Dieci orti brevi. Storie di piante, uomini e altri animali

10 Orti Brevi. Storie di piante uomini e altri animali. Dieci racconti sulla storia di ortaggi, scritti nell'occasione dell'evento 10 orti brevi, nell'ambito dell’evento nazionale “Che Gusto” di Repubblica-Gusto, che si è svolto a Bologna nell’autunno del 2023

Mating disruption of helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on processing tomato: First applications in northern Italy

Helicoverpa armigera is a polyphagous and globally distributed pest. In Italy, this species causes severe damage on processing tomato. We compared the efficacy of mating disruption with a standard integrated pest management strategy (IPM) in a two-year experiment carried out in Northern Italy. Mating disruption registered a very high suppression of male captures (>95%) in both growing seasons. Geostatistical analysis of trap catches was shown to be a useful tool to estimate the efficacy of the technique through representation of the spatial pattern of captures. Lower fruit damage was recorded in mating disruption than in the untreated control plots, with a variable efficacy depending on season and sampling date. Mating disruption showed a higher efficacy than standard IPM in controlling H. armigera infestation in the second season experiment. Mating disruption showed the potential to optimize the H. armigera control. Geostatistical maps were suitable to draw the pheromone drift out of the pheromone-treated area in order to evaluate the efficacy of the technique and to detect the weak points in a pheromone treated field. Mating disruption and standard IPM against H. armigera were demonstrated to be only partially effective in comparison with the untreated plots because both strategies were not able to fully avoid fruit damage

Reforestation as part of an urban eco-horticultural infrastructure

Redevelopment of urban spaces can take different forms and configurations. With this work we propose a project of regeneration of residual green spaces included within an exindustrial area located in the outskirts of Bologna. Three small urban forests have been designed and put into practice, using native and naturalized species, with the specific aim of contributing to the spill-over of beneficial organisms, such as insect predators, parasitoids and pollinators from these areas to cultivated fields. The project, in fact, is part of a complex green infrastructure, a cycle-eco-horticultural corridor, made up also by an orchard of ancient and forgotten varieties, productive fields managed with organic method, semiintensive cultivation of aromatic plants, social gardens and fellow field

Design of “hot-spots” for beneficial insects in urban context

This study has the aim of identifying the wild plant species located in the case study area, an urban agro-ecological farm, that could be used to build functional biodiversity "hot-spots", in order to attract and create suitable habitats for predators, parasitoids and pollinators insects in view of conservative biological control and pollination service. Design of the specific "hot spots" is based on the consideration that some plants have a fundamental role in entomophagous and pollinator insects life as source of protein through their pollen, energy from their nectar, alternative preys and winter shelter. These roles are synthetized within the sigla SNAP (shelter, nectar, alternative preys), the base of conservative biological control

Plant-syrphid interactions in an urban farm matrix

Insect biodiversity is being lost at a staggering rate. One of the largest contributors of global insects declines is urban development and expansion (Maxwell et al., 2020). This is because natural and semi-natural landscapes are converted into areas dominated by built features and impervious ground cover, leading to habitat loss and degradation and ultimately, insect and pollinator extinction or replacement (McKinney, 2006). Urban agricultural sites are a growing component of cities to improve food security and reintroduce ‘green spaces’ that could potentially revitalise dull city centres that are otherwise depauperate in vegetation and biodiversity. However, it is still unclear how urban agriculture contributes to biodiversity and whether it beneficially impacts pollinator communities

Oli essenziali come repellenti per Halyomorpha halys: prove olfattometriche e in laboratorio in condizioni di scelta

La cimice asiatica, Halyomorpha halys Stål 1855 (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), originaria dell’Asia nordorientale, è un insetto dannoso estremamente invasivo, segnalato per la prima volta in Italia nel 2012 e in breve tempo divenuto il fitofago chiave in numerosi agroecosistemi causando ingenti danni economici su molte colture arboree. Nel presente lavoro sono stati presi in considerazione oli essenziali di canapa (Cannabis sativa), artemisia (Artemisia vulgaris), cajeput (Melaleuca cajuputi), origano di Spagna (Thymbra capitata) menta (Mentha piperita), geranio (Pelargonium graveolens), allo scopo di valutarne le potenzialità come repellenti in strategie integrate (es. push and pull) di lotta all’insetto, in particolare su pero. Gli oli essenziali sono stati saggiati, a diverse concentrazioni e in diverse combinazioni (blend), in prove olfattometriche (olfattometro a Y). Una volta selezionati gli oli e le miscele maggiormente performanti come repellenti, sono state effettuate prove “in vivo” su frutti di pero in condizioni di scelta in arene sperimentali appositamente realizzate. Gli oli utilizzati in tali prove sono stati caratterizzati chimicamente tramite Gas cromatografia con rivelatore a ionizzazione di fiamma (GC-FID). I risultati hanno permesso di evidenziare l’estrema efficacia di alcune miscele di oli essenziali - in particolare: cajeput+origano di Spagna e menta+geranio - come repellenti di H. halys. L’efficacia è tuttavia fortemente influenzata dalle concentrazioni relative e dal tempo trascorso dal trattamento, fattore quest’ultimo importante data l’elevata volatilità degli oli essenziali. Le sperimentazioni illustrate in questo lavoro fanno ben sperare sulla possibilità di utilizzo di miscele di oli essenziali come repellenti della cimice asiatica in strategie integrate (es. “push and pull”) per il controllo della cimice asiatica, ma le loro effettive potenzialità richiedono conferme in successive sperimentazioni in piano campo

