Sunflower under conventional and organic farming systems: results from a long term experiment in Central Italy

Sunflower productivity under organic and conventional agricultural systems was studied between 2002 and 2004 in the frame of the MASCOT experiment (Mediterranean Arable Systems COmparison Trial), established in 2001. The aim was to compare organic and conventional management systems for a typical arable crop rotation of Central Italy in the long-term. Sunflower was cultivated as a part of a five-year stockless arable crop rotation (sugar beet-common wheatsunflower-pigeon bean-durum wheat). In the organic system, red clover (Trifolium pratense) is interseeded in common and durum wheat and used as a green manure for sunflower or sugar beet. Grain yield of organically-grown sunflower was lower by 41%, 17% and 44% in 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively, but no significant differences in percent seed oil content were found between the conventional and organic sunflower in two years out of three

Preliminary evaluation of infrastructure and mobility services in mega-event: the Italian case study

Mega-events play an important role in the urban agenda of contemporary metropolises. This importance lies in the fact that such events are seen as possible catalysts for the urban development of a metropolis and more generally of a territory, and an opportunity to establish them as global cities. The planning and programming of a mega-event can be a country's showcase on the international landscape, and the mobility sector plays a significant role in defining its success or failure. Transport infrastructure generally requires high resources for both construction and maintenance even after the event. Therefore, in order to ensure a good outcome, it needs to be planned strategically at multiple levels; this condition brings a benefit to both the host city and the community. The main purpose of this study is to analyze a mega event like the Olympic Games by highlighting the relationship between existing mobility solutions and sustainable solutions considering also the surrounding area. This is to enable the creation of new intelligent transportation options. The Olympic Games, in fact, can represent a valuable opportunity to modernize the existing infrastructure of a country by improving the level of service and quality. The study considers, on the one hand, the expected demand for transport during the event and, on the other, the specific features of the different solutions that can be adopted to meet mobility needs

Organic farming systems for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change: Effects on soil fertility and resource use efficiency

Organic farming is pointed as one of the most sustainable farming practices in terms of environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation potential. At the core of organic farming practices there are practices aimed at improving soil fertility, increasing soil C content and enhancing system biodiversity. A long-term field experiment (LTE) (MASCOT) was started on 2001 in San Piero a Grado, Pisa (Italy) with the aim to compare two different cropping systems, one managed organically and one conventionally, in terms of agronomical, economic and environmental sustainability. In 2016, the MASCOT was redesigned as a full system trial and the organic system was reshaped according to up to date agroecological standards. Climate change adaptation capacity of the two systems is being assessed through agronomic and economic parameters, whilst greenhouse gas emission mitigation potential is mainly expressed in terms of soil C sequestration

Long-term effect of tillage, nitrogen fertilization and cover crops on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content

No-tillage, N fertilization and cover crops are known to play an important role in conserving or increasing SOC and STN but the effects of their interactions are less known. In order to evaluate the single and combined effects of these techniques on SOC and STN content under Mediterranean climate, a long term experiment started in 1993 on a loam soil (Typic Xerofluvent) in Central Italy. The experimental variants are: conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), four N fertilization rates (N0, N1, N2 and N3) and four soil cover crop (CC) types (C - no cover crop; NL - non-legume CC; LNL - low nitrogen supply legume CC, and HNL - high nitrogen supply legume CC).The nitrogen fertilization rates (N0, N1, N2 and N3) were: 0, 100, 200, 300kgNha-1 for maize (Zea mays, L.); 0, 60, 120,180kgNa-1 for durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.); 0, 50, 100, 150kgNha-1 for sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).From 1993 to 2008, under the NT system the SOC and STN content in the top 30cm soil depth increased by 0.61 and 0.04Mgha-1year-1 respectively. In the same period, the SOC and STN content under the CT system decreased by a rate of 0.06 and 0.04Mgha-1year-1 respectively. During the experimental period, N1, N2 and N3 increased the SOC content in the 0-30cm soil layer at a rate of 0.14, 0.45 and 0.49Mgha-1year-1. Only the higher N fertilization levels (N2 and N3) increased STN content, at a rate of 0.03 and 0.05Mgha-1year-1.NL, LNL and HNL cover crops increased SOC content by 0.17, 0.41 and 0.43MgCha-1year-1 and -0.01, +0.01 and +0.02MgNha-1year-1.Significant interactions among treatments were evident only in the case of the N fertilization by tillage system interaction on SOC and STN concentration in the 0-10. cm soil depth in 2008.The observed SOC and STN variations were correlated to C returned to the soil as crop residues, aboveground cover crop biomass and weeds (C input).We conclude that, under our Mediterranean climate, it is easier to conserve or increase SOC and STN by adopting NT than CT. To reach this objective, the CT system requires higher N fertilization rates and introduction of highly productive cover crops

