Benchmark Irrigated under Cover Agriculture Crops

AbstractManaging water sustainably in a ‘green’ economy means using water more efficiently in all sectors and ensuring that ecosystems have the quantity and quality of water needed to function effectively. Despite the increasing demand for water and its scarcity in some regions in Europe and the Mediterranean basin, “water use efficiency” or Water Productivity, is claimed to be unsatisfactory. In many Southern European regions up to 85% of the water is consumed by agriculture. The expected climate change will worsen the situation as it will lead to hotter summers. In this paper an initial study to benchmark agricultural irrigation practices– here, protected cultivation - with the objective of evaluating and comparing the systems through performanceindicators that can be obtained from data routinely available at the field and farm level were presented and discussed. Benchmarking, a systematic process for detecting inefficiencies based on comparisons between similar systems, is a potential tool for identifying andtargeting problem areas. The benchmarking tool was based on the results of an FP7 EU-SIRRIMED. In the present study we use this tool in order to assess the performance of two contrasted production strategies (i) hi-tech horticultural production, exemplified by soil-less greenhouse-grown tomato crops with closed, semi closed and open irrigation techniques and (ii) low-tech screenhouse production, exemplified by soil grown sweet pepper under screenhouses having different shading factors. We found that a large margin of progress in water and fertilisers use efficiency is at hand of farmers, provided they can integrate to their farming practices innovative technologies (i.e closed hydroponic systems) or structures that are well adapted to the local climatic and biotic conditions (e.g. screenhouses)

Cumulative Prognostic Score Predicting Mortality in Patients Older Than 80 Years Admitted to the ICU.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a scoring system model that predicts mortality within 30 days of admission of patients older than 80 years admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: A total of 306 ICUs from 24 European countries. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults admitted to European ICUs (N = 3730; median age = 84 years [interquartile range = 81-87 y]; 51.8% male). MEASUREMENTS: Overall, 24 variables available during ICU admission were included as potential predictive variables. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of 30-day mortality. Model sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were evaluated with receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: The 30-day-mortality was 1562 (41.9%). In multivariable analysis, these variables were selected as independent predictors of mortality: age, sex, ICU admission diagnosis, Clinical Frailty Scale, Sequential Organ Failure Score, invasive mechanical ventilation, and renal replacement therapy. The discrimination, accuracy, and calibration of the model were good: the area under the curve for a score of 10 or higher was .80, and the Brier score was .18. At a cut point of 10 or higher (75% of all patients), the model predicts 30-day mortality in 91.1% of all patients who die. CONCLUSION: A predictive model of cumulative events predicts 30-day mortality in patients older than 80 years admitted to ICUs. Future studies should include other potential predictor variables including functional status, presence of advance care plans, and assessment of each patient's decision-making capacity

Sepsis at ICU admission does not decrease 30-day survival in very old patients: a post-hoc analysis of the VIP1 multinational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The number of intensive care patients aged ≥ 80 years (Very old Intensive Care Patients; VIPs) is growing. VIPs have high mortality and morbidity and the benefits of ICU admission are frequently questioned. Sepsis incidence has risen in recent years and identification of outcomes is of considerable public importance. We aimed to determine whether VIPs admitted for sepsis had different outcomes than those admitted for other acute reasons and identify potential prognostic factors for 30-day survival. RESULTS: This prospective study included VIPs with Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores ≥ 2 acutely admitted to 307 ICUs in 21 European countries. Of 3869 acutely admitted VIPs, 493 (12.7%) [53.8% male, median age 83 (81-86) years] were admitted for sepsis. Sepsis was defined according to clinical criteria; suspected or demonstrated focus of infection and SOFA score ≥ 2 points. Compared to VIPs admitted for other acute reasons, VIPs admitted for sepsis were younger, had a higher SOFA score (9 vs. 7, p < 0.0001), required more vasoactive drugs [82.2% vs. 55.1%, p < 0.0001] and renal replacement therapies [17.4% vs. 9.9%; p < 0.0001], and had more life-sustaining treatment limitations [37.3% vs. 32.1%; p = 0.02]. Frailty was similar in both groups. Unadjusted 30-day survival was not significantly different between the two groups. After adjustment for age, gender, frailty, and SOFA score, sepsis had no impact on 30-day survival [HR 0.99 (95% CI 0.86-1.15), p = 0.917]. Inverse-probability weight (IPW)-adjusted survival curves for the first 30 days after ICU admission were similar for acute septic and non-septic patients [HR: 1.00 (95% CI 0.87-1.17), p = 0.95]. A matched-pair analysis in which patients with sepsis were matched with two control patients of the same gender with the same age, SOFA score, and level of frailty was also performed. A Cox proportional hazard regression model stratified on the matched pairs showed that 30-day survival was similar in both groups [57.2% (95% CI 52.7-60.7) vs. 57.1% (95% CI 53.7-60.1), p = 0.85]. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for organ dysfunction, sepsis at admission was not independently associated with decreased 30-day survival in this multinational study of 3869 VIPs. Age, frailty, and SOFA score were independently associated with survival

