Morphometric and phytochemical characterization and elevation effect on yield of three potato landraces of the Ligurian Apennines (Northern Italy)

The great adaptability, productivity and importance in human diet conditioned the diffusion of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in very different areas, leading to the formation of numerous landraces through anthropic or natural selection. Genoa mountainous inland is an historical area for potato cultivation and landraces are preserved by farmers associations as “Consorzio della Quarantina”. The aim of this study was the phytochemical and morphometric characterization of three potato landraces of the consortium (Quarantina Bianca, Quarantina Prugnona and Rubra spes) analysing the bio-agronomical performance at different elevations. The commercial cultivar Kennebec was used as control. For the morphometric analysis, the results of pairwise MANOVA shows that only Quarantina Bianca does not present significant differences with Kennebec in the mean shape. The four potato varieties resulted significantly different for the most of the considered phytochemical aspects (among content in ash, starch, solanine, total flavonoids, total phenols, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and radical scavenging activity only starch and solanine content didn’t result statistically different). A remarkable result was a more consistent yield for all the varieties with the increase of elevation in the agronomical trials. We can conclude that Genovese landraces are a good choice to exploit Genovese mountain marginal territories

How harvest, cleaning and conservation good practices affect the quality of saffron: results of a research conducted in Italy

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) spice making requires time-spending manual operations: stigmas are separated from the flower picked in bud early in the morning, and once dried they are preserved protected from light. This study verified how the correct pursuing of these good practices affects saffron quality. Few hours of exposure of the flower to the sun determined a significant decrease in the colouring strength (239.66 ± 10.33 versus 255.35 ± 11.87). The correct cleaning of stigmas determined a very significant increase of colouring strength (247.12 ± 13.32 instead of 224.35 ± 14.88) and a significant increase of flavour strength (99.72 ±7.48 against 90.31 ± 6.32, p <0.05). In 24 months, all the samples kept in the dark were still of first category of quality while the ones kept in the light dropped in second category. For all samples there was an increase of aroma strength and a decrease of the flavour and colouring strength, but only the colouring strength loss followed a significantly more sloping trendline. A detectable difference in the content of trans-crocin 4 correlated to the ageing or the way of conservation was not found, nevertheless, it was confirmed that the isomers tend towards a photostationary state where the trans isomer is more present

Libro "In cucina con l'erisimo"

Libro di ricette con l'erba dei cantanti, prodotto all'interno del progetto Erisimo a Milan

The Effect of Drought on <i>Sisymbrium officinale</i> (L.) Wild Species for Potential Cultivation as a Leafy Vegetable

Leafy vegetables are common components of the human diet and are a source of antioxidant, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds. Fresh-cut or minimally processed industries are always looking for product innovations. Many wild species, based on their composition, can be evaluated as potential vegetables. In this work, hedge mustard has been studied as a potential leafy vegetable, and two wild populations were grown under 100% crop water requirement (WR) and 50% WR. The effect of water reduction was monitored using non-destructive measurements of chlorophyll a fluorescence and by the analytical determination of primary or secondary metabolism associated parameters such as sugars, anthocyanins, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and nitrate concentrations. The results demonstrated that hedge mustard [Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop.] can be grown with 50% WR without yield reduction. The yield was not statistically different between the two water regimes and ranged from 22.3 to 40 g plant−1 FW. Leaf nitrate concentrations showed high variability in the MI population grown with 100% WR, while in the BG population, they did not change when the WR was shifted from 100% to 50%. The total phenols were 25% higher in the leaves of plants grown under 50% WR in both wild populations. The total sugars and anthocyanins did not show significant variations. Chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters did not show significant changes. The results suggest that hedge mustard can be grown in environments with limited water availability or in the winter season using less water to avoid disease development. The highest yield was obtained from the BG population

Evaluation of Two Wild Populations of Hedge Mustard (<i>Sisymbrium officinale</i> (L.) Scop.) as a Potential Leafy Vegetable

The minimally processed industry is always looking for produce innovation that can satisfy consumer needs. Wild leafy vegetables can be a good source of bioactive compounds and can be attractive for the consumer in term of visual appearance and taste. In this work, Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop., commonly called hedge mustard, was grown in a greenhouse and evaluated as a potential leafy vegetable. Two wild populations, Milano (MI) and Bergamo (BG), were grown in peat substrate and harvested at the commercial stage for the minimally processing industry. Leaf pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoids were determined as well as chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. Total sugars, antioxidant compounds such as ascorbic acid, phenolic index, total phenols, anthocyanins, and nitrate were determined at harvest. Significant differences between wild populations were found in April with higher nitrate content in BG, 2865 mg/kg FW than in MI, 1770 mg/kg FW. The nitrate levels of S. officinale measured in the present study are significantly lower than the maximum NO₃ level allowed in other fresh leafy vegetables. Ascorbic acid measured in November was higher in MI compared BG with values of 54.4 versus 34.6 mg/100 g FW, respectively. The chlorophyll a fluorescence data showed that BG reached optimal leaf functionality faster than MI. Overall results indicated that Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop. can be suggested as a potential leafy vegetable for the minimally processed industry

Herbs_for_Voice_database_public_version_1_20190502

Herbs for Voice database, version 1, public versio

TRPA5, an ankyrin subfamily insect TRP channel, is expressed in antennae of Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in multiple splice variants

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are an ancient family of cation channels, working as metabotropic triggers, which respond to physical and chemical environmental cues. Perception of chemical signals mediate reproductive behaviors and is therefore an important target for sustainable management tactics against the codling moth Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). However, olfactory behavior strongly depends on diel periodicity and correlation of chemical with physical cues, like temperature, and physical cues thus essentially contribute to the generation of behavioral response. From an antennal transcriptome generated by next generation sequencing, we characterized five candidate TRPs in the codling moth. The coding DNA sequence of one of these was extended to full length, and phylogenetic investigation revealed it to be orthologous of the TRPA5 genes, reported in several insect genomes as members of the insect TRPA group with unknown function but closely related to the thermal sensor pyrexia. Reverse transcription PCR revealed the existence of five alternate splice forms of CpTRPA5. Identification of a novel TRPA and its splice forms in codling moth antennae open for investigation of their possible sensory roles and implications in behavioral responses related to olfaction