ALBERT

Description: Water uptake is a seminal process in seed germination. Salt and polyethylene glycol (PEG) are known to retard seed germination rates and percentages, which is often attributed to osmotic effects. Here, we quantified water uptake in wheat seeds killed with a hot needle, finding evidence of three distinct water uptake pools. The fast pool was unaffected by salt, and likely represents cell walls and other apoplastic material. Water uptake into the medium and slow pools was slowed by salt addition, with the medium pool thought to be cellular, while the slow pool is presumably related to endosperm hydration. Salt caused a minor decrease in the water uptake rates and maximum seed water content, while PEG strongly suppressed both parameters. Seeds transferred between water and salt solutions followed the water uptake trajectories of the solution into which they were transferred. Seeds transferred from PEG to water achieved final seed water contents similar to water control seeds, while seeds transferred from water to PEG achieved significantly higher final water contents than PEG controls. This work confirms that salt and PEG have distinct effects on water uptake by wheat seeds.

Description: The south of Portugal is one of the regions that will be most affected by the impacts of climate change (CC), with an expected increase in water scarcity. Irrigated super-intensive olive orchards occupy a large area of the used agricultural surface in the Alentejo region, south of Portugal, making it necessary to adapt this crop to the effects of CC. This study assessed the impacts of CC and defined adaptation measures concerning irrigation management of the super-intensive olive orchard. To compute the crop irrigation requirement (CIR), the soil water balance model ISAREG was combined with climate data relative to the reference period 1971–2000 and to the representative concentration pathways RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for the periods 2011–2040, 2041–2070, and 2071–2100. The growing degree-days (GDD) approach was used to estimate olive phenology for these CC scenarios. Unchanged irrigation management with an average CIR increase up to 16% in RCP4.5 and 31% in RCP8.5 is expected. By adopting higher levels of water deficit, water savings of up to 22% can be realized. The results showed that the anticipated CIR increase for the CC scenarios can be mitigated through regulated deficit irrigation strategies.

Description: A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different herbicides for controlling wild onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius) in cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) during the rabi seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020) at Agricultural Research Station, Agriculture University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The experiment comprised eight herbicidal weed management treatments for wild onion applied to cumin in a three-replication randomized block design. Among the herbicidal weed management treatments, early post-emergence (8 DAS) application of oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha resulted in the lowest weed density and dry matter of Asphodilus tenuifolius, with maximum weed (Asphodilus tenuifolius) control efficiency at 40 days after sowing (DAS) during both experimental years. Likewise, the highest total efficiency of weed control was recorded with the application of oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha at 8 DAS. Oxyflourfen 200 g/ha used early post emergence (8 DAS) reduced the weed index more effectively than the other herbicides. It also recorded the highest number of branches/plant, plant height, umbels/plant, umbellates/umbel, seeds/umbellates, and seed yield. However, application of oxyflourfen @ 200 g/ha 8 DAS–early POE and pendimethalin 38.7 CS 500 g/ha + oxyfluorfen @ 150 g/ha 8 DAS–early POE were statistically similar in terms of plant growth, yield, and yield attributes. The net returns (366.49 USD/ha in 2018–2019 and 175.72 USD/ha in 2019–2020) and B:C ratio (1.70 and 1.33 in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, respectively) were also superior, with oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha applied early post emergence.

Description: Reliable estimations of parameter values and associated uncertainties are crucial for crop model applications in agro-environmental research. However, estimating many parameters simultaneously for different types of response variables is difficult. This becomes more complicated for grapevines with different phenotypes between varieties and training systems. Our study aims to evaluate how a standard least square approach can be used to calibrate a complex grapevine model for simulating both the phenology (flowering and harvest date) and yield of four different variety–training systems in the Douro Demarcated Region, northern Portugal. An objective function is defined to search for the best-fit parameters that result in the minimum value of the unweighted sum of the normalized Root Mean Squared Error (nRMSE) of the studied variables. Parameter uncertainties are estimated as how a given parameter value can determine the total prediction variability caused by variations in the other parameter combinations. The results indicate that the best-estimated parameters show a satisfactory predictive performance, with a mean bias of −2 to 4 days for phenology and −232 to 159 kg/ha for yield. The corresponding variance in the observed data was generally well reproduced, except for one occasion. These parameters are a good trade-off to achieve results close to the best possible fit of each response variable. No parameter combinations can achieve minimum errors simultaneously for phenology and yield, where the best fit to one variable can lead to a poor fit to another. The proposed parameter uncertainty analysis is particularly useful to select the best-fit parameter values when several choices with equal performance occur. A global sensitivity analysis is applied where the fruit-setting parameters are identified as key determinants for yield simulations. Overall, the approach (including uncertainty analysis) is relatively simple and straightforward without specific pre-conditions (e.g., model continuity), which can be easily applied for other models and crops. However, a challenge has been identified, which is associated with the appropriate assumption of the model errors, where a combination of various calibration approaches might be essential to have a more robust parameter estimation.

Description: Climate change has inherent multidisciplinary characteristics, and predicting the future of a single field of work has a limit. Therefore, this study proposes a water-centric nexus approach for the agriculture and forest sectors for improving the response to climate change in the Korean Peninsula. Two spatial models, i.e., Environmental Policy Integrated Climate and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs, were used to assess the extent of changes in agricultural water demand, forest water supply, and their balance at the watershed level in the current and future climatic conditions. Climate changed has increased the agricultural water demand and forest water supply significantly in all future scenarios and periods. Comparing the results with RCP8.5 2070s and the baseline, the agricultural water demand and forest water supply increased by 35% and 28%, respectively. Water balance assessment at the main watershed level in the Korean Peninsula revealed that although most scenarios of the future water supply increases offset the demand growth, a risk to water balance exists in case of a low forest ratio or smaller watershed. For instance, the western plains, which are the granary regions of South and North Korea, indicate a higher risk than other areas. These results show that the land-use balance can be an essential factor in a water-centric adaptation to climate change. Ultimately, the water-centric nexus approach can make synergies by overcoming increasing water demands attributable to climate change.

Description: The accurate and timely assessment of pasture quantity and quality (i.e., nutritive characteristics) is vital for effective pasture management. Remotely sensed data can be used to predict pasture quantity and quality. This study investigated the ability of Sentinel-2 multispectral bands, convolved from proximal hyperspectral data, in predicting various pasture quality and quantity parameters. Field data (quantitative and spectral) were gathered for experimental plots representing four pasture types—perennial ryegrass monoculture and three mixtures of swards representing increasing species diversity. Spectral reflectance data at the canopy level were used to generate Sentinel-2 bands and calculate normalised difference indices with each possible band pair. The suitability of these indices for prediction of pasture parameters was assessed. Pasture quantity parameters (biomass and Leaf Area Index) had a stronger influence on overall reflectance than the quality parameters. Indices involving the 1610 nm band were optimal for acid detergent fibre, crude protein, organic matter and water-soluble carbohydrate concentration, while being less affected by biomass or LAI. The study emphasises the importance of accounting for the quantity parameters in the spectral data-based models for pasture quality predictions. These explorative findings inform the development of future pasture quantity and quality models, particularly focusing on diverse swards.

Description: The physical-geographical features of the mountainous area of Montenegro cause difficulties in farmers’ life and work. The organization of the agricultural production faces a number of problems that limit the overall development of rural areas. Some agricultural crops, such as raspberry, have found optimal growth conditions and produce appropriate yields associated with good fruit quality in such mountainous area. The Willamette variety dominates the production and has broadly expanded, as some new varieties, most notably, Tulameen, Fertȍdi Zamatos, and Glen Ample. The aim of this paper was to examine the biological and production characteristics of two raspberry varieties—one floricane (Tulameen) and one primocane (Polka)—grown in two localities. We confirmed the general rule that at lower altitudes, these varieties (570 m a.s.l, Bijelo Polje) are characterized by earlier vegetation, flowering, and fruit ripening in comparison to plants at higher altitude (1040 m a.s.l, Mojkovac). The Tulameen variety started flowering on 15 May in Bijelo Polje (the flowering phenophase lasted for 29 days, until 12 June) and on 25 May in Mojkovac (the flowering phenophase lasted for 27 days, until 20 June). That is a delay of 11 days in relation to different locations. The Polka variety started flowering on 25 June in Bijelo Polje (57 days, until 20 August) and on 1 July in Mojkovac (flowering for 67 days, until 5 September). That is a delay of 7 days. The Tulameen variety started maturation on 14 June in Bijelo Polje (maturation lasted for 27 days, until 10 July) and on 22 June in Mojkovac (26 days, until 17 July), with a delay of 9 days. The Polka variety started maturation on 23 July in Bijelo Polje (the maturation phenophase lasted for 55 days, until 15 September) and on 5 August in Mojkovac (52 days, until 25 September), with a delay of 14 days. The results showed that the Polka variety had significantly higher total phenol content than the Tulameen variety (4.43 and 4.03 mg, respectively). In terms of locality, the Mojkovac raspberries had higher total phenol content than the Bijelo Polje raspberries. Polka raspberries also had a higher content of total flavonoids than Tulameen, whereas differences between localities in regard to the content of total flavonoids in the fruit were not significant. The content of condensed tannins and gallotannins in the raspberry fruit was similar in relation to both varieties and localities. Finally, the total antioxidant capacity was significantly higher in the Polka compared to the Tulameen variety, whereas the differences between localities were not statistically significant.

