Organic versus mineral fertilization: Assessing of yield and quality of durum wheat in marginal lands

Durum wheat is often cultivated in marginal areas with great management difficulties. Organic fertilization is a sustainable agricultural practice that allows preserving the environment, but its limit can be the reduction of yield and quality of crops, also in cereals. The aim of research was to evaluate the effects of the organic fertilization on yield and quality of Simeto, a variety of durum wheat, cultivated for two years in three different sites of the internal hill of Campania Region (San Giorgio la Molara, SGM; Ariano Irpino, AI; Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi, SAL). SGM was a sandy-clay-loam soil, with high fertility, while AI and SAL were clay soil. The organic fertilization (ORG), based on roasted leather, was compared to mineral fertilization (MIN) and the not fertilized treatment (N0). In SGM, crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area index (LAI) were significantly higher than AI and SAL until the flowering (about 2-and 4-fold more, respectively). MIN and ORG significantly boosted CGR compared to N0, while for LAI, ORG was never different from N0. The two-years value of yield was 3.0 t ha–1; in SGM, it reached 4.2 t ha–1, and it was 54.6% more than the mean value of AI and SAL, while N0 was not different from MIN of AI and SAL. ORG yield was lower and not different from NO in AI, where the lowest values of 1000 kernels weight, and hectolitre weight were also recorded. MIN and ORG increased the number of spikes per square meter: 27.0%, and 12.8% over N0, respectively, but ORG showed an 11.2% decrease compared to MIN. The 1000 kernels weight reached the highest values in SAL, without differences between N0, MIN, and ORG. The values of protein and gluten percentage were highest in AI and SGM (about 13.5%, and 11.7%, respectively), but without differences between ORG and MIN in the 3 sites for protein percentage. The worst value of the vitreousness was recorded in SAL (52.3%), six-fold more than that of AI (8.2%), probably due to the high rainfall. NUE reached the highest value in SGM in the first year, when it was significantly different from AI and SAL (0.036 vs 0.030 t kg–1). Overall, the effect of nitrogen fertilization type results site-specific; indeed, organic fertilization had the same performance of mineral in the site with better soil (low clay content, high nitrogen, and organic matter content) and climate conditions

Il Museo dell’Osservatorio Vesuviano: dati statistici 2005

Il museo dell'Osservatorio Vesuviano, rinnovato nel 2000, nasce con l’obiettivo di informare la popolazione sui fenomeni vulcanici, sui pericoli connessi e sulla sorveglianza dei vulcani attivi in aree ad alto rischio; è situato nella sede storica dell’Osservatorio Vesuviano, il primo Osservatorio vulcanologico del mondo, attualmente sezione dell’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. Il percorso museale ha inizio con la presentazione delle diverse tipologie eruttive e dei fenomeni a esse associati e quindi dei pericoli per l’uomo e i manufatti. Si ripercorre la storia eruttiva del Somma-Vesuvio soffermandosi sulle eruzioni più note del 79 d.C. e del 1944, e sulle metodologie adottate dai vulcanologi per ricostruire la storia eruttiva di un vulcano attraverso lo studio dei suoi prodotti. Inoltre, sono esposti i prodotti delle eruzioni effusive ed esplosive, e i minerali che si formano in ambiente vulcanico. Il percorso è arricchito da documenti storici di notevole interesse vulcanologico quali: la carta vulcanologica di Henry James Johnston-Lavis e il volume “Campi Flegrei” di William Hamilton (in visione la riproduzione anastatica). Un altro tema portante della mostra riguarda il monitoraggio dei vulcani attivi. Sono esposti gli strumenti scientifici storici utilizzati per la sorveglianza, tra cui il primo sismografo del mondo costruito nel 1856 da Luigi Palmieri, direttore dell’Osservatorio Vesuviano dal 1855 al 1896. Una sala ospita monitor collegati in tempo reale alla sezione “segnali sismici” del sito web dell’Osservatorio Vesuviano. Si propongono inoltre filmati tratti da modelli fisico-matematici di simulazioni di eruzioni esplosive per la definizione degli scenari attesi in caso di eruzione. Infine, si affronta il problema del rischio mediante pannelli informativi sul piano Nazionale di emergenza al fine di promuovere atteggiamenti adeguati in caso di necessità. Gli strumenti utilizzati sono video, pannelli, webcam, internet. Nel rapporto sono presentati i dati statistici relativi al pubblico del museo nell’anno 2005

