Evaluation of organic matter stability during the composting process of agroindustrial wastes.

Composting of wastes from citrus industrial processing (pastazzo and sludge) was studied in order to evaluate the evolution of organic matter during the process and to individuate chemical and/or biochemical techniques able to set the stability of the final product. Composts from two open-air piles of different composition were sampled every month during the whole period of composting (5 months) and the organic matter of each sample was characterised by chemical and biochemical techniques. Humification rate (HR%) and humification index (HI) were determined. Extracted organic matter of six samples collected for each compost was investigated by isoelectric-focusing technique (IEF). The biochemical analysis was based on the study of C-mineralisation after the addition of each collected sample to soil. Results obtained clearly demonstrated organic matter evolution during composting processes. Humification rates increased and humification indexes decreased over time, while extracted organic matter showed electrophoretic behaviour typical of stabilised organic compounds. Moreover, mineralisation patterns confirmed the increased level of organic matter stability during the composting process

I risultati e le prospettive future della ricerca in agricoltura biologica e biodinamica. Il progetto Greenresilient e la Food Citizenship

Sessione I: La ricerca in agricoltura biologica e biodinamica: il progetto Greenresilient e le prospettive future Sessione II: Food Citizenship: la consapevolezza alimentare del cittadino-consumatore come strumento di cambiamento dell’attuale sistema agroalimentare. Discussione aperta e partecipata

Final report for the CORE Organic Cofund funded project “Organic and biodynamic vegetable production in low-energy GREENhouses – sustainable, RESILIENT and innovative food production systems - GREENRESILIENT”

The main objective of the GREENRESILIENT project is to demonstrate that an agroecological approach to greenhouse production is feasible and allows robust agroecosystems to be established in different European areas. The final report provides and overview of what happened in the project and what was achieved

Organic substrate for transplant production in organic nurseries. A review

A transplant can be defined as a seedling or sprouted vegetative propagation material grown in a substrate or in the field, for transfer to the final cropping site. Nurseries use a range of growing media in the production of transplants, and the quality of a substrate may be defined in terms of its feasibility for the intended use and also according to the climatic condition of the production site. Peat is the worldwide standard substrate, but because of its origin and the increasing environmental and ecological concerns, new alternatives have been proposed for organic production. Here, we reviewed these new alternatives, assuming that the proposed growing media will need to respond in a proper way to specific plant requirements while also taking them into consideration to be environmental friendly, at the same time. Appropriate composting management combined with suitable feedstock material can produce substrates with adequate properties to develop transplants. Potential added-value benefits of particularized compost have been highlighted, and these include suppressiveness or capacity for plant pathogen control, biofertilization, and biostimulation. This added value is an important point in relation to the framework of organic agriculture because the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is limited. Different permitted fertilizers are proposed by incorporating them by dress fertilization before planting or by foliar fertilization or fertigation during the seedling production phase. In this context, specific beneficial microorganism inoculation demonstrates better and quicker nutrient solubilization. Its inclusion during seedling production not only facilitates plant growth during the germination and seedling stages but also could bring efficient microorganisms or beneficial microorganisms to the field with the transplants. This review will help to bridge the gap between the producers of compost and the seedling plant producers by providing updated literature

Greenresilient: Innovative Cropping Systems In Organic Greenhouse Production

European organic greenhouse production systems are extremely differentiated. The more intensive ones have been object of debates, in the last decade, and a strong request for innovative solutions to reduce the level of intensification comes from the “organic sector”. An agroecological approach to organic production in protected conditions can be an option. This paper describes how scientists with competencies in soil science, agronomy, plant pathology, entomology and environmental sustainability assessment interact in the framework of GREENRESILIENT project (CORE Organic Cofund) to implement more resilient cropping systems in protected conditio

Causes of death in women with breast cancer: a risks and rates study on a population-based cohort

IntroductionThe increasing survival of patients with breast cancer has prompted the assessment of mortality due to all causes of death in these patients. We estimated the absolute risks of death from different causes, useful for health-care planning and clinical prediction, as well as cause-specific hazards, useful for hypothesis generation on etiology and risk factors.Materials and methodsUsing data from population-based cancer registries we performed a retrospective study on a cohort of women diagnosed with primary breast cancer. We carried out a competing-cause analysis computing cumulative incidence functions (CIFs) and cause-specific hazards (CSHs) in the whole cohort, separately by age, stage and registry area.ResultsThe study cohort comprised 12,742 women followed up for six years. Breast cancer showed the highest CIF, 13.71%, and cardiovascular disease was the second leading cause of death with a CIF of 3.60%. The contribution of breast cancer deaths to the CIF for all causes varied widely by age class: 89.25% in women diagnosed at age <50 years, 72.94% in women diagnosed at age 50–69 and 48.25% in women diagnosed at age ≥70. Greater CIF variations were observed according to stage: the contribution of causes other than breast cancer to CIF for all causes was 73.4% in women with stage I disease, 42.9% in stage II–III and only 13.2% in stage IV. CSH computation revealed temporal variations: in women diagnosed at age ≥70 the CSH for breast cancer was equaled by that for cardiovascular disease and “other diseases” in the sixth year following diagnosis, and an early peak for breast cancer was identified in the first year following diagnosis. Among women aged 50–69 we identified an early peak for breast cancer followed by a further peak near the second year of follow-up. Comparison by geographic area highlighted conspicuous variations: the highest CIF for cardiovascular disease was more than 70% higher than the lowest, while for breast cancer the highest CIF doubled the lowest.ConclusionThe integrated interpretation of absolute risks and hazards suggests the need for multidisciplinary surveillance and prevention using community-based, holistic and well-coordinated survivorship care models

Vivere il green europeo: Agricoltura e allevamenti sostenibili

Cicolo di Incontri: I pilastri del green europeo: Vivere la sostenibilità

Designing resilient organic greenhouse production systems for Europe – New project started (Press release)

Greenhouse production is a highly intensive cropping system that guarantees out-of-season production in any climatic condition. The Greenresilient project, which was launched on April 2, 2018, aims to demonstrate the potential and feasibility of an agroecological approach to organic greenhouse production in Mediterranean, Central and Northern European organic production