Description: Rice production in Tanzania, with 67% of its territory considered semi-dry and having average annual rainfall of 300 mm, must be increased to feed an ever-growing population. Water for irrigation and low soil fertility are among the main challenges. One way to decrease water consumption in paddy fields is to change the irrigation regime for rice production, replacing continuous flooding with alternate wetting and drying. In order to assess the impact of different irrigation regimes and nitrogen fertilizer applications on growth, yield, and water productivity of rice, a greenhouse pot experiment with soil from lowland rice ecology was conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania during the 2019 cropping season. The experiment was split-plot based on randomized complete block design with 12 treatments and 3 replications. Water regimes were the main factors comparing continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) with nitrogen fertilizer levels as the subfactor, comparing absolute control (no fertilizer) with 0 (P and K fertilizers), 60, 90, 120, and 150 kg Nha−1. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) significantly improved water productivity by 8.3% over CF (p 〈 0.05). Water productivity (WP) ranged from 0.6 to 1.5 kg of rice per m3 of water. Average water use ranged from 36 to 82 L per season, and water saving was up to 34.3%. Alternate wetting and drying significantly improved yields (p 〈 0.05) by 13.3%, and the yield ranged from 21.8 to 118.2 g pot−1. The combination of AWD water management and 60 kg N ha−1 nitrogen fertilization application was found to be the optimal management, however there was no significant difference between 60 and 90 kg N ha−1, in which case 60 kg N ha−1 is recommended because it lowers costs and raises net income. Nitrogen levels significantly affected water productivity, water use, and number of irrigations. Nitrogen levels had significant effect (p 〈 0.05) on plant height, number of tillers, flag leaf area, chlorophyll content, total tillers, number of productive tillers, panicle weight, panicle length, 1000-grain weight, straw yield, grain yield, and grain harvest index. The results showed that less water can be used to produce more crops under alternative wetting and drying irrigation practices. The results are important for water-scarce areas, providing useful information to policy makers, farmers, agricultural departments, and water management boards in devising future climate-smart adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Description: The knowledge of genetic variability and breeding techniques is crucial in crop improvement programs. This information is especially important in underutilized crops such as Bambara groundnut, which have limited breeding systems and genetic diversity information. Hence, this study evaluated the genetic variability and established the relationship between the yield and its components in Bambara groundnut based on seed weight using multivariate analysis. A field trial was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications on 28 lines. Data were collected on 12 agro-morphological traits, and a statistical analysis was conducted using SAS version 9.4 software, while the variance component, genotypic and phenotypic coefficient variation, heritability, and genetic advance values were estimated. A cluster analysis was performed using NT-SYS software to estimate the genetic relations among the accessions. The results showed significant variability among the accessions based on the yield and yield component characteristics. The evaluated lines were grouped into seven primary clusters based on the assessed traits using the UPGMA dendrogram. Based on the overall results, G5LR1P3, G1LR1P3, G4LR1P1, G2SR1P1 and G3SR1P4 performed the best for the yield and yield components. These improved lines are recommended for large-scale evaluation and utilization in future breeding programs to develop high-yield Bambara groundnut varieties.

Description: Root-knot nematode (RKN) is a serious threat to crops worldwide due to the difficulty in controlling it and the limited eco-friendly alternatives to deal with the biotic stress it causes. In the present work, water-extractable fractions obtained from vermicompost (WSFv), vermicompost enriched with Trichoderma asperellum (WSFta) and T. virens (WSFtv) were tested as biotechnological tools to reduce the impacts of RKN on gas exchange, water use efficiency (WUE) and nutrient concentration in tomato and bell pepper plants. The plants were infected with 5000 eggs and eventual J2 of RKN and then treated with the water-extractable fractions for seven weeks. It was observed that the addition of WSFta, WSFtv and WSFv increased the CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance and WUE in the tomato plants. In the bell pepper plants, WSFta, WSFtv, WSFv increased the stomatal conductance, while WUE was higher in the treatment with WSFtv. In fact, the parameters associated with the gas exchange were usually higher in the bell pepper than in the tomato plants. Overall, higher contents of N, Mg, B and Mn were detected when the extracts were applied in both bell pepper and tomato plants. The application of the water-extractable fractions, inoculated or not with Trichoderma, attenuates the RKN damage on the gas exchange parameters and successfully enhanced the nutrient concentration in the infected tomato and bell pepper plants, showing that it could be an important and promising tool for reducing the damage caused by this pathogen. We suggest that both the tomato and pepper plants can cope with the dilemma between growth and stress response via stomata regulation that are modulated by the WSF and Trichoderma.

Description: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the major threats for wheat production worldwide. It reduces yield, quality, and feeding value of wheat grains. In addition, mycotoxins produced by Fusarium pathogens can have a negative effect on livestock and human health. The aim of this study was to assess changes in technological quality traits and end-use quality of winter wheat varieties after artificial inoculation with Fusarium spp. over three years. Differences in dough development duration and extensibility were measured as the means of relative reductions due to different environments and varieties’ characteristics. Differences in dough softening during kneading were determined as the means of relative increases due to FHB inoculation. In addition, dough had reduced strength, was stickier, and therefore was more difficult to handle, due to a decrease of the average energy value and resistance to extension in FHB-inoculated wheat, compared to naturally infected plants. Dough development time, stability, and resistance usually varied in a similar way, with FHB-resistant varieties showing a good response to FHB inoculation and maintaining good quality. Increasing the level of Fusarium spp. contamination in more FHB-susceptible wheat varieties worsened their technological quality, primarily, the sedimentation value and the gluten index, and hence had a negative effect on the rheological properties.

Description: The purpose of this study was to assess the suitability of the Romanian Albanus hybrid of Sorghum bicolor as a potential functional food ingredient. Ultrasound-assisted extraction in different solvents, together with spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods, was used to monitor the variation in total phenolic and flavonoid content and the antioxidant activity of raw sorghum grains before and during short germination periods (24, 36 and 48 h). The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode-Array Detection (HPLC-DAD) investigation of the extracts revealed that the ungerminated sorghum grains extracted with methanol had the highest diversity of phenolic compounds, while the total phenolic content (TPC) was the highest after 36 h of germination in both extract types: 1853 mg GAE/100 g for the methanolic extract and 1726 mg GAE/100 g for the ethanolic extract. The findings of this study showed that the TPC of sorghum extracts is strongly correlated with their antioxidant activity and, overall, that the studied extracts presented a good radical scavenger activity, which supports the benefits of alimentary uses of Sorghum bicolor grains.

Description: The main reason for the development of the yield gap in crop production is the inefficient management of nitrogen (N). The nitrogen gap (NG) cannot be ameliorated without an indication and quantification of soil characteristics that limit N uptake by a crop plant. The insufficient supply of N to a plant during its cardinal stages of yield formation is a result of two major-variabilities. The first is spatial variability in the soil characteristics responsible for water supply to a plant, also serving as a nutrient carrier. The second is a vertical variability in soil factors, decisive for pools of available nutrients, and their in-season accessibility to the grown crop. The long-term strategy for NG cover should focus first on soil characteristics (humus stock, pH, nutrient content) responsible for water storage and its availability to the currently grown plant. Diagnostics of plant nutrient availability should deliver data on their contents both in the topsoil and subsoil. The combined use of both classical diagnostic tools and spectral imagery is a way to divide a single field into units, differing in productivity. Remote-sensing techniques offer a broad number of tools to define the in-season crop canopy requirement for fertilizer N in homogenous field units.

Description: Earthworm activity is a key factor in creating soil aggregates, but introduced organic matter and abiotic factors are also equally important. The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of aggregates made by earthworms in soils with organic additives. Additionally, the two aggregate stability measurement methods were compared: (i) the wet-sieve method and (ii) the laser diffraction method. A six-month container experiment containing sixteen treatments and controls were made. Each treatment included one of four types of soil texture: sand, loam, silty loam and clay, and one of four additives: straw, peat, compost and compost with added microorganisms. To each treatment, six earthworms were added, two each of species commonly occurring in Polish soils: Dendrodrilus rubidus, Aporrectodea caliginosa and A. rosea. This study confirmed that earthworm activity was the factor favoring aggregate formation. In terms of the investigated organic additives, the efficiency of aggregate creation was as follows: compost with active bacteria, compost, peat and straw. Nevertheless, earthworms alone, without the addition of an organic additive, did not form permanent aggregates. The wet sieving and laser diffractometry methods of measuring aggregate stability were comparable for silty, clayey and loamy soils.

Description: Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is a major viral disease adversely affecting cassava production in Africa and Asia. Genomic regions conferring resistance to the disease have been mapped in African cassava germplasm through biparental quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association studies. To facilitate the utilization of these markers in breeding pipelines to support selections, proof-of-concept technical and biological validation research was carried out using independent pre-breeding and breeding populations. Kompetitive Allele-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (KASP) assays were designed from three single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers linked to a major resistance locus on chromosome 12 (S12_7926132, S12_7926163) and a minor locus on chromosome 14 (S14_4626854). The designed assays were robust and easy to score with 〉99% genotype call rate. The overall predictive accuracy (proportion of true positives and true negatives) of the markers (S12_7926132 and S14_4626854) was 0.80 and 0.78 in the pre-breeding and breeding population, respectively. On average, genotypes that carried at least one copy of the resistant allele at the major CMD2 locus had a significantly higher yield advantage. Nevertheless, variation was observed in prediction accuracies for the major locus (S12_7926132) among sub-families from the two populations, suggesting the need for context-specific utilization, for example, by screening for co-segregation of favorable SNP alleles with resistance in the parents being used for crosses. Availability of these validated SNP markers on the uniplex KASP genotyping platform represents an important step in translational genetics toward marker-assisted selection to accelerate introgression of favorable resistant alleles in breeding populations.

Description: Nitrogen (N) management remains a global challenge for the sustainability of diversified farming systems. Field crops are often over-supplied with nitrogen by farmers aiming to high productivity. Although the increase of nitrogen rates leads in many instances to high yields, degree of effectiveness for nitrogen use remains low. Urease and nitrification inhibitors are technologies which have been present in the fertilizers market at least 50 years. Inhibitors exploitation ensures long-term nitrogen release and improved N-uptake by plants and N-storage in seeds and silage. Avail of inhibitors, such as the decline of nitrogen leaching in form of NO3−, reduction of emissions in NH3 form, and rise of yield, are some of the desirable attributes that are derived from their integration in fertilization schedules. This review reports the evaluation of applied nitrogen, with inhibitors, and field crops based on nitrogen indices. The examined N-indicators include Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency (NUtE,) Nitrogen Agronomic Efficiency (NAE), Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI), and N uptake. This review gathered all, to the best of our knowledge, available data regarding the utilization of nitrification and urease inhibitors under an exclusively agronomic perspective. Either dual or single use of nitrification and urease inhibitors has been reported to significantly increase yield components and promote nitrogen uptake. To conclude, the assessment of N-related indices is vital to promoting sustainability in diversified farming systems, while the integration of inhibitors in national N fertilizations schemes may contribute to system profitability through enhancement of N-supply to crops.

