CHANGES OF THE EU POLICIES IN HORTICULTURE

The EU policy in horticulture has switched its aim from price support to integration of farmers' income. Regulation 2200/96 established the new European Market Regulation (CMO) in horticulture. On this base the producers' organizations (PO) are no longer a political institution but a real economic organization with the objectives of planning and concentrating the production. At the same time, the UE has promulgated another plan (Decision n.2796 of 10/10/96 applying the objectives of the Reg. 2081/93), which is specific for Italian regions in "Objective 1" namely with low average income. This issue establishes the commercial macro organizations with the target of concentrating the supply of the producers' organizations in order to achieve countervailing power and economies of scale in services and trade. These new issues come out within a general framework of international agreements promoting cooperation and free trade areas (Mediterranean, Magreb, PECO,...). The impact on the European horticultural system will be tremendous in terms of production assessment and food chain organization and management.horticulture, European Union, market, policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q13,

CHANGES OF THE EU POLICIES IN HORTICULTURE

The EU policy in horticulture has switched its aim from price support to integration of farmers' income. Regulation 2200/96 established the new European Market Regulation (CMO) in horticulture. On this base the producers' organizations (PO) are no longer a political institution but a real economic organization with the objectives of planning and concentrating the production. At the same time, the UE has promulgated another plan (Decision n.2796 of 10/10/96 applying the objectives of the Reg. 2081/93), which is specific for Italian regions in "Objective 1" namely with low average income. This issue establishes the commercial macro organizations with the target of concentrating the supply of the producers' organizations in order to achieve countervailing power and economies of scale in services and trade. These new issues come out within a general framework of international agreements promoting cooperation and free trade areas (Mediterranean, Magreb, PECO,...). The impact on the European horticultural system will be tremendous in terms of production assessment and food chain organization and management

L'utilizzazione della rete di contabilit agraria in Emilia Romagna

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). Biblioteca Centrale / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Controlled electrochemical functionalization of MOx nanostructures by Au NPs for gas sensing application

ABSTRACTStabilized Au NPs were directly deposited on nanostructured ZnO and ZrO2 by a simple one-step strategy based on sacrificial anode electrolysis. The annealed nanocomposites are proposed as active layers in resistive gas sensors for low-cost processes. Results on the performance of gas sensors based on pristine and Au-doped MOx nanostructured thin films, used for the detection of NO2 gas, were reported at an operating temperature of 300°C, evaluating the effects of the MOx chemical composition and morphology, and the Au-doping.</jats:p

Evaluation of gas-sensing properties of ZnO nanostructures electrochemically doped with Au nanophases

A one-step electrochemical method based on sacrificial anode electrolysis (SAE) was used to deposit stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) directly on the surface of nanostructured ZnO powders, previously synthesized through a sol–gel process. The effect of thermal annealing temperatures (300 and 550 °C) on chemical, morphological, and structural properties of pristine and Au-doped ZnO nancomposites (Au@ZnO) was investigated. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), revealed the successful deposition of nanoscale gold on the surface of spherical and rod-like ZnO nanostructures, obtained after annealing at 300 and 550 °C, respectively. The pristine ZnO and Au@ZnO nanocomposites are proposed as active layer in chemiresistive gas sensors for low-cost processing. Gas-sensing measurements towards NO2 were collected at 300 °C, evaluating not only the Au-doping effect, but also the influence of the different ZnO nanostructures on the gas-sensing properties

Electrophoretic deposition of Au NPs on MWCNT-based gas sensor for tailored gas detection with enhanced sensing properties

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based gas sensors were decorated by an electrophoretic deposition of electrochemically preformed gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with controlled size and loading, for the detection of gaseous pollutants at sub-ppm concentrations and operating temperature in the range of 100-200 °C. The effects of the tailored Au content on the sensitivity and selectivity of MWCNT-based gas sensors were evaluated towards the NO2 monitoring, and also towards some interfering reducing gases, such as NH3 and H2S. Gas sensing measurement revealed the highest NO2 response up to sub-ppm level by using MWCNTs functionalized by the lowest Au content; instead, the worse NO2 response was obtained by modified MWNTs containing the highest Au loading. Moreover, the control of the deposited gold loading has allowed to control the MWCNT sensing response; specifically the increase of gold content on MWCNT has reduced the selectivity and sensitivity towards NO2 gas, and, on the contrary, at the same time it has improved those towards H2S and NH3 interfering gases. Finally, binary gas mixtures (NO2/H2S and NO2/NH3) were performed to evaluate the detection of the targeted NO2 gas, simulating possible real-world conditions

Sensitive detection of hydrocarbon gases using electrochemically Pd-modified ZnO chemiresistors

ristine and electrochemically Pd-modified ZnO nanorods (ZnO NRs) were proposed as active sensing layers in chemiresistive gas sensors for hydrocarbon (HC) gas detection (e.g., CH4, C3H8, C4H10). The presence of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of ZnO NRs, obtained after the thermal treatment at 550 °C, was revealed by morphological and surface chemical analyses, using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The effect of the Pd catalyst on the performance of the ZnO-based gas sensor was evaluated by comparing the sensing results with those of pristine ZnO NRs, at an operating temperature of 300 °C and for various HC gas concentrations in the range of 30-1000 ppm. The Pd-modified ZnO NRs showed a higher selectivity and sensitivity compared to pristine ZnO NRs. The mean sensitivity of Pd-modified ZnO NRs towards the analyzed HCs gases increased with the length of the hydrocarbon chain of the target gas molecule. Finally, the evaluation of the selectivity revealed that the presence or the absence of metal nanoparticles on ZnO NRs improves the selectivity in the detection of specific HCs gaseous molecules

Enhancement of the gas sensing performance of carbon nanotube networked films based on their electrophoretic functionalization with gold nanoparticles

Controlled amounts of colloidal Au nanoparticles (NPs), electrochemically presynthesized, were directly deposited on MWCNTs sensor devices by electrophoresis. Pristine and Au-functionalized MWCNT networked films were tested as active layers in resistive gas sensors for detection of pollutant gases. Au-modified CNT-chemiresistor demonstrated higher sensitivity to NO2 detecting up to sub-ppm level compared to pristine one. The investigation of the cross-sensitivity towards other pollutant gases revealed the decrease of the sensitivity to NO2 with the increase of Au content, and, on the other side, the increase of that to H2S; therefore the fine tune of the metal loading on CNTs has allowed to control not only the gas sensitivity but also the selectivity towards a specific gaseous analyte. Finally, the sensing properties of Audecorated CNT sensor seem to be promising in environmental and automotive gas sensing applications, based on low power consumption and moderate operating temperature