GIARDINI IN RETE. A MODEL FOR SETTING UP DIDACTIC SOILLESS GARDENS IN SCHOOLS

Children’s understanding on the origin of food is nowadays affected by marketing and advertisements. Horticultural gardens in school may improve children's knowledge about nutrition and the importance of the proper use of natural resources. Simplified soilless gardens may represent an extremely effective educational tool since they allow practical descriptions of biological and biochemical processes related to plant life and growth. Furthermore, due to their independence from fertile soils, the high planting density, and the low labor requirement they represent a viable solution for most urban schools. Starting from 2012, the Giardini in Rete project aims at the introduction of a simplified soilless garden in a secondary school of Bologna to promote biodiversity and urban green landscape. In the present paper the model for setting up a didactic hydroponic vertical garden and the students' responses are addressed

Optimal red: Blue ratio in led lighting for nutraceutical indoor horticulture

In recent years, the interest toward the applicability of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights for indoor cultivation has significantly grown. The present work addressed the physiological and phytochemical plant responses to LED lights in indoor cultivation of leafy and fruit vegetable crops (namely sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L.; and strawberry, Fragaria 7. Ananassa), with the final aim of improving both productivity and nutritional quality. Artificial light treatments were applied in a multi-sectorial growth chamber equipped with lamps with different light incidence and spectra (with red:blue ratio ranging 0.7-5.5). In all experiments, increased plant biomass, fruit yield and energy use efficiency (EUE) were associated to LED treatments, confirming the superiority of LED compared to the traditional fluorescent lamps. Interestingly, LED lighting enabled to increase antioxidant compounds and reduce nitrates content in basil leaves. A spectral red:blue ratio of 0.7 was necessary for proper plant development and improved nutraceutical properties in both crop

Improving vegetable quality in controlled environments

During the last decades, food security has become a vital global concern driven by projections of population increase and exacerbated by the impending pressure of climate change on agriculture. Vegetable crops represent a fundamental ingredient of human diet due to their high nutritional value and bioactive content and could serve towards improving food security and nutritional quality, especially when managed under highly intensified cropping systems in controlled environments. Greenhouse and indoor growing modules not only allow for significantly higher yields compared to open field cropping systems, but also they can facilitate out of season production and substantial manipulation of the chemical composition and bioactive profile of the final product. The present work provides an updated critical overview of scientific advances regarding genotype and microclimate effects on the quality of greenhouse crops. In this context, innovative crop management practices are discussed, including management of the nutrient solution, biofortification and application of plant biostimulants. The review concludes by proposing future research pathways towards enhancing product quality of greenhouse vegetables