Description: Semi-natural grasslands are particularly important in mountainous areas of Romania, being the only source of forage for many farmers. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in forage quantity and quality as a result of Urea Ammonium nitrate (UAN) liquid fertilization. The experiment was carried out in the eastern part of Apuseni Mountains, Romania on a Festuca rubra L.-Agrostis capillaris L. grassland located at 1240 m altitude. Studies were made over three years of experimental trial (2014–2016) and covered four experimental plots in three replicates, as follows: V1–control plot, unfertilized; V2–plot fertilized with 50 kg UAN ha−1 year−1; V3–plot fertilized with 75 kg UAN ha−1 year−1, and V4–plot fertilized with 100 kg UAN ha−1 year−1. The experimental plots were harvested once per year and the botanical composition, dry matter yield and forage quality were assessed. Our results showed important changes in forage quantity, quality and diversity as a result of UAN fertilization. Starting from the second experimental year the dominance/co-dominance ratio changed favoring the species from Poaceae family. Dry matter increased as a result of UAN fertilization but forage quality was negatively affected by the higher percentage of participation of species from other botanical families which have higher crude fiber content and lower crude protein. Based on our results we recommend moderate fertilization with UAN up to 50 kg UAN ha−1 year−1 for semi-natural grasslands located in soil-climatic conditions similar to those in our experiment.

Description: Crop area mapping is important for tracking agricultural production and supporting food security. Spaceborne approaches using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) now allow for mapping crop area at moderate spatial and temporal resolutions. Multi-frequency SAR data is highly useful for crop monitoring because backscatter response from vegetation canopies is wavelength dependent. This study evaluates the utility of C-band Sentinel-1B (Sentinel-1) and L-band ALOS-2 (PALSAR) data, collected during the 2019 growing season, for generating accurate active crop extent (crop vs. non-crop) classifications over an agricultural region in western Canada. Evaluations were performed against the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada satellite-based Annual Cropland Inventory (ACI), an open data product that maps land cover across the extent of Canada’s agricultural land. Classifications were performed using the temporal coefficient of variation (CV) approach, where an optimal crop/non-crop delineating CV threshold (CVthr) is selected according to Youden’s J-statistic. Results show that crop area mapping agreed better with the ACI when using Sentinel-1 data (83.5%) compared to PALSAR (73.2%). Analysis of performance by crop reveals that PALSAR’s poorer performance can be attributed to soybean, urban, grassland, and pasture ACI classes. This study also compared CV values to in situ wet biomass data for canola and soybeans, showing that crops with lower biomass (soybean) had correspondingly lower CV values.

Description: Phytophthora nicotianae is a devastating oomycete plant pathogen with a wide host range. On tobacco, it causes black shank, a disease that can result in severe economic losses. Deployment of host resistance is one of the most effective means of controlling tobacco black shank, but adaptation to complete and partial resistance by P. nicotianae can limit the long-term effectiveness of the resistance. The molecular basis of adaptation to partial resistance is largely unknown. RNAseq was performed on two isolates of P. nicotianae (adapted to either the susceptible tobacco genotype Hicks or the partially resistant genotype K 326 Wz/Wz) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) during their pathogenic interactions with K 326 Wz/Wz and Hicks. Approximately 69% of the up-regulated DEGs were associated with pathogenicity in the K 326 Wz/Wz-adapted isolate when sampled following infection of its adapted host K 326 Wz/Wz. Thirty-one percent of the up-regulated DEGs were associated with pathogenicity in the Hicks-adapted isolate on K 326 Wz/Wz. A broad spectrum of over-represented gene ontology (GO) terms were assigned to down-regulated genes in the Hicks-adapted isolate. In the host, a series of GO terms involved in nuclear biosynthesis processes were assigned to the down-regulated genes in K 326 Wz/Wz inoculated with K 326 Wz/Wz-adapted isolate. This study enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of P. nicotianae adaptation to partial resistance in tobacco by elucidating how the pathogen recruits pathogenicity-associated genes that impact host biological activities.

Description: The multi-ovary trait of wheat inbred line DUOII is controlled by a dominant gene whose expression can be suppressed by the heterogeneous cytoplasm of TeZhiI (TZI), another inbred line with the nucleus of common wheat and the cytoplasm of Aegilops. DUOII (♀) × TZI (♂) shows multi-ovary trait, while TZI (♀) × DUOII (♂) shows mono-ovary. To elucidate the molecular mechanism regulating heterogeneous cytoplasmic suppression of the multi-ovary gene, we performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of 2–6 mm young spikes of reciprocal crosses between DUOII and TZI at the critical stage of additional pistil primordium development. We identified 198 annotated differentially expressed metabolites and analyzed them according to their biological functions. The results showed that these metabolites had obvious functional pathways mainly implicated in amino acid, carbohydrate, nicotinate and nicotinamide, and purine metabolism and isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis. We also found that shikimate, phosphoglycolic acid, nicotinamide, guanine, and xanthine might play essential roles in cytoplasmic suppression of multi-ovary trait. Chloroplast metabolism was also implicated in the nuclear-cytoplasmic effect of the multi-ovary gene. The findings provide solid theoretical and empirical foundations for future studies elucidating the mechanisms controlling heterogeneous cytoplasmic suppression of the nuclear multi-ovary gene in wheat.

Description: Due to the increasing global demand of food grain, early and reliable information on crop production is important in decision making in agricultural production. Remote sensing (RS)-based forecast models developed from vegetation indices have the potential to give quantitative and timely information on crops for larger regions or even at farm scale. Different vegetation indices are being used for this purpose, however, their efficiency in estimating crop yield certainly needs to be tested. In this study, wheat yield was derived by linear regressing reported yield values against a time series of six different peak-seasons (2013–2018) using the Landsat 8-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI). NDVI- and SAVI-based forecasting models were validated based on 2018–2019 datasets and compared to evaluate the most appropriate index that performs better in forecasting wheat production in the Tisza river basin. Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency index was positive with E1 = 0.716 for the model from NDVI and for SAVI E1 = 0.909, which means that the forecasting method developed and performed good forecast efficiency. The best time for wheat yield prediction with Landsat 8-SAVI and NDVI was found to be the beginning of full biomass period from the 138th to 167th day of the year (18 May to 16 June; BBCH scale: 41–71) with high regression coefficients between the vegetation indices and the wheat yield. The RMSE of the NDVI-based prediction model was 0.357 t/ha (NRMSE: 7.33%). The RMSE of the SAVI-based prediction model was 0.191 t/ha (NRMSE 3.86%). The validation of the results revealed that the SAVI-based model provided more accurate forecasts compared to NDVI. Overall, probable yield amount is possible to predict far before harvest (six weeks earlier) based on Landsat 8 NDVI and SAVI and generating simple thresholds for yield forecasting, and a potential loss of wheat yield can be mapped.

Description: Acclimation is the final phase of micropropagation and often decisive for its economic output. The aim of the experiments was to evaluate the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) and supplementary light on acclimation and leaf anatomy of the in vitro-rooted plants of ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius L.). The initial material came from 8–10-week-old in vitro cultures on ½MS supplemented with 1 mg·L−1 IBA. After potting, plantlets were sprayed with ABA solutions or distilled water and were grown either under natural daylight or under supplemental sodium light at 230 μmol·m−2·s−1 between 2 and 9 p.m. All measurements and anatomical observations were done after eight weeks in the greenhouse. Supplementary lighting significantly increased the percentage of acclimatized plants, plant height and the internode number. Plant growth was also positively affected by 1 mg·L−1 ABA. During acclimation, the photosynthesis rate increased while the transpiration and stomatal conductance dropped. The assimilation pigment contents increased under supplemental lighting while ABA had no detectable effect. However, relative to water controls, ABA increased photosynthesis, reduced transpiration, and stomatal conductance in plants growing under both light conditions. Leaves from the in vitro plants were about two times thinner than those from plants growing in soil, with only a single layer of the palisade parenchyma, hence with lower proportion in relation to the spongy parenchyma. Supplementary light during acclimation increased leaf thickness but only in the water control while it decreased it in the ABA-treated plants. ABA increased the mesophyll thickness but only in plants growing under natural light. In conclusion, supplementary light and treatment with ABA enhance acclimation of micropropagated ninebark plants.

Description: Even though climate change is having an increasing impact on tea plants, systematic reviews on the impact of climate change on the tea system are scarce. This review was undertaken to assess and synthesize the knowledge around the impacts of current and future climate on yield, quality, and climate suitability for tea; the historical roots and the most influential papers on the aforementioned topics; and the key adaptation and mitigation strategies that are practiced in tea fields. Our findings show that a large number of studies have focused on the impact of climate change on tea quality, followed by tea yield, while a smaller number of studies have concentrated on climate suitability. Three pronounced reference peaks found in Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RYPS) represent the most significant papers associated with the yield, quality, and climate suitability for tea. Tea yield increases with elevated CO2 levels, but this increment could be substantially affected by an increasing temperature. Other climatic factors are uneven rainfall, extreme weather events, and climate-driven abiotic stressors. An altered climate presents both advantages and disadvantages for tea quality due to the uncertainty of the concentrations of biochemicals in tea leaves. Climate change creates losses, gains, and shifts of climate suitability for tea habitats. Further studies are required in order to fill the knowledge gaps identified through the present review, such as an investigation of the interaction between the tea plant and multiple environmental factors that mimic real-world conditions and then studies on its impact on the tea system, as well as the design of ensemble modeling approaches to predict climate suitability for tea. Finally, we outline multifaceted and evidence-based adaptive and mitigation strategies that can be implemented in tea fields to alleviate the undesirable impacts of climate change.

Description: Soybean productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is less than half of the global average yield. To plug the productivity gap, further improvement in grain yield must be attained by enhancing the genetic potential of new cultivars that depends on the genetic diversity of the parents. Hence, our aim was to assess genetic diversity and population structure of elite soybean genotypes, mainly released cultivars and advanced selections in SSA. In this study, a set of 165 lines was genotyped with high-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers covering the complete genome of soybean. The genetic diversity (0.414) was high considering the bi-allelic nature of SNP markers. The polymorphic information content (PIC) varied from 0.079 to 0.375, with an average of 0.324 and about 49% of the markers had a PIC value above 0.350. Cluster analysis grouped all the genotypes into three major clusters. The model-based STRUCTURE and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) exhibited high consistency in the allocation of lines in subpopulations or groups. Nonetheless, they presented some discrepancy and identified the presence of six and five subpopulations or groups, respectively. Principal coordinate analysis revealed more consistency with subgroups suggested by DAPC analysis. Our results clearly revealed the broad genetic base of TGx (Tropical Glycine max) lines that soybean breeders may select parents for crossing, testing and selection of future cultivars with desirable traits for SSA.

