Agricultural in protect areas: agronomic aspects

Among the various aims of the protect lands, as expressed by the art. 1 of the L. 394/91, there is “the promotion of educational, formative, experimental and interdisciplinary activities, as well as recreational activities”. Considering the multiplicity of the protect areas functions as well as the interests and the problems involved in their management, the most suitable research in this field is that according to a “systemic” approach. It concerns the study of the most high hierarchical levels: agricultural, farming and agro-territorial levels. The researches regard not only the environmental sustainability of crops production, including the control of the erosion risks and the management of the pasturing areas, but also other aspects that result less conventional than the classical questions of the Agronomy. They include the land planning, the productions of local and typical markets, the production dependent on the organic farming on the environmental preservation, the management of areas which result of particular interest for wild fauna, the renaturalization of degraded areas, the eco-sustainable management of water resources, the multifunctional agriculture, the landscape improvement and the biodiversity enhancement

Irrigation with treated municipal wastewater on artichoke crop: assessment of soil and yield heavy metal content and human risk

Industrial and municipal wastewaters are often used for irrigating agricultural fields in arid and semi-arid countries, representing the most attractive option to alleviate pressure on fresh-water resources. However, the wastewater may contain various potentially toxic elements and organic matters with highly harmful effects on human and animal health. During two growing seasons of globe artichoke, the effects of irrigation with secondary (SWW) and tertiary (TWW) municipal wastewater on heavy metal soil and plant content were evaluated together with the consequent human risk from artichoke head consumption. The heavy metal contents (i.e., Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn) of the irrigation water, soil, plant and yield were analyzed. Total and extractable heavy metals were quantified to determine the bioaccumulation factors, and the health risks to adults and children were determined according to hazard indices. The heavy metal contents of the artichoke heads harvested after SWW and TWW irrigation were lower than the international threshold values and low bioaccumulation factors suggested that these heavy metals did not accumulate in the edible part of the artichoke crop. The hazard indices based on the consumption of the artichoke heads remained <1.0 for both adults and children, thus indicating that the health risks involving the different heavy metals are not significant

Treated agro-industrial wastewater irrigation of tomato crop: Effects on qualitative/quantitative characteristics of production and microbiological properties of the soil

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Management of Branched Broomrape in Field Processing Tomato Crop

In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in land area used for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in many countries around the world. The essential role is played by Italy at a worldwide level as the country with the third biggest production of tomatoes for processing. Phelipanche ramosa (L) Pomel, commonly known as branched broomrape, is a root holoparasitic weed for many crops, particularly for the processing tomato. Due to its physical and metabolic overlap with the crop, its underground parasitism, and hardly destructible seed bank, the control of this parasite in the field is difficult. Results of research studies, many of them on environmental-friendly methods such as preventive, agronomic, and biological carried out in southern Italy, are discussed and summarized. The results can constitute a relevant basis for further experimental studies

Qualitative characterisation of cultivated and wild edible plants: Mineral elements, phenols content and antioxidant capacity

This study investigated the qualitative characteristics of several edible wild herbaceous species, including those most consumed in Foggia Province (southern Italy). Analysis of qualitative characteristics was performed for the edible parts of 11 wild species (Beta vulgaris L., Foeniculum vulgare Miller, Centaurea solstitialis L., Cichorium intybus L., Scolymus hispanicus L., Sonchus oleraceus L., Borago officinalis L., Diplotaxis erucoides L., Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC, Sinapis arvensis L., Portulaca oleracea L.) and three cultivated species (C. intybus, B. officinalis, D. tenuifolia). The plants were collected from areas in the Foggia countryside, and the edible part of each species was analysed for dry matter, protein, cation and anion contents as well as total phenols and antioxidant activities. Among the cations, calcium was the most differentiated among species, ranging 784 mg kg-1 fresh weight (Fw) for B. vulgaris to 5886 mg kg-1 Fw for S. hispanicus. The nitrate contents were also highly variable, from 75 mg kg-1 Fw for C. intybus to 3874 mg kg-1 Fw for D. tenuifolia. Total polyphenols ranged from 1054 mg GAE mg kg-1 Fw for C. solstitialis to 3664 mg GAE mg kg-1 Fw for S. arvensis. Antioxidant activities ranged from 839 mg TE kg-1 Fw for B. vulgaris to 5658 mg TE kg-1 Fw for C. intybus. Significant differences were also noted between wild and cultivated plants in the qualitative parameters. Total polyphenols and antioxidant activity were higher in wild C. intybus and B. officinalis than in their cultivated counterparts. Multivariate analysis (cluster analysis and linear discriminant analysis) allowed integration of the ANOVA data to determine the qualitative characteristics of the wild species that contribute most to group differences. The results of the present study aims at improve the current knowledges about edible wild species as vegetable sources in the Mediterranean diet