Sustainable Community Gardens Require Social Engagement and Training: A Users\u2019 Needs Analysis in Europe

Urban gardens are spreading in many cities across Europe, with community gardening being a fundamental form of urban agriculture. While the literature reveals the essential role that community gardens can play in terms of learning and education, no studies have investigated the training needs for participants in community gardens to ensure their successful development. The goal of this article is to evaluate the training requirements of urban community gardens to ensure their successful implementation and their contribution to sustainability in European cities. Two questionnaires of users\u2019 needs analysis were designed and implemented in Berlin, Bologna, Budapest, and Cartagena. The results unveiled the need to re-enforce the training in the formation and community building phases of community gardens towards ensuring the creation of an engaged gardening community to maintain activity, particularly for top-down activities (e.g., research-related gardens). Users claimed their need for being trained on crop management skills (e.g., maintenance, bed preparation, organic practices) and on communication skills to further disseminate their activity, thereby increasing the potential for citizen engagement. Such requirements could be overcome with the creation of urban gardens networks, where experiences and knowledge are shared among practitioners. Policy recommendations are provided based on the outputs of this study

Polymorphisms in transcription factor binding sites and enhancer regions and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are a powerful tool for detecting variants associated with complex traits and can help risk stratification and prevention strategies against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the strict significance threshold commonly used makes it likely that many true risk loci are missed. Functional annotation of GWAS polymorphisms is a proven strategy to identify additional risk loci. We aimed to investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in regulatory regions [transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) and enhancers] that could change the expression profile of multiple genes they act upon and thereby modify PDAC risk. We analyzed a total of 12,636 PDAC cases and 43,443 controls from PanScan/PanC4 and the East Asian GWAS (discovery populations), and the PANDoRA consortium (replication population). We identified four associations that reached study-wide statistical significance in the overall meta-analysis: rs2472632(A) (enhancer variant, OR 1.10, 95%CI 1.06,1.13, p = 5.5 × 10−8), rs17358295(G) (enhancer variant, OR 1.16, 95%CI 1.10,1.22, p = 6.1 × 10−7), rs2232079(T) (TFBS variant, OR 0.88, 95%CI 0.83,0.93, p = 6.4 × 10−6) and rs10025845(A) (TFBS variant, OR 1.88, 95%CI 1.50,1.12, p = 1.32 × 10−5). The SNP with the most significant association, rs2472632, is located in an enhancer predicted to target the coiled-coil domain containing 34 oncogene. Our results provide new insights into genetic risk factors for PDAC by a focused analysis of polymorphisms in regulatory regions and demonstrating the usefulness of functional prioritization to identify loci associated with PDAC risk.</p

Polymorphisms in transcription factor binding sites and enhancer regions and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are a powerful tool for detecting variants associated with complex traits and can help risk stratification and prevention strategies against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the strict significance threshold commonly used makes it likely that many true risk loci are missed. Functional annotation of GWAS polymorphisms is a proven strategy to identify additional risk loci. We aimed to investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in regulatory regions [transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) and enhancers] that could change the expression profile of multiple genes they act upon and thereby modify PDAC risk. We analyzed a total of 12,636 PDAC cases and 43,443 controls from PanScan/PanC4 and the East Asian GWAS (discovery populations), and the PANDoRA consortium (replication population). We identified four associations that reached study-wide statistical significance in the overall meta-analysis: rs2472632(A) (enhancer variant, OR 1.10, 95%CI 1.06,1.13, p = 5.5 × 10−8), rs17358295(G) (enhancer variant, OR 1.16, 95%CI 1.10,1.22, p = 6.1 × 10−7), rs2232079(T) (TFBS variant, OR 0.88, 95%CI 0.83,0.93, p = 6.4 × 10−6) and rs10025845(A) (TFBS variant, OR 1.88, 95%CI 1.50,1.12, p = 1.32 × 10−5). The SNP with the most significant association, rs2472632, is located in an enhancer predicted to target the coiled-coil domain containing 34 oncogene. Our results provide new insights into genetic risk factors for PDAC by a focused analysis of polymorphisms in regulatory regions and demonstrating the usefulness of functional prioritization to identify loci associated with PDAC risk.</p