Description: Acidified slurry is a novel organic fertilizer that limits gaseous ammonia emissions and reduces nitrogen losses. Our research aimed to determine the effects of short-term fertilization with acidified slurry on the chemical properties and bacterial community of soil used for maize cultivation. In the months after spreading, raw slurry fertilization had a significant impact on the increase in values of N-NO3. In contrast, soil fertilized with acidified slurry had lower N-NO3 values when compared to raw slurry fertilization treatments. Bacterial sequencing using Illumina MiSeq showed no differences in the genetic diversity of bacterial communities. In all tested soil samples, dominants at the phylum level were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteria, while dominants at the class level were Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Thermoleophilia, Gammaproteobacteria, and Acidimicrobiia. The values of biodiversity indices (Shannon index, Simpson index) in tested samples were similar. Our results suggest that short-term fertilization with acidified slurry does not adversely affect the biodiversity and structure of the bacterial communities and has a slight impact on soil chemical properties.

Description: Water stress caused by drought affects the productivity of the sugarcane crop. A breeding alternative is the selection of drought-tolerant sugarcane cultivars. The objective of this study was the in vitro screening of cultivars tolerant to water stress using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a stressing agent. Cultivars (cv) Mex 69-290, CP 72-2086, Mex 79-431 and MOTZMex 92-207 were subjected to different concentrations of PEG 6000 (0, 3, 6 and 9% w/v) using Murashige and Skoog semi-solid culture medium. At 30 days of culture, different developmental variables and dry matter (DM), total protein (TP), proline (Pr) and glycine-betaine (GB) contents were evaluated. The results showed reduced development in cv CP 72-2086, Mex 79-431 and MOTZMex 92-207 with increasing PEG concentration. The cv Mex 69-290 showed tolerance to osmotic stress of −0.45 MPa using 3% PEG. Overall, TP content decreased with increasing PEG concentration, while DM, Pr and GB contents rose with increasing PEG concentration in all evaluated cultivars. Our results suggest that cv Mex 69-290 has a slight tolerance to water stress and could be used for rainfed cultivation with low rainfall or reduced irrigation for better water use efficiency. In conclusion, the in vitro screening technique of cultivars tolerant to PEG-induced water stress is an alternative for early determination of drought stress in sugarcane.

Description: A lack of adaptive capacities for climate change prevents poor farmers from diversifying agricultural production in Bangladesh’s drought-resilient areas. Climate change adaptation strategies can reduce the production risk relating to unforeseen climatic shocks and increase farmers’ food, income, and livelihood security. This paper investigates rice farmers’ adaptive capacities to adapt climate change strategies to reduce the rice production risk. The study collected 400 farm-level micro-data of rice farmers with the direct cooperation of Rajshahi District. The survey was conducted during periods between June and July of 2020. Rice farmers’ adaptive capacities were estimated quantitatively by categorizing the farmers as high, moderate, and low level adapters to climate change adaptation strategies. In this study, a Cobb–Douglas production function was used to measure the effects of farmers’ adaptive capacities on rice production. The obtained results show that farmers are moderately adaptive in terms of adaptation strategies on climate change and the degree of adaptation capacities. Agronomic practices such as the quantity of fertilizer used, the amount of labor, the farm’s size, and extension contacts have a substantial impact on rice production. This study recommends that a farmer more significantly adjusts to adaptation strategies on climate change to reduce rice production. These strategies will help farmers to reduce the risk and produce higher quality rice. Consequently, rice farmers should facilitate better extension services and change the present agronomic practice to attain a higher adaptation status. It can be very clearly seen that low adaptability results in lower rice yields.

Description: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of various types and levels of effective microorganism (EM) applications on scarlet sage. For this purpose, EMs were applied at the following three concentrations: 1:10, 1:50, and 1:100. Moreover, two types of treatments (spraying and watering) and a combination of the two were also examined. Photosynthetic intensity was analyzed, including the net photosynthesis rate (PN), stomatal conductance (gS), and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci). Additionally, chlorophyll a, b, and a + b, and the chlorophyll b/a ratio were analyzed. The microbial content in the medium and soil enzyme activity were also evaluated to examine the effect of EMs on soil biological properties. The investigations revealed a high positive effect of EMs on the photosynthetic activity of most EM combinations compared with the control. The greatest positive effect was noted for the highest EM concentration application for both types of treatments. There was no such influence on soil activity. An increase was noted only in the number of fungi and dehydrogenase activity, while the rest of the soil biological status parameters revealed significant variability, and mostly small or no effects were recorded.

Description: Spain has ranked 6th on the harvested bean area and 8th in bean production in the European Union (EU). The soils of this area have mixed silt loam and sandy loam texture, with moderate clay content, neutral or acidic pH, rich in organic matter and low carbonate levels, providing beans with high water absorption capacity and better organoleptic qualities after cooking. Similar to other crops, it is attacked by some phytopathogens. Hitherto, chemical methods have been used to control these organisms. However, with the Reform of the Community Agrarian Policy in the EU, the number of authorized plant protection products has been reduced to prevail food security, as well as to be sustainable in the long term, giving priority to the non-chemical methods that use biological agents, such as Trichoderma. This study aimed to investigate the relative importance of various crop soil parameters in the adaptation of Trichoderma spp. autoclaved soils (AS) and natural soils (NS) from the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) “Alubia La Bañeza—León” that were inoculated with Trichoderma velutinum T029 and T. harzianum T059 and incubated in a culture chamber at 25 °C for 15 days. Their development was determined by quantitative PCR. Twelve soil samples were selected and analyzed from the productive zones of Astorga, La Bañeza, La Cabrera, Esla-Campos and Páramo. Their physicochemical characteristics were different by zone, as the texture of soils ranged between sandy loam and silt loam and the pH between strongly acid and slightly alkaline, as well as the organic matter (OM) concentration between low and remarkably high. Total C and N concentrations and their ratio were between medium and high in most of the soils and the rest of the micronutrients had an acceptable concentration except for Paramo’s soil. Both Trichoderma species developed better in AS than in NS, T. velutinum T029 grew better with high levels of OM, total C, ratio C:N, P, K, Fe, and Zn than T. harzianum T059 in clay soils, with the highest values of cation exchange capacity (CEC), pH, Ca, Mg and Mn. These effects were validated by Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), texture, particularly clay concentration, OM, electrical conductivity (EC), and pH (physical parameters) and B and Cu (soil elements) are the main factors explaining the influence in the Trichoderma development. OM, EC, C:N ratio and Cu are the main soil characteristics that influence in T. velutinum T029 development and pH in the development of T. harzianum T059.

Description: The cabbage whitefly (CW), Aleyrodes proletella (L.) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is an important pest in Brassica oleracea L. crops. Little is known about the mechanisms of resistance to CW of savoy cabbage and kale cultivars. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were used to determine the relationship between the morphological and anatomical features of savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. convar. capitata (L.) Alef. var. sabauda L.) and kale (Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.) Alef. var. sabellica L.) leaves and host suitability to colonization by CW. Two kale cultivars, “Redbor” and “Starbor”, and two savoy cabbage cultivars, “Gloriosa” and “Alcosa”, that differed in the degree of infestation by A. proletella were taken for histological analysis. The lowest infestation by all forms of A. proletella was observed on savoy cabbage cultivar “Alcosa” and kale cultivar “Starbor”. The reduced colonization by cabbage whitefly may be related to the structure of the epidermis and the anatomical features of the leaf. The leaves of “Starbor” and “Alcosa” had more folds in the epidermis, less numerous but larger stomata, and a more compact mesophyll structure compared to “Redbor” and “Gloriosa”. In both analysed species, there was no clear relationship between the thickness of the abaxial epidermal layer, thickness of the lamina, number of vascular bundles, and degree of infestation by the cabbage whitefly. This study identified promising sources of resistance to A. proletella among cultivars of savoy cabbage and kale. Varying infestation by CW was associated with morphological and anatomical characteristics of leaves. Further study is needed to confirm the relationship between insect resistance and leaf surface and morphological characteristics of leaves in a broader range of Brassica spp.

Description: The management of downy mildew (Plasmopara halstedii) in sunflower, is heavily dependent on genetic resistance, whilst entomopathogenic fungi (EF) can reduce other sunflower diseases. In this work, we characterized P. halstedii from Spain and other countries collected in the past few years. Twenty-three races were identified (the most frequent in Spain being 310, 304, 705 and 715), with an increasing proportion of highly virulent races. Five isolates from countries other than Spain overcame the resistance in RHA-340. In addition, we assessed the efficacy of five EF against downy mildew and their effects on sunflower growth in axenic conditions. None of the entomopathogens reduced disease severity, nor did they have any effect on plant growth when applied together with P. halstedii. In contrast, three EF reduced some of the plant growth variables in the absence of the pathogen. Microbiological and molecular diagnostics suggest that the axenic system and the short experimental time used in this study did not favor the successful establishment of EF in the plants or their potential biocontrol effect. Our results show a shift in P. halstedii racial patterns and suggest that soil as a growth substrate and long infection times are needed for EF effectiveness against downy mildew.

Description: Apple replant disease (ARD) impacts the economic yield of orchards by physiological and morphological suppression of apple trees on replanted soils. The complexity of replant disease caused by a plethora of biological interactions and physical properties of the soil requires complex management strategies to mitigate these effects. Based on expert recommendations, we selected two management strategies linked to agroecological principles of (a) organic fertilisation with a specific mulch composition (MDK) and (b) biofertilisation with arbuscular mycorrhizal and bacterial strains (AMFbac), applied by a composition of existing products. For both management strategies we provide a proof-of-concept, by pot and field experiments. Both treatments have the potential to mitigate ARD effects on plant vigour. ARD effect was fully mitigated by MDK treatment in the short-term (one year) and was mitigated by up to 29% after seven years of MDK treatment (long-term). MDK provides an additional substrate for root growth. AMFbac has the potential to mitigate ARD effects on plant vigour but with non-replicable plant-beneficial effects in its current form of application. Thereby our results show a principal potential to mitigate economic effects but not to overcome replant disease inducing effects. While the MDK treatment is found resource intensive but reliable, the AMFbac treatment was found more user-friendly.

