Morphological evaluation of cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.): assessing biodiversity for applications based on tradition, innovation and sustainability

Selected cardoon cultivars established in the “Serra da Estrela” region were analysed to evaluate morphological characteristics related principally to the production of cardoon flowers, which are a compulsory ingredient for particular Mediterranean PDO cheese regions. The biodiversity of twelve cardoon cultivars installed in an experimental field were evaluated over three growing seasons using thirty-four morphological descriptors. Statistically significant differences were found between cultivars for twenty-four morphological characteristics which indicate a wide genetic diversity. The relationship among the cultivars and characteristics was analysed using principal component analysis. A three dimensional template was found to be very significant and explained 71% of the total variation. The first component is dominated positively by plant height, diameter of stalk, inflorescence characteristics and flower production, while the second component is positively dominated by leaf characteristics. Cultivars A26, D32 and D33, present a plant architecture simultaneously well adapted for flower production, ease of harvesting and plant biomass. These characterizations and understandings can be useful for a plant breeding programme to develop cultivars for innovative potential applications besides flowers, and also for application by other cheese producers in Mediterranean regions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The weathering ability of higher plants. The case of Ailanthus altissima (Miller) Swingle

The growth of higher plants in monuments causes wheathering of the substrata and can be one of the biggest problems for conservators.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of Biochar on Emission of Greenhouse Gases and Productivity of Cardoon Crop (Cynara cardunculus L.)

Cardoon could be cropped for agro-environmental, industrial, and pharmaceutical purposes. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of biochar on emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4), and productivity of cardoon crop. A pot experiment was run outdoors from April to August 2018, with a cardoon plant per pot. The following four treatments, with four replicates each, were applied: control, soil only; mineral, soil amended with mineral fertilizer (2.5 g N m−2); biochar, soil amended with biochar (1 kg m−2); and mineral+biochar, soil amended with mineral fertilizer (2.5 g N m−2) and biochar (1 kg m−2). The morphological characteristics and biomass production of cardoon plants were evaluated, and the fluxes of N2O, CO2 and CH4 were measured by using the closed chamber technique. The application of biochar combined with mineral reduced N2O emissions by 36% and global warming potential (GWP) by 26% relative to mineral. However, the cumulative CO2 and CH4 emissions as well as yield-scaled GWP were not significantly different among amended soil treatments. Furthermore, the biomass production was increased by 50% by the application of biochar combined with mineral fertilizer relative to mineral. It was concluded that biochar combined with mineral fertilizer is recommended as a pathway mitigation for agro-environmental purposes, because it reduces the global warming potential and could increase the biomass production of cardoon plants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O Cardo -Um recurso de endógeno elevado valor acrescentado

O Cardo Cynara cardunculus L. pertence à família das Asteraceae sylvestris (Compositae), onde se incluem as variantes de cardo silvestre (var. (Lamk) Fiori), a alcachofra (var. scolymus (L.) Fiori) e o cardo cultivado (var. altilis DC) (Figura 1). O Cardo é uma planta herbácea perene (10-15 anos) que cresce citadas, a luteolina e luteolina 7-O-glucósido). Além das aplicações tradicionais cafeolquínicos (por exemplo, cinarina) e seus derivados (por exemplo, com a sua composição fenólica, nomeadamente com os ácidos hepatoprotetividade e ações coleréticas, o que está relacionado amplamente conhecidas na medicina popular, dada a sua aplicações, as infusões de alcachofra e folhas de cardo são dos queijos “La Serena” e “Guia” em Espanha. Para além destas utilizam a flor com a mesma finalidade, como seja o caso da produção “Évora”, “Nisa”, “Azeitão”, entre outros, havendo outros países que para a produção de queijos de ovelha, “Serra da Estrela”, “Serpa”, Tradicionalmente, os capítulos de cardo são utilizados em Portugal podendo espalhar-se por uma área de 1,5 m de diâmetro. diferentes alturas e diâmetros, sendo em norma inferior a 2 m, e aérea após a estação de verão. Para além desta aplicações, as infusões de alcachofra e folhas de cardo são amplamente conhecidas na medicina popular, dada a sua hepatoprotetividade e ações coleréticas. Além destas aplicações tradicionais citadas, a Cynara cardunculus tem sido também refereida como uma cultura de múltiplas aplicações, devido aos seu elevados teores de celulose e hemicelulose, nomeadamente na produção de celulose e paste de papel, como biocombustível sólido, combustível de biogás e de bioetanol. Em Portugal, apesar da riqueza de germoplasma de cardo, a identificação e caracterização deste recurso genético é ainda pouco conhecida

Phytochemical Profile, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of the Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) Germ Flour Extracts

This work aimed to evaluate the phytochemical content and to determine the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of methanol extracts of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) germ flour. The extracts were rich in phenolic compounds, had considerable antioxidant activity, and reduced the viability of cervical (HeLa) cancer cells. The chemical content and the biological activities of the extracts were significantly affected by gender and cultivar. Female cultivar Galhosa had the highest levels of phenolic compounds, and the highest antioxidant activity. Extracts from the hermaphrodite trees and from the female cultivars Galhosa and Costela/Canela exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity. The most abundant compound was theophylline. The phenolic content was correlated to both antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Our findings provide new knowledge about the health implications of consuming food supplemented with carob germ flour

Carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua L.) regenerated in vitro can acclimatize successfully to match the field performance of seed-derived plants

The use of in vitro regenerated plants in forestry and orchard depends ultimately on the development of efficient transplantation protocols, ensuring high survival rates and successful establishment under field conditions. We tested the performance of micropropagated carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua L.) throughout the acclimatization process in terms of survival, growth and physiological traits, including field comparisons with seed-derived and mother plants. The field trial was 100 %successful, i.e. we found no major differences between micropropagated, seed-derived and mother plants in terms of growth rate, height, number of leaves, photosynthetic efficiency, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content and soluble protein content, although these parameters changed significantly during acclimatization. Stomatal conductance (gs) was reduced by fourfold when plants were transferred from in vitro culture to the growth chamber, thus preventing uncontrolled wilting. The photosynthetic rate (PN) was relatively low in vitro, in the growth chamber and the greenhouse, but increased to match seed-derived and mother plants in the field. The chlorophyll a/b ratio in leaves from in vitro and growth chamber plants was typical of shade plants (2.1) but became more characteristic of sun plants in the subsequent acclimatization stages (3.1–3.5). The maximum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) remained mostly constant at ~0.80 throughout acclimatization, as is typical for healthy, non-stressed plants. We conclude that our micropropagation and acclimatization protocols provide a suitable alternative to traditional mass propagation techniques for the carob tree.M.L. Osório and S. Gonçalves acknowledge a grant from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT, Grant SFRH/BPD/35410/2007 and SFRH/BPD/31534/2006