Propagation of Artemisia arborescens L. by stem-cutting: adventitious root formation under different conditions

Artemisia arborescens L. has gained a strong importance worldwide due to its many industrial uses and it has been recently considered as ornamental plant. A major constraint to its widespread cultivation is represented, by far, by the scarce availability of high-quality plant material for field establishment; hence, development of a fast and effective methods for its vegetative propagation is needed. An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of different harvest periods, NAA, and rooting substrates on rooting of stem cuttings of A. arborescens. Semi hardwood cuttings were collected from wild plants in February, April, and November. Half of the material was treated with 0.4% NAA and placed on different mixtures of sphagnum peat and perlite (2 : 1, 1 : 1, and 1 : 2 v/v) under mist. After 40 days the percentage of rooted cuttings was significantly influenced by the harvest period as cuttings collected in February showed the highest rooting rate, and numerous alive but not rooted cuttings evidenced callus formation. In contrast, the use of different rooting substrates as well as NAA addition did not show any significant effect on rooting capacity. The best results, in terms of root number (4.2) and root length (8.8 cm), were achieved on cuttings grown in a 1 : 1 v/v sphagnum peat : perlite mixture, without NAA application

Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

Biochar from conifers wood was used in soilless culture as growing substrate alternative to peat for ornamental crops. Potted plants of Euphorbia × lomi Rauh cv. 'Ilaria' were grown with different mixtures (v:v) of brown peat and biochar in order to evaluate main physical and chemical characteristics of this biomaterial as well as its effect on plant growth, ornamental characteristics and nutrients uptake. Biochar addition to peat increased pH, EC and K content of the growing substrates, as well as air content and bulk density. Biochar content of substrates significantly affected plant growth and biomass partitioning: higher number of shoots and leaves, leaf area and leaf dry weight were recorded in plants grown in 40% peat-60% biochar, with respect to plants grown in 100% peat and secondarily in 100% biochar. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in plants grown in 60% and 80% biochar, while biomass water use efficiency was higher with 60% biochar. Plant uptake of K and Ca increased as biochar content of the substrates increased. Hence, a growing substrate containing 40% brown peat and 60% conifers wood biochar was identified as the more suitable mixture allowing to have a high-quality production of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

Biochar enhances root development and aloin content of mature leaves in containerized Aloe arborescens Mill

The leaves of the medicinal plant Aloe arborescens Mill. Asphodelaceae) contain significant amounts of bioactive metabolites, including aloin (a mixture of the two diastereoisomers, aloin A and aloin B), aloesin, isoaloeresin D, and aloenin A. The presence of these metabolites varies considerably depending on the plant’s growth conditions, including the used growing substrate. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using biochar for potted plants cultivation. However, there is currently no available information regarding the suitability of biochar for the containerized cultivation of A. arborescens. A pot experiment was conducted with the hypothesis that biochar could influence the growth and phytochemistry of A. arborescens. The growing medium was supplied with increasing proportions of biochar (1: 100% commercial substrate; 2: mixed 50%(v/v) substrate; 3: 100% conifers wood biochar). Over the course of three years, the plants were closely monitored, and several key growth parameters were measured, including plant height, stem diameter, number and weight of leaves, and the number of suckers. After the first year, the content of selected active metabolites wasassessed. This evaluation also involved a comparison of the respective levels in the leaves taken from the apical, median, and basal sections of the stem. The leaves collected from the median section of plants were found to be larger and exhibited the highest percentage of spikes, epidermis, and gel on fresh weight. As a general trend, it was observed that in plants cultivated within the highest amount of biochar, the leaves collected from the intermediate stem portion contained the highest quantity of secondary metabolites

EFFETTI DEL CAMPO MAGNETICO ELF SU ALCUNE SPECIE VEGETALI DI INTERESSE ORNAMENTALE ED ECOLOGICO

Diversi studi riportati nella letteratura scientifica di riferimento, effettuati sia in vivo che in vitro, hanno evidenziato effetti positivi determinati dall’esposizione dei tessuti vegetali al campo magnetico EL

In vitro rooting and acclimatization of Sicilian Hypericum perforatum

Hypericum perforatum L. is traditionally used as a medicinal plant because of different bioactive compounds with documented antidepressant and anti-inflammatory activities. Plantlets mass production with high content of these secondary metabolites has been enhanced through in vitro culture but often the process has been stopped at the multiplication phase. A study was conducted in order to set up an efficient in vitro rooting and acclimatization protocol of a H. perforatum Sicilian genotype well-adapted to south Mediterranean conditions. Aseptic nodal segments were cultured on to a Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 4.44 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) for multiplication. Microshoots were then transferred on to specific culture media for in vitro rooting in order to evaluate the nutrients concentration and different auxins effect: full and half-strength hormone-free MS or supplemented with 5.7 μM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) or 4.9 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Highest rooting rate was achieved on full-strength MS with IAA 5.7 μM and on all half-strength MS media; higher number of roots was recorded on half-strength MS with IAA and full-strength MS with IBA 4.9 μM; longest roots were measured on full-strength MS with IAA 5.7 μM. Rooted plantlets were ex-vitro acclimatized by transferring them into greenhouse in plastic pots filled with peat:perlite and sand:perlite mixtures (1:1, v/v) under mist: acclimatization rate was higher for rooted plantlets grown in sand/perlite substrate

