"Non è dell'uomo vivere orizzontalmente": le montagne di Buzzati

Ponendo al centro del saggio un tema ben noto, quello dell'amore di Dino Buzzati per la montagna, il breve studio si sofferma sulla sensibilità e sulla ricchezza della narrativa buzzatiana nel descrivere dei luoghi a lui cari

«It is not the man living horizontally»: The mountains of Buzzati

In this essay the author tries to analyse the connection between the symbolic dimension of Dino Buzzati's works and his beloved mountains, the Alps near Belluno. Viewing the climb of the peaks as an obstacle to overcome, the allegory itself of the supreme trial, Buzzati cannot but experience the mountains in first person, stressing the metaphysical meaning of climbing - as it's proved by many interviews - and this strict bond is reflected in his novels, short stories, articles and paintings

Diabolus in musica di Giorgio Vigolo: una proposta di edizione

Sono analizzati i documenti di Giorgio Vigolo, poeta e musicologo romano del Novecento, custoditi nell'omonimo fondo della Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma, documenti relativi al progetto editoriale mai realizzato di una silloge di scritti musicali

Slug monitoring and impacts on the ground beetle community in the frame of sustainable pest control in conventional and conservation agroecosystems

In conservation agriculture, slugs are considered significant pests and their monitoring is a key option in the integrated pest management framework. Together with molluscicide applications, predators such as ground beetles can offer a tool for slug control in the field. Through the evaluation of slug and ground beetle monitoring strategies, this work compared their presence in conventional and conservation agricultural plots. The invasive Deroceras invadens was the dominant slug species to occur in all sampling periods. Among Carabidae, Poecilus cupreus and Pterostichus melas were the most abundant species, and Bembidion spp., Brachinus spp., and Harpalus spp. were also common. Beer-baited pitfall traps, whatever their alcoholic content, caught more slugs and ground beetles than wooden boards used as shelters. Slugs were more abundant in conventional plots than in conservation plots, possibly due to the lower presence of natural enemies such as ground beetles. Despite possible impacts on Carabidae, beer-baited pitfall traps should be considered a useful tool for slug monitoring and for the planning of molluscicide applications. Soil management such as minimum-or no-tillage and the presence of cover crops are important elements influencing both slug and ground beetle presence, possibly playing a key role in the maintenance of natural enemy populations

Allelopathic cover crop of rye for integrated weed control in sustainable agroecosystems

The allelopathic potential of rye ( Secale cereale L.) is mainly due to phytotoxic benzoxazinones, compounds that are produced and accumulated in young tissues to different degrees depending on cultivar and environmental influences. Living rye plants exude low levels of benzoxazinones, while cover crop residues can release from 12 to 20 kg ha –1 . This paper summarizes the results obtained from several experiments performed in both controlled and field environments, in which rye was used as a cover crop to control summer weeds in a following maize crop. Significant differences in benzoxazinoid content were detected between rye cultivars. In controlled environments, rye mulches significantly reduced germination of some broadleaf weeds. Germination and seedling growth of Amaranthus retroflexus and Portulaca oleracea were particularly affected by the application of rye mulches, while Chenopodium album was hardly influenced and Abutilon theophrasti was advantaged by the presence of the mulch. With reference to the influence of agronomic factors on the production of benzoxazinoids, nitrogen fertilization increased the content of allelochemicals, although proportionally less than dry matter. The field trial established on no-till maize confirmed the significant weed suppressiveness of rye mulch, both for grass and broadleaf weeds. A significant positive interaction between nitrogen (N) fertilization and notillage resulting in the suppression of broadleaf weeds was observed. The different behavior of the weeds in the presence of allelochemicals was explained in terms of differential uptake and translocation capabilities. The four summer weeds tested were able to grow in the presence of low amounts of benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one (BOA), between 0.3 and 20 mmol g –1 fresh weight. Although there were considerable differences in their sensitivity to higher BOA concentrations, P. oleracea , A. retroflexus , and Ch. album represented a group of species with a consistent absorption capability. The insensitivity of A . theophrasti to BOA was due to reduced accumulation in seedlings. Overall, results confirm that the use of a rye cover crop in a suitable crop rotation represents a sustainable weed management practice permitting a reduction in the amount of herbicides used in agroecosystems, thus limiting the environmental risks of intensive agriculture

Alla ricerca dell’impresa totale. Uno sguardo comparativo su arti, psicoanalisi, management

This book aims to give a new meaning to corporate identity, presenting an alter- native model of analysis and intervention which, through the alchemical system, borrowed from Jungian psychoanalysis and already applied in literature, is able to concentrate on the deepest roots of the company and extract a mythical pat- rimony, not only useful for the corporate storytelling but for the reconstruction of the identity itself

on seasonal fluctuations of available olsen p in soils

The likelihood of a strong seasonal effect on the analytical results of soil chemical tests has been substantiated by several findings. The occurrence of such a trouble would heavily affect the routine work of chemical laboratories dealing with hundreds or thousands of soil samples every year and would possibly interfere even with current timing of soil sampling and testing in agronomical research. Soils from four different experimental fields were sampled and analyzed for Olsen P test through the growing season of both spring-summer crops (maize) and autumn-spring crops (soft wheat). To avoid the cross effect of recent P applications, samples were collected only from the control plots, with no P applied. In a first long-time experiment the level of Olsen P was followed in three soils during two years, while in a second experiment the study considered two different soils for a couple of years each. The amount of extractable (available) Olsen P showed significant fluctuations-with-time in four years out of six. The observed variations seems entirely due to P absorption by crops, as they appeared in the final samplings during the cropping season. The amount of decrease was nearly always small, less than 1-1.5 mg kg-1 soil, and consistent with the reduction of the available pool which is to be expected as crops gradually take up nutrients. As far as Olsen P is concerned, no evidence was found for the occurrence of erratic seasonal variations such as those previously reported. As soil samples for advisory purposes are usually taken at different times of the year, it seems reassuring that no complications are to be expected about information needed to interpret the results of chemical tests

Il volo di Icaro verso il tragico

Introduction to the current issue "Masks of the Tragic"  (7.14, 2017)«Mentre il nostro tempo perde il tragico guadagna la disperazione», scriveva Søren Kierkegaard nel 1843. L’uomo, che perde coscienza del suo limite ontologico, si sente onnipotente come un dio, ma non è disposto ad assumersene la responsabilità

Quando l’agricoltura è conservativa

L’agricoltura conservativa, che in Italia ha spesso assunto il nome di «agricoltura blu», rappresenta un sistema di produzione agricola sostenibile che integra aspetti agronomici, ambientali ed economici e che nel contempo ha di mira la protezione dell’acqua, dell’aria e del suolo agrario. Questa gestione agronomica è oggi diffusa su oltre 120 milioni di ettari nel mondo, localizzati soprattutto in Argentina, Brasile, Usa, Canada e Australia. Il ritardo europeo è attribuibile in larga parte alla politica agricola comunitaria (pac) che per anni ha erogato sussidi rivolti all’intensificazione produttiva, trascurando il rapporto tra agricoltura e ambiente. Con le ultime revisioni, quel criterio ha lasciato il posto alla sostenibilità ambientale e alla protezione delle risorse naturali: sono stati rimossi gli incentivi che si erano rivelati controproducenti per l’ambiente, sostituendoli con altri rivolti a una gestione sostenibile dell’agrosistema. In questo modo gli agricoltori sono spinti ad adottare nuove pratiche agricole per conservare i terreni in buone condizioni agronomiche e ambientali