Description: Intensive crop production and irrational use of fertilizers and agrochemicals have questionable effects on the quality of products and the sustainable use of water for agricultural purposes. Organic cultivation and/or deficit irrigation are, among others, well appreciated practices for a sustainable crop production system. In the present study, spearmint plants (Mentha spicata L.) were grown in different cultivation schemes (conventional versus organic cultivation, full versus deficit irrigation), and effects on the plant physiological and biochemical attributes were examined in two harvesting periods. Deficit irrigation decreased plant growth, but increased total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity of the plants at the second harvest. Spearmint nutrient accumulation was affected by the examined cultivation practices; nitrogen was decreased in organic cultivation, potassium and sodium were elevated at full-irrigated plants, while magnesium, phosphorus, and copper levels were higher at the deficit-irrigated plants. However, conventional/full-irrigated plants had increased height and fresh biomass at the first harvest. Essential oil content decreased at the second harvest in organic and/or deficit treated plants. Additionally, deficit irrigation affected plant growth and delayed the formation of carvone from limonene. The essential oils were further evaluated with regard to their bioactivity on a major vineyard pest Lobesia botrana. Volatile compounds from all essential oils elicited strong electroantennographic responses on female insects antennae, highlighting the role of carvone, which is the major constituent (~70%) in all the tested essential oils. M. spicata essential oils also exhibited larvicidal activity on L. botrana, suggesting the potential of their incorporation in integrated pest management systems.

Description: Iodine is a non-essential element for land plants, but is considered as a beneficial element, related to antioxidant capacity, environmental adaptations and improvement of plant growth. Salinity is one of the more recurrent abiotic stresses worldwide, seriously affecting vegetal production. The aim of this work was to evaluate iodine application (Q products® and KIO3, Quimcasa de México, Naucalpan, Mexico) in strawberry plants under normal and salt stress conditions. Growth, antioxidant content, essential minerals, iodine accumulation and fruit quality were evaluated. The results showed that, under stress conditions, the application of Q products increased ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) activity as well as glutathione (GSH) content and yield in fruit, without avoiding biomass loss; with the application of KIO3 an increase in GSH and APX activity as well as P and K concentrations were obtained. In leaves an increase in P, Ca, Mn and iodine accumulation was evidenced with the application of Q products, and an increased concentration of ascorbic acid and iodine with KIO3 treatments. Under normal conditions in fruits, the application of Q products increased phenolic compounds synthesis; additionally, an increase in Ca and Mn concentrations was shown. KIO3 application increased the firmness and Mn. In leaves, the application of Q products increased chlorophyll a, b and calcium. In conclusion, the application of iodine improves the quality value of strawberries under normal conditions and provides an enhancement of salt stress tolerance.

Description: Tomato is one of the most consumed fruit vegetables globally and is a high dietary source of minerals, fiber, carotenoids, and vitamin C. The tomato is also well known for its nutraceutical chemical content which strengthens human immune systems and is protective against infectious and degenerative diseases. For this reason, there has been recent emphasis on breeding new tomato cultivars with nutraceutical value. Most of the modern tomato cultivars are F1 hybrids, and many of the characteristics associated with fruit quality have additive gene action; so, in theory, inbred vigor could reach hybrid vigor. A sum of 20 recombinant lines was released from the commercial single-cross hybrids Iron, Sahara, Formula, and Elpida, through a breeding process. Those recombinant lines were evaluated during spring–summer 2015 under organic farming conditions in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) experimental design with three replications. A sum of eleven qualitative characteristics of the fruit was recorded on an individual plant basis. Results from this study indicated that the simultaneous selection of individual tomato plants, both in terms of their high yield and desired fruit quality characteristics, can lead to highly productive recombinant lines with integrated quality characteristics. So, inbred vigor can reach and even surpass hybrid vigor. The response to selection for all characteristics evaluated shows additive gene action of all characteristics measured. These recombinant lines can fulfill this role as alternatives to hybrid cultivars and those that possess high nutritional values to function as functional-protective food.

Description: Performance of different cover materials on improving Cavendish banana quality was examined during winter and summer. The banana bunch was covered with a thin nonwoven innermost layer, followed by cover materials arranged from inner to outer as follows. (1) Control (commercial cover), paper/polystyrene sheet (PS)/non-perforated blue polyethylene (NPPE), (2) nonwoven (NW)/NPPE, (3) waterproof nonwoven (WPNW), (4) aluminum foil (ALF), and (5) WPNW + ALF. For the summer trial, control without PS layer was applied. Material properties including thickness, light transmissivity and heat energy (Qx) were evaluated. Results showed that Qx values transferred through PS sheet, NW, WPNW and ALF were not significantly different. ALF exhibited the lowest light transmissivity, associated with the highest fruit lightness (L*) and lowest fruit weight. For the winter trial, all cover materials exhibited chilling injury on fruit caused by temperatures below 10 °C. For the summer trial, five treatments prevented sunburn defect. Under field air temperature of 47.5 °C, ALF exhibited the lowest temperature (31.6 °C). All cover materials reduced hand and fruit sizes, whereas WPNW resulted in an increase in total soluble solids and prevented fading of the green peel color. Results suggested that WPNW, with reduced layers as environmentally friendly and reusable materials, had potential as a cover material to improve the quality of Cavendish banana.

Description: The majority of cultivated strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa) in the northern United States (US) and Canadian provinces is grown in perennial matted rows across a range of soil types and microclimates. Management practices vary in fertilization rates, intensity of pesticide use, and the source of inputs depending on grower preferences. The objective of this study was to identify environmental and management factors that influence strawberry flavor attributes across a range of production systems. The cultivar Jewel was selected for its popularity in this region and reputation for excellent flavor. “Jewel” was sampled from regional farms and, concurrently, grown in a controlled field study with different inputs over three years. Soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA) across farms was found to be positively associated with the air temperature differential during fruit ripening. In controlled field studies, yield was correlated positively with total N in the form of synthetic urea, but not with the rate of applied organic nitrogen (N). Despite different levels of soil carbon inputs, N rates, pesticides, and microbial supplements, the fruit quality attributes, including SSC, TA, aromatic volatile concentration, and phenolics were not associated with treatment. A human sensory evaluation found no perceptible differences in flavor or aroma among contrasting treatments. Our study concludes that growers should invest in temperature management, rather than agricultural inputs, to influence SSC and TA of strawberry.

Description: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the different agricultural management adaptive strategies considered in the framework of a regional climate change adaptation roadmap in Navarre (Spain), from the point of view of soil physical indicators associated to soil compaction and water retention. These indicators were chosen as representative of the potential of these strategies to improve the soil physical condition. That for, the effectiveness of conservation agriculture (CA), crop rotations (ROT), additions of organic matter (ExO), irrigation (IRR) and innovative grassland management (GSS) was assessed by monitoring soil bulk density (BD) and soil available water holding capacity (AWHC) in a network of 159 agricultural fields across homogeneous agro-climatic zones in the region. A sampling protocol designed to compare groups of plots with or without adaptive practices, and with equal soil characteristics within each zone, allowed to determine the effect size of each strategy (measured as response ratios, RR, calculated as the relative value of BD and AWHC in fields with adaptive management vs. without). Both parameters responded to soil and crop management, although the observed effect was highly variable. Only the ExO strategy showed an overall positive effect on BD. ROT, IRR and GSS displayed no effect and, in the case of CA, the effect was negative. In terms of AWHC, although the results within the zones were heterogeneous, the overall effect associated to the strategies ROT, ExO, IRR and GSS was neutral, and only CA resulted in an overall negative effect. The observed variability in terms of the effectiveness of the five strategies tested in this region highlights the need to understand the complexity of interrelationships between management and dynamic soil properties at the regional scale.

Description: Planting date (PD), seeding rate (SR), relative maturity (RM) of cultivars, and row spacing (RS) are primary management factors affecting soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) yield. The individual and synergistic effects of PD, SR, RM, and RS on seed yield and agronomic characteristics in North Dakota were herein investigated. Early and late PD, early and late RM cultivars, two SR (408,000 and 457,000 seed ha−1), and two RS (30.5 and 61 cm) were evaluated in four total environments in 2019 and 2020. Maximizing green canopy cover prior to the beginning of flowering improved seed yield. Individual factors of early PD and narrow RS resulted in yield increase of 311 and 266 kg ha−1, respectively. The combined factors of early PD, late RM, high SR, and narrow RS improved yield by 26% and provided a $350 ha−1 partial profit over conventional practices. Canopy cover and yield had relatively weak relationships with r2 of 0.36, 0.23, 0.14, and 0.21 at the two trifoliolate, four trifoliolate, beginning of flowering, and beginning of pod formation soybean growth stages, respectively. Producers in the most northern soybean region of the USA should combine early planting, optimum RM cultivars, 457,000 seed ha−1 SR, and 31 cm RS to improve yield and profit compared to current management practices.

Description: Field research was conducted in 2017–2019 on “Princess 77” bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) to determine whether an amino acid based biostimulant program applied in the late season (October-November) and early season (March-April) could extend fall color retention (FCR) or hasten the spring green-up (SGU), respectively. Bermudagrass was treated with the biostimulant under five different managements: non-treated; 6 times at 5 L ha−1 weekly; 3 times at 5 L ha−1 in a 14-day interval; 6 times at 10 L ha−1 weekly; and 3 times at 10 L ha−1 in a 14-day interval. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and visual ratings (turf green color and percentage of green coverage in the subplot) were determined weekly, and turf clipping dry weight for the SGU studies. At the end of the FCR studies (2017 and 2018), there was no effect of the biostimulant; although, some isolated positive effects were detected during the experiment in 2017 on bermudagrass treated weekly at 10 L ha−1 for NDVI. However, there was a slight positive effect on SGU when this physiological process occurred slowly (year 2018) and the biostimulant was applied weekly at 10 L ha−1 (4.4 kg N ha−1), compared to another performed management and warmer years (2017 and 2019).