Relationship between the Clinical Frailty Scale and short-term mortality in patients ≥ 80 years old acutely admitted to the ICU: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is frequently used to measure frailty in critically ill adults. There is wide variation in the approach to analysing the relationship between the CFS score and mortality after admission to the ICU. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of modelling approach on the association between the CFS score and short-term mortality and quantify the prognostic value of frailty in this context. METHODS: We analysed data from two multicentre prospective cohort studies which enrolled intensive care unit patients ≥ 80 years old in 26 countries. The primary outcome was mortality within 30-days from admission to the ICU. Logistic regression models for both ICU and 30-day mortality included the CFS score as either a categorical, continuous or dichotomous variable and were adjusted for patient's age, sex, reason for admission to the ICU, and admission Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score. RESULTS: The median age in the sample of 7487 consecutive patients was 84 years (IQR 81-87). The highest fraction of new prognostic information from frailty in the context of 30-day mortality was observed when the CFS score was treated as either a categorical variable using all original levels of frailty or a nonlinear continuous variable and was equal to 9% using these modelling approaches (p < 0.001). The relationship between the CFS score and mortality was nonlinear (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Knowledge about a patient's frailty status adds a substantial amount of new prognostic information at the moment of admission to the ICU. Arbitrary simplification of the CFS score into fewer groups than originally intended leads to a loss of information and should be avoided. Trial registration NCT03134807 (VIP1), NCT03370692 (VIP2)

Greenhouse sector assessment in Azerbaijan and prospects for sustainable development

Azerbaijan has three major greenhouse vegetable production areas: the western part of the country (mainly Ganja and Shamkir regions); the central region (mainly Absheron peninsula); and the southern region Lankaran and Astara area. Of the about 280 hectares of greenhouses in Azerbaijan, about 20% are antiquated Soviet style greenhouses, many of which are currently being updated and repaired by their owners. New structures of Israeli, Dutch, Turkish and Italian companies have been built or are in the planning stages of construction. Finally, about 30% are home built polyethylene covered greenhouses with mixed wooden and steel frame materials, while low tunnels also exist. The majority of greenhouse cultivation systems in Azerbaijan, regardless of geographic location, consist of fundamental climate control components, and depending on their design and complexity, they can provide a greater or lesser amount of climate control, and subsequent plant growth and productivity. The climograph of Baku shows that greenhouses in Baku, if year round cultivation is needed, will have to be equipped at least with heating and ventilation systems while cooling systems during summer period would be also preferable. The main constraints for greenhouse cultivations in Azerbaijan are heating and cooling since it is considered that climate conditions inside the rudimentarily equipped greenhouses do not meet crop needs for optimal growing. No absolute solutions are available since variations in design and past maintenance may exist. Energy conservation is also necessary since the above greenhouses are not equipped at all with energy saving systems. In this paper, an effort to suggest the appropriate design of greenhouses and their equipment suitable for the region is made, and guidelines on the step up of the supply chain management for the sustainable development of the greenhouse sector in Azerbaijan are given

Silica coated insect proof screens for effective insect control in greenhouses

Insect proof screens were coated with silica (SiO2) nanoparticles using the plasma coating process. The work studied whether a screen coated by SiO2 nanoparticles could be more effective on insects' control than a non-coated screen. Thus, the insect control properties of 25- and 40-mesh screens were studied. Besides, a series of experiments were performed to investigate the mechanical, optical, and airflow properties of different (25, 40, and 50) mesh screens coated or not with SiO2 nanoparticles. The air permeability of the screens was affected, while the mechanical and optical properties of the screens were not significantly affected by the SiO2 coating. Compared to 40- and 50-mesh non-coated screens, a 25-mesh SiO2-coated screen had 54% and 66% higher air permeability values, respectively. The mean number of aphids infesting the leaves and stems of the crop grown under a 25- or a 40-mesh SiO2-coated screen was up to 93% and 81% lower than those grown under the non-coated screens, respectively. The number of aphids found on plants grown under a 25-mesh SiO2-coated screen were significantly lower (about 80%) than those recorded under a 40-mesh non-coated screen. Based on the differences observed on screen's air permeability and on greenhouse ventilation models available in the literature, it was estimated that a greenhouse with a 25-mesh SiO2-coated screen will have 11.5% and 23.1% higher ventilation rate than a greenhouse with a 40- or 50-mesh non-coated screen, respectively. © 2022 IAgr

