueve accesiones por presentar capítulo esférico, brácteas violetas y ausencia de espinas, las cuales son características deseables para el consumo en fresco.Fil: Reolon Costa, A.. Universidade de Passo Fundo; BrasilFil: Grando, M. F.. Universidade de Passo Fundo; BrasilFil: Cravero, Vanina Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Almeida, A.. Universidade de Passo Fundo; Brasi

Designing high efficiency glow discharge cleaning systems

In this paper we present our studies about the choices of anode design and operational regime in order to get high efficiency glow discharge cleaning of the first wall of a fusion device. We analyzed a database of toroidal and poloidal profiles of the ion current density at the wall, measured by electrostatic probes embedded in RFX-mod first wall tiles, taken in different configurations. The ion current at the wall, both global and local, is in fact strictly connected to the cleaning efficiency, since during glow discharge the wall is physically sputtered by the ions. We found that small size anodes and high in-vessel pressure lead to the peaking of the current profile around the anodes locations, and we experimentally characterized this effect. Instead, we found that anode radial position in the poloidal section has negligible effect on current density profile, even when the anodes are placed at the first wall. Finally, the most convenient operational regime, in terms of pressure and current, has been proposed. Keywords: RFX-mod, Glow discharge, Wall cleaning, Ion current profile, Anode desig

In vitro screening of interspecific hybrids (Malus spp.) for resistance to apple proliferation

A breeding programme was set up six years ago in Trentino as part of the Project “Scopazzi del Melo - Apple Proliferation” (SMAP) in order to obtain AP resistant apple rootstocks.Twenty-six hybrids generated from the crossings (Malus sieboldii, second generation, x Malus domestica) were micropropagated and studied in standardised conditions. An in vitro screening system for AP resistance previously set for the parents of the crosses was adopted and modified. Specific symptoms of the disease, as well as height and basal proliferation of the shoot and size of the leaves, were recorded in vitro at 3 months post-inoculation. At the same time, phytoplasma concentration was determined in the whole shoot by quantitative RT-PCR. An in vitro disease index taking into account all the above-mentioned parameters was developed.Each healthy genotype was graft-inoculated in triplicate with two different phytoplasma strains after plant rooting and acclimatisation. Phenotype and phytoplasma titre were evaluated in the roots the year after infection.Preliminary results indicated that the resistance trait segregates in the progenies. The resistant genotypes had lower phytoplasma concentrations than the susceptible controls, did not show AP-specific symptoms and their growth was not affected by infection. By comparing the resistant behaviour of the same genotypes, the in vitro screening allows for a quick selection of genotypes that are worth evaluating in the field for agronomic traits.Keywords: Apple Proliferation, Malus sieboldii, resistance screening, quantitative real-time PCR, disease inde

RAPD markers in wild and cultivated Vitis vinifera

Some Vitis vinifera cultivars and V. vinifera ssp. silvestris individuals have been subjected to the RAPD analysis in order to estimate the genetic diversity existing within this germplasm. 44 decamer primers of arbitrary sequence have been used for PCR and reproducible band profiles have been obtained. The distribution of the individualized polymorphic DNA markers has not turned out to be different in a remarkable way between cultivated and wild grapevines but this RAPD approach provides for some characteristics useful to analyze genetic relationships even within the Vitis vinifera species

Modelling Plant Capacity and Productivity: The Multi-Machine Case

This study deals with systems (lines, departments or production units) made up of multiple machines, and it analyzes the meaning and assessment of productivity, utilization, efficiency and so forth at system level. Special emphasis is placed on calculating indices for the whole system starting from parameters referred to a single machine. Two basic system types are discussed, i.e. pure parallel systems and pure serial systems. The latter ones are further split into serial systems with tightly interconnected machines (i.e. without buffers), serial systems with loosely interconnected machines (i.e. provided with some decoupling buffers among stages), and independent departments systems

The parentage of 'Sangiovese', the most important Italian wine grape

A previous microsatellite study pointed out a possible parent-offspring relationship between 'Sangiovese', the most widespread red grape cultivar in Italy, and 'Ciliegiolo', an ancient Tuscan variety. Testing 'Sangiovese' as a parent of 'Ciliegiolo', we searched for the putative other parent in our extensive, private and standardized database, but we did not find any candidate. Testing 'Ciliegiolo' as a parent of 'Sangiovese', we found four candidate cultivars. After the analysis of 50 microsatellites, only one stood the paternity test and we established with a strong statistical support that 'Sangiovese' is a progeny of 'Ciliegiolo' and 'Calabrese di Montenuovo', an obscure grapevine from Campania, Italy. This cultivar does not have a registered name and is supposed to have been introduced from Calabria. Among 180 additional local grape cultivars from Calabria, Campania or Tuscany, we did not find any matching variety. As a consequence, we propose to adopt the name 'Calabrese di Montenuovo' for this grape cultivar. In addition, we found relatives of 'Sangiovese' and 'Calabrese di Montenuovo' in Calabria, thus strongly suggesting a Calabrian origin for 'Calabrese di Montenuovo' and indicating that 'Sangiovese' has ancestors and/or progenies in Tuscany and in Southern Italy.

Patterns of genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium in a highly structured Hordeum vulgare association-mapping population for the Mediterranean basin

Population structure and genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) were investigated in 192 Hordeum vulgare accessions providing a comprehensive coverage of past and present barley breeding in the Mediterranean basin, using 50 nuclear microsatellite and 1,130 DArT® markers. Both clustering and principal coordinate analyses clearly sub-divided the sample into five distinct groups centred on key ancestors and regions of origin of the germplasm. For given genetic distances, large variation in LD values was observed, ranging from closely linked markers completely at equilibrium to marker pairs at 50 cM separation still showing significant LD. Mean LD values across the whole population sample decayed below r 2 of 0.15 after 3.2 cM. By assaying 1,130 genome-wide DArT® markers, we demonstrated that, after accounting for population substructure, current genome coverage of 1 marker per 1.5 cM except for chromosome 4H with 1 marker per 3.62 cM is sufficient for whole genome association scans. We show, by identifying associations with powdery mildew that map in genomic regions known to have resistance loci, that associations can be detected in strongly stratified samples provided population structure is effectively controlled in the analysis. The population we describe is, therefore, shown to be a valuable resource, which can be used in basic and applied research in barle

Genetic relationships among local Vitis vinifera cultivars from Campania (Italy)

A total of 114 accessions putatively corresponding to 69 local grape cultivars from Campania (Southern Italy) were analysed with 8 microsatellite markers (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, VVMD25, VVMD27, VVMD31, VrZAG62 and VrZAG79) in order to evaluate their genetic diversity and relationships. According to their unique genotype at SSR loci finally 56 varieties were found. Interesting cases of synonymy, i.e. Greco di Tufo and Asprinio, Palummina and Piedirosso, and homonymy were disclosed. Pairwise genetic distances were calculated between all cultivars. Clustering of cultivars did not reflect their current distribution and this suggests that grape cultivars of Campania might have been introduced from various and distinct geographic areas