Description: Selaginella tamariscina is a medicinal plant that contains a variety of plant secondary metabolites; however, it is currently being collected indiscriminately from its native habitats. Hence, we have developed an efficient propagation method for S. tamariscina. Explants grown in vitro were cultured in Murashige and Skoog medium of various strengths (1/16–2x), and the highest number of sporophytes (65.7) were obtained with 1/4x MS medium. Culturing explants at various lengths (3–12 mm) for 12 weeks indicated 12 mm as the most appropriate size for sporophyte propagation. We then evaluated various concentrations of individual components, sucrose (0–5%), total nitrogen (7.5–30 mM), nitrogen ratio (3:0–0:3), and agar (0.6–0.8%), in the 1/4x MS medium for explant growth for 12 weeks. The maximum number of sporophytes were formed in media containing 3% sucrose, 15 mM nitrogen, and 0.6% agar, with a nitrogen ratio of 1:2. The propagated S. tamariscina was then acclimatized in a controlled environment to improve survival in an external environment. These results demonstrate the effective conditions for in vitro mass propagation of S. tamariscina, finding that methods utilizing sporophytes were more efficient than conventional propagation methods and yielded numerous plants in a short period.

Description: Soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) with black seed coats and green cotyledons are rich in anthocyanins and chlorophylls known as functional nutrients, antioxidants and compounds with anticarcinogenic properties. Understanding the genetic diversity of germplasm is important to determine effective strategies for improving the economic traits of these soybeans. We aimed to analyze the genetic diversity of 470 soybean accessions by 6K single nucleotide polymorphic loci to determine genetic architecture of the soybeans with black seed coats and green cotyledons. We found soybeans with black seed coats and green cotyledons showed narrow genetic variability in South Korea. The genotypic frequency of the d1d2 and psbM variants for green cotyledon indicated that soybean collections from Korea were intermingled with soybean accessions from Japan and China. Regarding the chlorophyll content, the nuclear gene variant pair d1d2 produced significantly higher chlorophyll a content than that of chloroplast genome psbM variants. Among the soybean accessions in this study, flower color plays an important role in the anthocyanin composition of seed coats. We provide 36 accessions as a core collection representing 99.5% of the genetic diversity from the total accessions used in this study to show potential as useful breeding materials for cultivars with black seed coats and green cotyledons.

Description: Sports field traffic tolerance is critical for offering athletes a safe playing surface and adequate turfgrass performance. Humic substances act as bio-stimulants that could enhance turfgrass traffic tolerance by increasing turfgrass efficiency, which could be due to increased root growth, antioxidant activity, and/or physiological health. A two-year field experiment was conducted on a Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) sports field to investigate if incorporating humic substances with fertilizers could improve turfgrass traffic tolerance and performance, and enhance turfgrass recovery after traffic. Treatments included humic-coated urea, poly-coated humic-coated urea, synthetic fertilizer with black gypsum (two application timings), black gypsum, stabilized nitrogen, poly-coated sulfur-coated urea, urea, and a nontreated control. The addition of humic substances to fertilizer treatments did not result in improve traffic tolerance and performance. Fertilizer treatments did not lead to an effect on soil moisture, surface hardness, and shear strength. Turfgrass recovery varied between years. In 2020, the second year of the experiment, four applications of fertilizers increased turfgrass recovery by 136% relative to the nontreated. Furthermore, incorporating humic substances did not result in enhanced turfgrass recovery compared to fertilizers alone. Overall, applications of fertilizers with humic substances could improve turfgrass recovery from traffic compared to fertilizers alone, but results were variable between years.

Description: Biochar is a porous material obtained by biomass thermal degradation in oxygen-starved conditions. It is nowadays applied in many fields. For instance, it is used to synthesize new materials for environmental remediation, catalysis, animal feeding, adsorbent for smells, etc. In the last decades, biochar has been applied also to soils due to its beneficial effects on soil structure, pH, soil organic carbon content, and stability, and, therefore, soil fertility. In addition, this carbonaceous material shows high chemical stability. Once applied to soil it maintains its nature for centuries. Consequently, it can be considered a sink to store atmospheric carbon dioxide in soils, thereby mitigating the effects of global climatic changes. The literature contains plenty of papers dealing with biochar’s environmental effects. However, a discrepancy exists between studies dealing with biochar applications and those dealing with the physical-chemistry behind biochar behavior. On the one hand, the impression is that most of the papers where biochar is tested in soils are based on trial-and-error procedures. Sometimes these give positive results, sometimes not. Consequently, it appears that the scientific world is divided into two factions: either supporters or detractors. On the other hand, studies dealing with biochar’s physical-chemistry do not appear helpful in settling the factions’ problem. This review paper aims at collecting all the information on physical-chemistry of biochar and to use it to explain biochar’s role in different fields of application.

Description: Cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most important leafy vegetables in the world, and most of the production is concentrated in the Mediterranean Basin. Hydroponics has been successfully utilized for lettuce cultivation, which could contribute to the diversification of production methods and the reduction of water consumption and excessive fertilization. We devised a low-cost procedure for closed hydroponic cultivation and easy phenotyping of root and shoot attributes of lettuce. We studied 12 lettuce genotypes of the crisphead and oak-leaf subtypes, which differed on their tipburn resistance, for three growing seasons (Fall, Winter, and Spring). We found interesting genotype × environment (G × E) interactions for some of the studied traits during early growth. By analyzing tipburn incidence and leaf nutrient content, we were able to identify a number of nutrient traits that were highly correlated with cultivar- and genotype-dependent tipburn. Our experimental setup will allow evaluating different lettuce genotypes in defined nutrient solutions to select for tipburn-tolerant and highly productive genotypes that are suitable for hydroponics.

Description: The WRKY gene family consists of transcription factors that are widely distributed in plants and play a key role in plant growth and development, secondary metabolite synthesis, biotic and abiotic stress responses, and other biological processes. In this study, 86 WRKY proteins were identified from the barley genome database using bioinformatics and were found to be distributed unevenly on seven chromosomes. According to the structure and phylogenetic relationships, the proteins could be classified into three groups and seven subgroups. The multiple sequence alignment results showed that WRKY domains had different conserved sites in different groups or subgroups, and some members had a special heptapeptide motif. Protein and gene structure analysis indicated that there were significant differences between the groups in terms of the distribution of WRKY motifs and the number of introns in barley. Tissue expression pattern analysis demonstrated that the transcription levels of most genes exhibited tissue and growth-stage specificity. In addition, the analysis of cis-elements in the promoter region revealed that almost all HvWRKYs had plant hormone or stress response cis-elements, and there were differences in the numbers between groups. Finally, the transcriptional levels of 15 HvWRKY genes under drought, cadmium, or salt stress were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. It was found that most of the gene expression levels responded to one or more abiotic stresses. These results provide a foundation for further analysis of the function of WRKY gene family members in abiotic stress.

Description: Sanitization by pH adjustment of dairy and pig slurries was evaluated for potential use as organic fertilizer in horticulture. This requires absence of Salmonella in 25 g of slurry and less than 1000 Escherichi coli colony-forming unit per gram of fresh slurry (Regulation (EU) 2019/1009). Additives used in the alkalinization and acidification treatments, included hydroxide-salts and nitrogen-based reactants to increase slurry pH to a basic range (9.0–11.0) and concentrated H2SO4 to decrease slurry pH to an acidic range (5.5–3.5). While low-cost urea was unable to increase the slurry pH above 9.5, ammonia efficiently increased slurry pH to the targeted values (but enhanced the emissions risk), whereas the effect of Ca(OH)2 was hindered by its low solubility. Slurry sanitization by alkalinization was achieved at a pH of 9.5 for both slurries, using similar quantities of KOH or NaOH. KOH was selected for further tests since it provides a plant macronutrient. Acidification with concentrated H2SO4 was able to achieve sanitization by lowering the pH to 5.0. After a 60-d storage experiment with raw and treated slurries, the level of E. coli was below the sanitization limit for all samples. Storage had no significant impact on slurry characteristics, except for ammonium-nitrogen content. Acidification treatment minimized ammonia losses.

Description: Plants are subjected to unregulated water loss from their surface by cuticular transpiration. Therefore, specific morphophysiological changes may occur during leaf development to eliminate water loss. This study aimed to examine the cuticular transpiration of 23 winter wheat genotypes and their wild-growing predecessors of the genus Aegilops, which were divided into three groups to demonstrate their diversity. The genotypes were sown in autumn and grown in regular field trials at the Research Institute of Plant Production in Piešťany, Slovakia. Cuticular transpiration and growth parameters were analyzed in the postanthesis growth stage. Gravimetric measurement of residual water loss was performed on detached leaves with a precisely measured leaf area. The lowest nonproductive transpiration values were observed in modern wheat genotypes, while higher cuticular transpiration was observed in a group of landraces. Aegilops species generally showed the highest cuticular transpiration with increased water loss, but the total water loss per plot was low due to the low leaf area of the wild wheat relatives. Some of the growth parameters showed a good correlation with cuticular transpiration (e.g., dry mass per plant), but direct relationships between leaf traits and cuticular transpiration were not observed. This study identified a high diversity in cuticular resistance to water loss in wheat and Aegilops accessions of different origins. The potential of identifying and exploiting genetic resources with favorable cuticular transpiration in crop breeding is discussed.

Description: To counteract the loss of organic matter of agricultural soils, the use of compost from green and woody residues is a promising strategy. In this study, an organic farm (NE Italy) was investigated to determine the effect of management practices on physical and chemical soil properties. The organic system received three years ago a single high dose (60 t ha−1) of a wood-based compost (WBC), and it was compared with a conventional farm that annually managed mineral plus manure fertilization. In both systems, soil samples from a vineyard and field-scale rotation were collected, together with soil samples from an area not cultivated and not treated neither with compost nor with fertilizers or manure (untreated = control). Soil samples were characterized for soil fertility parameters, extractable fractions of macro- and micronutrients with DTPA and Mehlich3, and their total content. WBC was physically, chemically, and biologically characterized. The results showed that WBC fulfilled the requirements prescribed by Italian legislation, and the absence of phytotoxicity and conversely a stimulating activity towards root development was evidenced. From the DNA metabarcoding of the bacterial community, WBC revealed several peculiarities, including the dominance of taxa such as the order Acidimicrobiales, the families Anerolineaceae, Cytophagaceae, Caldimicrobiacese, Saprospiraceae and the archaeon Candidatus Nitrososphaera. Concerning the fertility of soils, the addition of WBC in both the vineyard and field-scale considerably affected some important soil parameters compared to those of conventional fertilization and untreated soil. Among these, WBC strongly increased the organic C content and the amount of the available P. In addition, the concentrations of macro- and micronutrients extractable by DTPA were generally higher with WBC than conventional fertilization. On the contrary, Mehlich3 extractable metals and total metals content were not affected by fertilization. The principal component analysis indicated that organic C, macronutrients (CaDTPA, KDTPA, and POlsen), as well as micronutrients (BDTPA, FeDTPA, and MoDTPA) are principal factors that properly separated conventional fertilization from organic fertilization. Beside this, within the same management, cases by agroecosystem were also well revealed by cluster analysis. In essence, in the short-term, the organic system led to a significant improvement in organic C and plant-available nutrients over the conventional system.