Improvement of Fresh Ovine “Tuma” Cheese Quality Characteristics by Application of Oregano Essential Oils

In the present work, oregano essential oils (OEOs) were applied to process the fresh ovine cheese "Tuma" obtained by pressed cheese technology. Cheese making trials were performed under industrial conditions using ewe's pasteurized milk and two strains of Lactococcus lactis (NT1 and NT5) as fermenting agents. Two experimental cheese products (ECP) were obtained through the addition of 100 (ECP100) and 200 (ECP200) & mu;L/L of OEO to milk, while the control cheese product (CCP) was OEO-free. Both Lc. lactis strains showed in vitro and in vivo ability to grow in the presence of OEOs and to dominate over indigenous milk lactic acid bacteria (LAB) resistant to pasteurization. In the presence of OEOs, the most abundant compound found in cheese was carvacrol, constituting more than 65% of the volatile fraction in both experimental products. The addition of OEOs did not influence ash, fat, or protein content, but it increased by 43% the antioxidant capacity of the experimental cheeses. ECP100 cheeses showed the best appreciation scores by the sensory panel. In order to investigate the ability OEOs to be used as a natural preservative, a test of artificial contamination was carried out, and the results showed a significant reduction of the main dairy pathogens in OEO-added cheeses

Biowaste-derived humic-like substances improve growth and quality of orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata l. jacq.) plants in soilless potted culture

Humic-like substances (HLS) are among the most used biostimulants in agriculture as a means for improving plant growth, nutrient uptake, crop yield, and stress tolerance. HLS derived from municipal biowastes were applied as a substrate drench in order to evaluate their biostimulatory effect on the growth and ornamental quality of Orange Jasmine (Murraya paniculata [L.] Jacq.) potted plants. Two HLS, derived from the digestion of the organic humic fraction and from composting of a mix of sewage sludge digestate and gardening residues, were compared with a commercial leonardite-based product in the framework of a greenhouse experiment in soilless culture. The application of the two biowaste-derived HLS resulted in plants showing a 39.9%, 87.0%, 111.6%, 35.4%, 37.9%, 35.3%, and 81.3% increase in plant height, number of flowers and fruits, leaf production, total dry biomass, root length, and water use efficiency, respectively, compared to those treated with the commercial product and the untreated (control) plants. The enhanced growth performance of HLS-treated plants was due to the higher chlorophyll relative content (+24.2% on average) and net photosynthesis (+114.7% on average) of their leaves. The positive results obtained from the application of non-commercial HLS suggest that biowaste recycling is a sustainable and environment-friendly source of biostimulants, as an alternative to agrochemicals and existing leonardite-based plant biostimulants

Biowaste versus fossil sourced auxiliaries for plant cultivation: The Lantana case study

Soluble bio-based substances (SBS) were isolated from the anaerobic digestate of the organic humid fraction of urban waste and from the compost obtained from a mix of digestate, gardening residues and sewage sludge. These were compared with a commercial Leonardite-based product for their effects on the growth and productivity of two Lantana species. The SBS were found more powerful than the Leonardite-based product in enhancing plant photosynthesis, growth and aesthetic effect, improving flower quality, and optimizing water use efficiency. Enhancement factors of plant performance indicators by SBS ranged from 1.2 to 3.3 relatively to the control plants, and from 1.3 to 2.4 relatively to plants treated with the commercial Leonardite product at equal applied dose. The results are in line with findings published for other case studies performed with horticultural and ornamental plants. They confirm that municipal biowaste is a viable feedstock to obtain specialty chemicals that can efficiently replace fossil sourced products in agriculture. Options for further development work are discussed

Induced drought affects morphological and eco-physiological response of Mediterranean wild roses

Water scarcity for the irrigation of ornamental crops is a typical phenomenon of nursery activities in the south Mediterranean districts and has frequently detrimental effects on plant growth, yield and quality. Wild roses are generally hardy plants with high ornamental potentialities and possible tolerance to the main abiotic stresses typical of their native environments. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was carried out with the aim to evaluate growing and qualitative response of two Sicilian rose species to increasing deficit irrigation. Rooted-cuttings plants of Rosa canina L. and R. sempervirens L. were grown in 4-L plastic containers under drought stress induced by progressively reducing the irrigation volumes (900, 600 and 300 mL plant-1) during each irrigation. Morphological and eco-physiological parameters were measured throughout the experiment. Increasing irrigation deficit resulted in a decrease of plant growth (at canopy and root level), ornamental effect, biomass yield and partitioning, stem water potential, leaf net photosynthesis and transpiration; this behavior was more evident in R. canina than in R. sempervirens potted plants. The identification of wild roses tolerant to moderate drought may allow to use them for ornamental nursery production and for landscaping in south Mediterranean areas often characterized by a low availability of the irrigation water