Effect of shading on photosynthesis of greenhouse hydroponic cucumber crops

In this work an attempt was made to investigate the effect of shading on photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance of a cucumber cultivation in a greenhouse. To this end, autumnal hydroponic cultivation of cucumbers was installed in three same arched greenhouses with lateral ventilation openings at the University of Thessaly experimental farm in Velestino, Greece. One of the greenhouses was used as a control (without shading), the other two were shaded using two different shading nets (shading intensity of 35% and 50%). In the hydroponic cucumber culti-vation, a series of crop photosynthesis measurements were performed for two months on leaves of randomly selected plants per greenhouse under natural illumination and using artificial illumination conditions of 1000 μmol m-2 s-1 with the LCpro+ instru-ment. Statistical processing of the results showed that shading reduced photosynthesis of the cucumber leaf almost linearly. Furthermore, artificial illumination measurements allowed us to conclude that shaded plants do not acclimate to shade conditions and respond directly to lighting conditions which practically enhances the usefulness of periodic shading as a tool for improving the microclimate in greenhouses. © 2020 E. Kitta, N. Katsoulas

Use of shading nets to improve quality characteristics of compact gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides ellis) potted plant

The quality of compact gardenia potted plants is characterized by plants' shape, number of flowers and leaves' color. These characteristics are related mainly to photoperiod and light intensity. The effect of shading, by means of shading nets, on quality characteristics of compact gardenia potted plants was investigated during summer in a polyethylene covered greenhouse located near Volos, on the coastal area of Central Greece. Shading nets with 70% (30% shading) and 40% (60% shading) light transmission coefficient were used inside the greenhouse that was already shaded by white paint and had a total light transmission coefficient of 30%. Gardenia plants were grown under the above shading nets and under ambient greenhouse conditions from April to July 2010. Measurements of plant growth and development characteristics were carried out along with microclimate measurements. The results showed that plants placed under 30 and 60% shading nets were 10 and 13% shorter than the plants grown under ambient greenhouse conditions, respectively. Furthermore, shaded plants grown under the 30 and 60% shading nets had 23 and 45% lower leaf area and fresh weight than the plants grown under ambient greenhouse conditions, respectively. Finally, it was found that plants grown under the 60% shading net had more vivid green color compared to the rest of the plants

Recent trends in salinity control for soilless growing systems management

The consequences of closed hydroponic systems, the impact of salinity build-up on crop yield and product quality are reviewed. Soilless cultivation, especially in closed-loop systems offers a great option for water saving in greenhouses. Capture and recycling of the drainage will considerably improve the water use efficiency in horticultural crops and restrict water pollution by nutrients and pesticides. However, accumulation of undesired ions in the root environment constrains the potential of complete recycling. This is due to the presence of undesired ions in irrigation water, which is the case in many regions, especially in the Mediterranean countries. For fruit vegetables, high salinity of the nutrient solution in the root environment will induce inhibition of growth and production at one hand, but it may increase fruit quality on the other hand and thus offers possibilities for product quality control. Therefore the maximum acceptable salt accumulation will depend on the expected yield and quality responses at one hand, and the desire for the highest water and nutrient use efficiencies on the other. To enable growers of regions with low quality water to adopt recycling of the excess irrigation water, efficient solutions have to be found to control, manage and minimize salt accumulation. Taking into account that the effects of salinity - apart from the water quality itself - strongly depend on (i) crop characteristics, (ii) greenhouse climate, (iii) irrigation and drainage management method and (iv) fertilization level, the above issues are analysed and the relevant literature is discussed. Alternative methods to overcome the problem of salt accumulation and increase water and fertilisers use efficiency, such as desalination of poor quality irrigation water are also presented. Finally, efforts for development of decision support systems with on-line measurement or model-based prediction of the salt concentrations in the drainage solution for semi-closed soilless systems management under different environmental conditions are also presented and discussed