Description: This study evaluates the cause of salinization in an irrigation scheme of 100 ha supplied from a reservoir. The scheme is located in Gumselasa catchment (28 km2), Tigray region, northern Ethiopia. The catchment is underlain by limestone–shale–marl intercalations with dolerite intrusion and some recent sediments. Water balance computation, hydrochemical analyses and irrigation water quality analyses methods were used in this investigation. Surface waters (river and reservoir) and groundwater samples were collected and analyzed. The water table in the irrigated land is ranging 0.2–2 m below the ground level. The majority of groundwater in the effective watershed area and the river and dam waters are fresh and alkaline whereas in the command area the groundwater is dominantly brackish and alkaline. The main hydrochemical facies in the groundwater in the effective watershed area are Ca-Na-SO4-HCO3, Ca-Na- HCO3-SO4, and Ca-Na-Mg-SO4-HCO3. The river and dam waters are Mg-Na-HCO3-SO4 and HCO3-SO4-Cl types, respectively. In the command area the main hydrochemical facies in the groundwater are Ca-Na-HCO3-SO4 and Ca-Na-Mg-SO4-HCO3. Irrigation water quality analyses revealed that salinity and toxicity hazards increase from the effective watershed to the irrigated land following the direction of the water flow. The results also showed that the analyzed waters for irrigation purpose had no sodicity hazard. The major composition controlling mechanisms in the groundwater chemistry was identified as the dissolution of carbonate minerals, silicate weathering, and cation exchange. One of the impacts of the construction of the dam in the hydrologic environment of the catchment is on its groundwater potential. The dam is indirectly recharging the aquifers and enhances the groundwater potential of the area. This increment of availability of groundwater enhanced dissolution of carbonate minerals (calcite, dolomite, and gypsum), silicate weathering and cation exchange processes, which are the main causes of salinity in the irrigated land. The rising of the brackish groundwater combined with insufficient leaching contributed to secondary salinization development in the irrigated land. Installation of surface and subsurface drainage systems and planting salt tolerant (salt loving) plants are recommended to minimize the risk of salinization and salt accumulation in the soils of the irrigated land.

Description: Extensive livestock production in Mediterranean climate conditions and acidic soils requires animal feed supplementation. This occurs during the summer and, frequently, also in the autumn and winter, depending on the prevailing rainfall patterns. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of dolomitic limestone application and of tree canopy on availability, quality, and floristic composition of a permanent pasture, grazed by sheep. At the end of autumn, winter, and spring of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 pasture green and dry matter production (GM and DM, respectively), crude protein (CP), and fiber (neutral detergent fiber) were monitored in 24 sampling points. Half of these points were located in areas amended with dolomitic limestone (COR) and half in unamended areas (UCOR). In each of these, half of the sampling points were located under tree canopy (UTC) and half outside tree canopy (OTC). Pasture floristic composition was monitored in spring 2020. The results show, in autumn, a positive and significant effect (i) of soil pH amendment on pasture DM and CP daily growth rate (kg·ha−1·day−1) (+28.8% and +42.6%, respectively), and (ii) of tree canopy on pasture CP daily growth rate (+26.4%). Both factors affect pasture floristic composition. Pasture species were identified as potential bio-indicators, characteristic of each field area. These results show the practical interest of the soil pH correction to reduce the animal supplementation needs in the critical autumn period in the Mediterranean montado ecosystem.

Description: The anticipated increases in environmental variability associated with climate change may lead to enhanced abiotic plant stresses (e.g., heat stress, drought stress, etc.) resulting in greater inter-annual yield fluctuations and higher crop production risk. While there has been increasing attention to adaptation measures, there is little evidence available on how to change agronomic management strategies to maintain stable yields in winter rye production systems in Poland. This study uses rye yields from the unique Skierniewice Long-term experiment (Poland) to examine for the first-time the long-term effects of different nutrient regimes on crop yield stability from 1966 to 2015. Yields from six combinations of mineral fertilizers and lime (CaNPK, NPK, CaPK, CaNK, CaNP, Ca), with and without additional manure, were used to estimate the temporal yield variability of winter rye. A novel statistical approach based on a mixed model approach with REML (restricted maximum likelihood) stability parameter estimation was used. The results showed that the use of additional manure in ‘sub-optimal’ mineral fertilizer treatments, such as Ca and CaPK (without mineral N), reduced the temporal yield variability of rye. In contrast, additional organic input led to more variable rye yields in already ‘optimal’ treatments including mineral N (CaNPK and NPK), compared to those with no additional manure. Winter rye given CaNPK and NPK, without additional organic manure demonstrated high yield and low temporal yield variability. In contrast, yields of treatments with no mineral N (Ca and CaPK) and no additional manure supply were low and unstable. In addition, it was found that increasing soil organic carbon resulted in larger, more stable yields. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring rye crops receive sufficient fertilizer to maintain crop production levels and yield stability, especially in dry years. They also demonstrate the importance of avoiding the excessive use of organic manures when fertilizer inputs are sufficient to meet crop demand. Overall, the study provides novel insights about how to maintain grain yields and minimize temporal yield variation of rye in arable cropping systems, which will become increasingly important in a changing climate in Poland and in other temperate climate areas. This study also highlights the importance of soil organic carbon for improving the climate resilience of winter rye, while simultaneously meeting the demand for more sustainable management of the soil.

Description: The chemical composition, morphometric and qualitative nut characteristics were studied in four traditional sweet chestnut and hybrid varieties produced on private estates in the Lovran surroundings, on the eastern slopes of Mount Učka, under the specific conditions of the sub-Mediterranean climate. Seven morphological characteristics were measured, and 12 nut and kernel qualitative characteristics were estimated using standardized descriptors. In addition, the samples were analyzed for proximate constituents (moisture, crude fat, crude protein, ash and total carbohydrates) and macro- and micro-nutrients (K, Mg, Ca, Na, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu). Significant differences between traditional sweet chestnut and hybrid varieties were found in almost all of the studied morphometric and chemical nut characteristics. In general, chestnuts of hybrid varieties were characterized by larger fruits with higher moisture, crude protein, potassium, magnesium, sodium, iron and copper contents than in traditional sweet chestnut varieties. On the other hand, nuts of traditional sweet chestnut varieties were richer in total carbohydrates and crude fat. In addition, the presence of raised stripes, a small hilar scar and transversally ellipsoid nut shape were found to be typical for the traditional sweet chestnut varieties. Overall, our results suggest that the traditional varieties of the sweet chestnut can be easily differentiated from the new modern hybrid varieties by both morphological and chemical characteristics of the nut, and because of these differences, these two groups of chestnut varieties can have different practical uses.

Description: To produce high-quality broccoli microgreens, suitable light intensity for growth and phytochemical contents of broccoli microgreens in an artificial light plant factory were studied. Broccoli microgreens were irradiated under different photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD): 30, 50, 70 and 90 μmol·m−2·s−1 with red: green: blue = 1:1:1 light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The broccoli microgreens grown under 50 μmol·m−2·s−1 had the highest fresh weight, dry weight, and moisture content, while the phytochemical contents were the lowest. With increasing light intensity, the chlorophyll content increased, whereas the carotenoid content decreased. The contents of soluble protein, soluble sugar, free amino acid, flavonoid, vitamin C, and glucosinolates except for progoitrin in broccoli microgreens were higher under 70 μmol·m−2·s−1. Overall, 50 μmol·m−2·s−1 was the optimal light intensity for enhancement of growth of broccoli microgreens, while 70 μmol·m−2·s−1 was more feasible for improving the phytochemicals of broccoli microgreens in an artificial light plant factory.

Description: The individual effects of biotic and abiotic factors on tomatoes have been widely reported. However, under commercial conditions, multiple interactions between factors occur, masking or even changing the direction of their effects in some cases. Here we report a comprehensive analysis of preharvest factors affecting yield, quality (soluble solids content, fruit color, and firmness), and shelf-life of long-shelf-life Mediterranean varieties of tomatoes. We studied five long-shelf-life genotypes under 16 growing environments, including tunnel and open-air systems and suboptimal to excessive fertigation (22–142% crop evapotranspiration). The results enabled us to classify traits into three groups according to the importance of the contributions of different types of factors: mainly genotype (ripening earliness and firmness), genotype plus environment (yield, fruit weight, water-use efficiency (WUE)), or genotype plus environment plus the interaction between genotype and environment (cracking, soluble solids content, and shelf-life). Under similar management practices, open-air conditions optimized yields, and high fertigation doses improved yield and marketability (firmness), but reduced quality (redness and soluble solids content). WUE was maximized under low-input cropping systems (comparable to traditional agrosystems), and the balance between WUE and yield was optimized when fertigation was adjusted to the requirements of the crop. Shelf-life was negatively correlated with high-yielding environments, and day–night amplitude in relative humidity was strongly correlated with the incidence of fruit cracking. The present study sheds light on the contributions of environment and management practices on tomato yield and quality, and provides a basis on which to select better management practices for the novel commercial group of European long-shelf-life tomato landraces.