IL MUSEO DELL’OSSERVATORIO VESUVIANO E IL SUO PUBBLICO. ANNI 2005 - 2009

The Vesuvius Observatory, first volcanological observatory in the world, was built in 1841 by King Ferdinand II of Bourbon. It is now the Naples section of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Since its foundation it has been not only a reference point for national and international scientific community, but also a place of information and dissemination for the population in the field of research and monitoring of volcanic phenomena. Always museum activities, guided tours through the collections of scientific instruments, rocks and minerals have been carried out in it. Since 2000 scientific and historical collections located into the old building of Vesuvius Observatory have been organized in the exhibition "Vesuvius: 2000 years of observations", which describes the eruptive history of Somma-Vesuvius, with the aim of providing updated information about monitoring of active volcanoes, on eruptive phenomena and related hazards, educating the population of areas exposed to volcanic hazards. The museum path is targeted to public of any geographical origin and cultural background and could be considered a journey through the history of volcanology from the beginning until the present day. In the exhibition, Vesuvius is the backdrop to an exhibition in which purely scientific elements coexist with historical, archaeological, literary, artistic aspects, thanks to the support of images, documents such as the geological map of Henry James Johnston-Lavis and the book "Campi Flegrei" by William Hamilton, specimens of rocks and minerals and old scientific instruments, used in the past for monitoring volcanic activity, including the first electromagnetic seismograph made by Luigi Palmieri. The first part of this work is focussed on the description of the existing exhibition. Since 2000 the statistical survey of the public of the museum has been carried out through an evaluation procedure form. The findings relate to the monthly and annual attendance, geographical origin and kind of visitors. In the second part of this work results for the five years from 2005 to 2009 are described. The characterization of different audiences in the museum means that, from time to time, the path of the visit could be arranged according to the expectations and needs of visitors; in this context, the museum educator plays the delicate role of mediator, with accurate language, between the contents of the museum and those who interact with it

Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Properties of Wild Rocket (Diplotaxis Tenuifolia L.) Grown under Different Plastic Films and with Different UV-B Radiation Postharvest Treatments

: Rocket species are rich in nutrients with well-known bioactive activity, but their content depends on several factors, such as plant-UV radiation interaction. In this work, we measured the production of nutritional elements in wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L.) leaves as a function of exposure to UV-B radiation by adopting a combined approach. The wild rocket plants were grown under three greenhouse cover films (A, B, and C) having different transmittivity to UV-B and the fresh-cut leaves were exposed to UV-B in postharvest for 45, 150, 330, and 660 s. The content of chlorophyll, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, and the antioxidant activity were determined. Chlorophyll, carotenoids, and total phenolic content were significantly increased by the combination of Film C and treatment with UV-B for 45 s. The predominant phenolic compounds were kaempferol, isorhamnetin, and quercetin. Film C also elicited an increase in ascorbic acid (the most abundant antioxidant compound in the range 374-1199 per 100 g of dry matter) and antioxidant activity. These findings highlighted an increase in bioactive compound content in the wild rocket when it was cultivated under Film C (diffused light film with a tailored UV-B transmission dose) and treated with UV-B radiation for 45 s postharvest, corresponding to an energy dose of 0.2 KJ m-2

Agronomic and environmental benefits of ‘re-using’ a biodegradable mulching film for two consecutive lettuce cycles

Biodegradable films are a valuable and sustainable alternative to plastic films for mulching soils since they avoid the environmental and economic problems related to plastic removal and dis posal. Nevertheless, the fast degradation of such materials could make them unsuitable for mid-to long-term use. In a field experiment, the agronomic performance of a biodegradable mulching film (MB) was compared to that of conventional low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film for two consecutive lettuce cycles (winter and spring). In the conditions of this trial, MB showed good resistance to atmospheric agents, with a reduction of its integrity and mechanical properties only after six months. The effects on soil temperature and lettuce yield did not differ from those obtained with LDPE films. The effect on harvest timing was the same as that with LDPE in the spring cycle, while in the winter cycle, the harvest was delayed by about five days compared to LDPE. Mulching films reduced nitrate accumulation in leaves mainly during the winter cycle. However, the effect needs to be further explored with experiments in different pedoclimatic conditions that consider the effects of mulching on nitrification and nitrate-reductase activity that could be affected by changes in soil temperature and moisture