Organic vs conventional stockless arable systems: a multidisciplinary approach to soil quality evaluation

Soil quality in Mediterranean conventional and organic stockless arable systems was assessed by a multidisciplinary approach. At the end of the first cycle of a 5-year crop rotation (2002–2006) in the Mediterranean Arable Systems Comparison Trial (MASCOT) long-term experiment, the effects of organic and conventional management systems were evaluated by using soil chemical, biochemical and biological parameters. Chemical and biochemical parameters linked to soil C cycle, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and microarthropod communities were analysed according to a comparative approach. Results suggested a higher soil carbon sequestration in the organic respect to the conventional system, as shown by the values of total organic C (9.5 and 7.8 g kg1, for organic and conventional system, respectively) and potentially mineralisable C (277 and 254 mg kg1, for organic and conventional system, respectively). AMF population, AMF root colonisation and diversity of microarthropod population were slightly influenced by management system. On the other hand, mites/collembolans ratio was higher in conventionally than in organically managed soil (2.67 and 1.30, respectively), indicating as organic managed soils were more disturbed than conventional ones, probably as the consequence of the more frequent soil tillage performed for mechanical weeds control. The overall results demonstrated that, even in the short-term, the implementation of organically managed stockless systems in Mediterranean areas determined significant changes of some attributes for soil quality evaluation

Legume Cover Crop Alleviates the Negative Impact of No-Till on Tomato Productivity in a Mediterranean Organic Cropping System

The ecosystem services a cover crop (CC) provides depend enormously on species choice and tillage system. Here, we evaluated the impact of (a) three winter CCs-rye (Secale cereale L.) and squarrose clover (Trifolium squarrosum L.) monocultures and their mixture, and (b) two tillage systems-roller-crimping of CC residue as dead mulch for no-till (NT) systems and incorporating CC residue into the soil as green manure for conventional tillage (CT) systems-on the performance of organic processing tomato, i.e., plant growth, nutrient accumulation, fruit yield, and weed biomass. The assessments took place over two years in field experiments conducted under Mediterranean conditions. At the termination time, rye and mixture were the most productive and the best weed-suppressive CCs. During tomato growing season, squarrose clover regardless of tillage system stimulated tomato growth, Nitrogen content and uptake, and the yield relative to the other cover crops. Nevertheless, NT generally impaired the tomato nutritional status and increased weed biomass compared to CT despite some potential weed control by cover crops. These two aspects caused a significant drop in tomato yield in all NT systems. The results suggested that, despite the multiple benefits the compared CCs can offer in Mediterranean agroecosystems, legume CCs could be the key to developing feasible organic vegetable no-till systems

Autonomous mowing and turf-type bermudagrass as innovations for an environment-friendly floor management of a vineyard in coastal tuscany

The establishment of permanent cover crops is becoming a common practice in vineyard floor management. Turfgrass science may provide species and techniques with a high potential for improving the sustainability of vineyard floor management. Based on this assumption, an experiment was carried out during 2018 and 2019 at the Donna Olimpia Vineyard, Bolgheri, Italy. The trial aimed at comparing an innovative floor management system based on a turf-type cultivar of bermudagrass mown with an autonomous mower with a conventional floor management system. Ground cover percentage, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, grapevine water status, leaf nitrogen content, fruit yield and must composition have been assessed in order to perform the comparison. The innovative vineyard floor management produced an almost complete ground cover (98%) at the end of the second growing season, with the resident species reduced to a small percentage (4%). Resident species growing under-trellis were efficiently controlled without herbicide applications. A lower primary energy consumption and a reduction in CO2 emissions were observed for the innovative management system compared to the conventional management system. Grapevine water status, leaf chlorophyll content, soil–plant analyses development (SPAD), fruit yields and must composition were similar between the different soil management systems. Based on results obtained in this trial, turf-type bermudagrass and innovative mowing machines may contribute to enhance the sustainability of vineyard floor management