Effects of treated agro-industrial wastewater irrigation on tomato processing quality

This study was designed to determine the qualitative and microbiological impact of two different sources of irrigation water on tomato fruit: groundwater (GW), as the control, and treated agro-industrial wastewater (SW). The mean tomato fruit quality parameters of dry matter, weight, diameter, colour index, pH, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, Ca2+ and Na+ content were not significantly affected by the different water treatments. Conversely, NO3 – contents was significantly higher with GW use, than with SW (2.21 vs 1.62 mg 100 g–1, respectively; P≤0.05). The microbial quality of the tomato fruit was not significantly different across the GW and SW treatments, with no Salmonella spp. isolated from any of the fruit, and the faecal indicators always below 10 CFU g–1. These data show that agro-industrial treated wastewater can be used for irrigation for industrial tomato production once the long-term effects on the agroecosystem have been defined

Effect of Olive-Mill Wastewater Application, Organo-Mineral Fertilization, and Transplanting Date on the Control of Phelipanche ramosa in Open-Field Processing Tomato Crops

Phelipanche ramosa (L) Pomel is a root holoparasitic weed for many crops, particularly for the processing tomato in Italy. In order to integrate the use of chemical methods to control P. ramosa (L.), there has been an increased effort to research alternative methods using natural compounds. In this regard, two experimental trials were set up in an open field in Foggia (southern Italy) during the 2016 spring&ndash;summer seasons. The first trial compared two tomato seedling transplanting dates to evaluate the effects on emerged shoots of P. ramosa. The second trial compared six organic compounds added to the soil to control P. ramosa: olive-mill wastewater and five commercial products (Allyl Isothiocyanate&reg;, Alfaplus&reg;, Radicon&reg;, Rhizosum Max&reg;, and Kendal Nem&reg;). An untreated control was also included. The numbers of P. ramosa emerged shoots (branched plants) were significantly lower for the late tomato seedling transplanting date than for the earlier one. All of the organic products tested that were applied to the soil, particularly olive-mill wastewater, Alfaplus&reg;, Rhizosum Max&reg;, and Kendal Nem&reg;, showed a significant reduction of the P. ramosa infestation of the tomato crop with respect to the untreated control, with a positive effect on the productive parameters

Agricultural in protect areas: agronomic aspects

Among the various aims of the protect lands, as expressed by the art. 1 of the L. 394/91, there is “the promotion of educational, formative, experimental and interdisciplinary activities, as well as recreational activities”. Considering the multiplicity of the protect areas functions as well as the interests and the problems involved in their management, the most suitable research in this field is that according to a “systemic” approach. It concerns the study of the most high hierarchical levels: agricultural, farming and agro-territorial levels. The researches regard not only the environmental sustainability of crops production, including the control of the erosion risks and the management of the pasturing areas, but also other aspects that result less conventional than the classical questions of the Agronomy. They include the land planning, the productions of local and typical markets, the production dependent on the organic farming on the environmental preservation, the management of areas which result of particular interest for wild fauna, the renaturalization of degraded areas, the eco-sustainable management of water resources, the multifunctional agriculture, the landscape improvement and the biodiversity enhancement