Biodegradable mulching vs traditional polyethylene film for sustainable solarization: Chemical properties and microbial community response to soil management

Abstract Soil solarization is usually performed with polyethylene plastic films, which are often disposed of by taking them to landfills, burying them in soil, burning them or occasionally recycling them, and these approaches have a great impact on the environment. Therefore, the use of biodegradable films seems to be an interesting eco-sustainable alternative to traditional films. The effect of soil solarization carried out by using biodegradable mulch or traditional polyethylene plastic film was determined under greenhouse conditions. The response of the soil was assessed by chemical determinations and microbiological culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches to evaluate the microbial biodiversity, biological status and quality of the soil. The biodegradable film avoided a high ammonia concentration in the soil, thanks to both lower soil water content and slightly lower temperature than polyethylene film, and these conditions probably have been optimal for growth of nitrifying bacteria, which were more efficient in BIO, as highlighted not only by lower ammonia value but also by higher nitrate value. Both films did not affect organic matter and total nitrogen content. Moreover, the modifications of the environmental and ecological conditions associated with the different film covers applied to the soils affected prokaryotic and eukaryotic populations, leading to the establishment of a new dominant microbial community. Interestingly, microbiological analyses highlighted a different behavior modulated with the two films indicating different times of recovery post stress. Overall, the results highlighted the potential of biodegradable film that appears to be a suitable replacement for traditional polyethylene plastic film for soil solarization, with great environmental benefits

Can Seaweed Extract Improve Yield and Quality of Brewing Barley Subjected to Different Levels of Nitrogen Fertilization?

Barley is the primary matrix for malting process of beer production. Farmers count on increasing cultivation inputs, especially nitrogen fertilization, in order to reach a higher yield. Nevertheless, an overuse of nitrogen, besides causing environmental damages, can determine a deterioration of quality traits of malting barley, in particular an increase in grains protein content, which should range between 10 and 11% as required by the mating industry. Over two successive years, barley was grown under 4 different nitrogen (N) doses—0 kg N ha−1—N0; 20 kg N ha−1—N20; 40 kg N ha−1—N40 and 60 kg N ha−1—N60, and subject to a biostimulant treatment (Ecklonia maxima seaweed extract). Barley yield and growth parameters increased with nitrogen and seaweed application. N40 was already sufficient in the second year to reach the plateau of the highest production. Biostimulant application increased 17.9% the nitrogen use efficiency, 15.7% the biomass production, and 17.0% the yield with respect to untreated plants. Our results indicate that a significant reduction in nitrogen is possible and desirable, combined with the application of a plant-based biostimulant like seaweed extract, which determines an improvement in nitrogen use efficiency, assuring a higher production and lower fertilization inputs

Effects of the fertilizer added with dmpp on soil nitrous oxide emissions and microbial functional diversity

Agricultural sites contribute extensively to atmospheric emissions of climate-altering gases such as nitrous oxide. Several strategies have been considered to mitigate the impact of agriculture on climate, among these the utilization of fertilizers added with nitrification inhibitors such as DMPP (3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate) may represent a suitable solution. DMPP inhibits the growth and activity of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, particularly the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, which are involved in N2O production. At present, little information is available on the effects of DMPP on the catabolic diversity of soil microbial community. In this study, the N2O emission by soil was performed by using the static chamber technique. The biological determinations of the microbial biomass carbon and the catabolic profile were assessed by measuring the substrate-induced respiration during the entire growing season of a potato crop under two nitrogen treatments: fertilization with and without DMPP. Our results did not show a clear mitigation of N2O emission by DMPP, even if a tendency to lower N2O fluxes in DMPP plots occurred when soil temperatures were lower than 20◦C. Conversely, DMPP deeply affected the microbial biomass and the catabolism of soil microorganisms, exerting a negative effect when it accumulated in excessive doses in the soil, limiting the growth and the capacity of soil microorganism communities to use different substrates

Assessment of yield and nitrate content of wild rocket grown under salinity and subjected to biostimulant application

Soil secondary salinity due to irrigation is a condition that frequently occurs in Mediterranean areas, and negatively affects crop growth and yield. Biostimulants are proven to alleviate the detrimental effect of salinity on plant growth and production. Four increasing saline concentration levels of water irrigation reaching 6.0 dS m-1 (Electrical Conductivity - EC) were combined with foliar biostimulant treatments (tropical plants and a protein hydrolysate) in pots containing wild rocket. The combined effect of experimental factors improved the SPAD index with greater increases in the EC4 and EC6 plants (+9 and +12% compared to untreated, respectively) but also caused an increase in nitrate content (+48%, on average, compared to the untreated control) without exceeding the EC legal threshold. Overall, for the other parameters analyzed, the response of wild rocket both to application of both salinity and biostimulant was consistent with previous studies. Our results show that biostimulant effectiveness in alleviating the detrimental effect of salinity was not evident for all parameters analyzed. In addition, harvest time affected most parameters, showing the important role of growing conditions in modulating plant response to salinity stress when biostimulants are applied. Plant response thus seems to depend on biostimulant application (type, dose, timing), growing conditions, and genetic traits

Monitoraggio dei flussi di gas ad effetto serra(N2O, CH4) in suoli agricoli in ambiente mediterraneo

Le concentrazioni in atmosfera dei principali gas ad effetto serra: biossido di carbonio (CO2), protossido d’azoto (N2O) e metano (CH4) sono aumentate rispettivamente del 31%, 151% e 17% in circa 150 anni (Bouwman et al., 1990; IPCC, 2001). I sistemi agricoli contribuiscono in maniera sostanziale all’aumento di N2O in atmosfera a seguito dell’aumento dell’uso di fertilizzante azotato nei terreni agricoli (circa 80%). Visto che l’azoto svolge un ruolo fondamentale nella coltivazione, numerosi studi sono in corso per valutare alcune tecniche di miglioramento dell’efficienza dei fertilizzanti azotati, tra cui l’utilizzo di inibitori della nitrificazione nel fertilizzante. Le emissioni di metano dai suoli agricoli derivano per la maggior parte dalla degradazione sintrofica della sostanza organica. I suoli agricoli sono solitamente vocati al consumo di metano atmosferico (Schimel et al., 1993; Conrad, 1996), quindi rappresentano uno dei principali sink di CH4 atmosferico (Rather et al., 1995; Rosenkratz et al., 2006). Gli obiettivi del lavoro sono stati, nella prima prova, monitorare i gas serra da un suolo coltivato a mais in un’azienda tipica della pianura irrigua meridionale; nella seconda, quantizzare la riduzione delle emissioni di protossido di azoto utilizzando un concime a lento rilascio su una cultivar di patata, in un tipico ambiente mediterraneo. I rilevi effettuati per le due prove sono stati: prelievo di gas- serra da camere manuali e statiche; determinazione dei parametri chimico-fisici del suolo; determinazione del contenuto di nitrati ed ammonio nel suolo. La prima prova è stata svolta presso l’Azienda agricola di G. Iemma (SA) in cui sono state messe a confronto due tipologie di suolo (franco-sabbioso; argilloso). La seconda prova è stata svolta presso l’azienda sperimentale Eureco (NA) in cui sono state confrontate tre tipologie di concimazione (Entec, Azoto minerale, Testimone non concimato). Per quanto riguarda la prima prova è stato osservato che i diversi regimi idrici hanno causato differenti flussi di protossido. Nel primo anno, i flussi di protossido, sono stati circa dieci volte inferiori a quelli registrati nel secondo anno. Il fenomeno che ha principalmente contribuito alle emissioni di protossido, probabilmente, è stata la nitrificazione dovuta ai valori di WFPS inferiori al 45%. Per quanto riguarda il metano, il suolo ha evidenziato una netta tendenza al consumo di metano atmosferico. Dalla seconda prova è stato osservato che l’utilizzo del concime Entec, oltre a garantire una sostenibilità ambientale, non va a discapito di quella economica, anzi la maggior efficienza dell’azoto stabilizzato dal DMPP si traduce, in queste condizioni, in rese più elevate di circa il 33% rispetto alle tesi con concime minerale