Description: The excessive use of the herbicide glyphosate on annual and perennial crops grown in Southern Spain has caused an increase in resistant weed populations. Bromus rubens has begun to spread through olive and almond cultivars due to low glyphosate control over these species, whereas previously it had been well controlled with field dose (1080 g ae ha−1). Characterization using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers confirmed the presence of B. rubens collected in Andalusia. A rapid shikimic acid accumulation screening showed 17 resistant (R) populations with values between 300 and 700 µg shikimate g−1 fresh weight and three susceptible (S) populations with values between 1200 and 1700 µg shikimate g−1 fresh weight. In dose–response experiments the GR50 values agreed with previous results and the resistance factors (RFs: GR50 R/GR50 S (Br1)) were between 4.35 (Br9) and 7.61 (Br19). Foliar retention assays shown no differences in glyphosate retention in both R and S populations. The tests carried out in a resistant field (Br10) demonstrated the control efficacy of pre-emergence herbicides since flazasulfuron in the tank mix with glyphosate had up to 80% control 15 to 120 days after application (DAA) and grass weed postemergence herbicides, such as propaquizafop + glyphosate and quizalofop + glyphosate, had up to 90% control 15 to 90 DAA. Results confirm the first scientific report of glyphosate-resistant B. rubens worldwide; however, the use of herbicides with another mode of action (MOA) is the best tool for integrated weed management.

Description: The objective of this work was to study the agronomic effects of the application of agri-food composts in almond trees (Prunus dulcis L.) cultivated in two different areas with different almond varieties (cv. Guara and cv. Ferraduel), with both in organic farming conditions throughout two cropping cycles. To reach this objective, almond production and quality issues (seed production, kernel yield, nutrient contents and kernel quality), as well as several physico-chemical and biological properties of the amended soils at the beginning and at the end of each campaign were studied. The four composts used (C1, C2, C3 and C4) were elaborated mainly using exhausted grape marc (EGM) and other wastes (waste from orange juice production, OW; waste from tomato soup production, TW; cattle manure, CM; and sheep manure, SM). Two treatments were used as control treatments, one based on sheep manure and another without any amendment. The composts used produced similar results in kernel yield and production compared to the traditional treatment (sheep manure). However, the thickness of the kernel was higher in the treatments using composts with exhausted grape marc and sheep manure or tomato soup waste. In relation to the almond quality, few differences related to the effect of treatments were observed, except for the content of proteins, sucrose, some fatty acids and vegetal sterols.

Description: Auxin not only controls the development processes, but also regulates the stress responses of plants. In this investigation, we explored the potential roles of exogenously applied indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in conferring salt tolerance in the faba bean (Vicia faba L.). Our results showed that foliar application of IAA (200 ppm) to salt-exposed (60 mM and 150 mM NaCl) plants promoted growth, which was evidenced by enhanced root–stem traits. IAA application ensured better osmotic protection in salt-stressed plants which was supported by reduced proline and enhanced soluble sugar, soluble protein, and total free amino acid contents in the roots, stem, and seeds. IAA application also increased the number of nodules in salt-stressed plants, which may facilitate better nitrogen assimilation. Moreover, IAA mediated improvements in mineral homeostasis (K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) and the translocation of Na+, while it also inhibited excessive accumulation of Na+ in the roots. Salt-induced oxidative damage resulted in increased accumulation of malondialdehyde, whereas IAA spraying relegated malondialdehyde by improving antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase. Together, these results together with a principal component analysis uncovered that foliar spraying of IAA alleviated the antagonistic effects of salt stress via enhancing osmolyte accumulation, ionic homeostasis, and antioxidant activity. Finally, exogenous IAA enhanced the yield of broad beans under high salinity conditions.

Description: Xanthomonasarboricola pv. pruni (Xap) causes bacterial spot of stone fruit and almond, an important plant disease with a high economic impact. Biofilm formation is one of the mechanisms that microbial communities use to adapt to environmental changes and to survive and colonize plants. Herein, biofilm formation by Xap was analyzed on abiotic and biotic surfaces using different microscopy techniques which allowed characterization of the different biofilm stages compared to the planktonic condition. All Xap strains assayed were able to form real biofilms creating organized structures comprised by viable cells. Xap in biofilms differentiated from free-living bacteria forming complex matrix-encased multicellular structures which become surrounded by a network of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Moreover, nutrient content of the environment and bacterial growth have been shown as key factors for biofilm formation and its development. Besides, this is the first work where different cell structures involved in bacterial attachment and aggregation have been identified during Xap biofilm progression. Our findings provide insights regarding different aspects of the biofilm formation of Xap which improve our understanding of the bacterial infection process occurred in Prunus spp and that may help in future disease control approaches.

Description: Roots are key organs for water and nutrient acquisition and transport. Therefore, root phenes that are associated with adaptation to low phosphorus (P) environments could enhance top-soil exploration, while deeper allocation is important for acquiring water and mobile nutrients. The understanding of interactions among root phenes can help in the development of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes adapted to drought and low fertility through genetic improvement. Two experiments (pot and field) were conducted at the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique to assess the contribution of root phenes to common bean shoot biomass and grain yield under combined stress (drought and low P). The pot study assessed eight genotypes, with four treatments combining water regimes (drought and non-stress) and phosphorus levels (200 and 25) mg P kg−1 soil. In the field study, 24 common bean genotypes were also grown in high and low phosphorus (40 kg P ha−1 and without P application) under irrigation and limited water. The grain yield from fields under drought and P stress were correlated with the pot data on root traits. The response of root phenes to drought and phosphorus stress appeared to be related to the deep and shallow root systems, respectively. Deep rooted genotypes produced more total root biomass and high taproot lateral branching density, which resulted in high total root length under drought and low P stress, while shallow rooted genotypes had low total root biomass and less taproot lateral branching. Increased shoot biomass and grain yield under drought and low P was associated with higher mean values of taproot lateral branching density and total taproot length. Genotypes SER 125, BFS 81, FBN12111-66 and MER 22 11-28 showed a greater score of tap root branching density in the pot study with the highest grain yield in the field under low P and drought stress. Therefore, these can be recommended for use in low phosphorus and drought stress environment or serve as parents for improving phosphorus use efficiency and drought tolerance in common bean.

Description: Potassium (K) is a primary macronutrient for overall plant growth, yield potential, product quality and stress resistance of crops. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crops require a high amount of potassium to achieve the ideal yield and quality. Therefore, the determination of optimum K rate and efficient source for potato is necessary because K affects crop physiological processes, dry matter production, cooking, and processing requirements. Through modeling on the pooled data extracted from 62 studies, the highest tuber yields might be obtained at an exchangeable soil K level of 200 mg kg−1 approximately, dependent on soil pH, texture, and organic matter. Through modeling on the data of 48 studies, it also revealed that application of potassium sulfate (K2SO4) and potassium chloride (KCl) at rates of 200 kg ha−1 and potassium nitrate (KNO3) at a rate of 100 kg ha−1 might achieve the ideal yield, implying the importance of K sources in potato production. However, these values (either soil exchangeable K content, or fertilizer rates) might not be applicable in a specific growing environment for a specific potato variety. It seems that there is no discrimination among split, pre-plant or in-season application of K, although pre-plant fertilization might be a trustworthy strategy for economic tuber yield. Owing to the luxury consumption of K by potato crop, a combination of factors, including soil exchangeable K level, petiole K concentration, crop removal amount, soil conditions, management practices, climatic conditions, and potato variety, should be considered in order to make rational K fertilizer recommendations.

Description: Biofilters are an effective air pollution control technology to break down gaseous contaminants and produce innocuous end products. This laboratory study aimed to evaluate a biofilter media, mainly composed by tomato waste, as packing material to reduce NH3, N2O, CO2 and CH4 losses from stored pig slurry. Three mixtures of packing materials, with and without oxalic acid, were arranged in treatments, namely: mixture of tomato waste, pine bark and agricultural compost; mixture of tomato waste and rice husk; tomato waste only. A control treatment (no biofilter) was also included. The experiments were conducted using a system of laboratory scale biofilters connected to jars filled with pig slurry and under a constant airflow rate. The gas concentrations were measured for 14 days and the physicochemical of the packing materials were assessed. Results showed that biofilter media mixtures had a potential for NH3 retention ranging from 51 to 77% and the addition of oxalic acid to these biofilters increased NH3 retention to 72–79%. Additionally, the biofilter media mixtures with and without oxalic acid showed a potential retention for CH4 (29–69%) but not for N2O, yet with no impact on the global warming potential. It can be concluded that tomato based biofilters had the potential to reduce gaseous emissions from slurry.

Description: Atriplex semibaccata R.Br. is a perennial halophyte that has received much attention for studies of revegetation of marginal lands in arid and semi-arid environments. It was, recently, demonstrated that there are no risks in terms of contamination of essential oil (EO) from growing plant on such land. Interest in exploring the antibacterial and antioxidant potential of A. semibaccata EO has consequently been renewed. The objective of this study was to investigate the chemical composition, as well as the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of A. semibaccata EO. The antibacterial activity was evaluated against native (drug-sensitive) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria by testing the EO alone and in combination with conventional antibiotics. The chemical composition of EO was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, 52 chemical compounds were identified, and 2-Methoxy-4-vinyl phenol (48.9%), benzaldehyde (6.7%), and benzyl alcohol (6.3%) were found to be the main constituents of EO. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity was evaluated using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl reducing–scavenging test. The EO from this species possessed high antioxidant activity (938.65 μg TE/g EO). The antibacterial test demonstrated an inhibitory effect on six native and MDR bacterial strains. We found that Staphylococcus aureus (Gram+), Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram−), and Escherichia coli (Gram−) were more sensitive than MDR strains, with an inhibition zone ranging from 11.16 mm to 12 mm. Moreover, the minimum inhibitory concentration ranged from 3.12 mg/mL to 6.25 mg/mL. The combination of gentamicin and EO revealed a high synergistic effect. The effect on S. aureus and K. pneumoniae showed lower fractional inhibitory concentration indices of 0.39 and 0.27, respectively. The results also revealed that A. semibaccata EO contained compounds with antibacterial potential against MDR bacteria, with antioxidant properties, and with a moderate synergistic effect in combination with gentamicin. The EO from A. semibaccata could be considered a new and potential source of natural antioxidant and antibacterial agents. These findings make A. semibaccata an excellent choice for the revegetation of marginal lands with the subsequent use of biomass for the production of EO with significant potential in the control of microbial infection.

Description: The adoption of auxin-tolerant crops has increased awareness regarding herbicide off-target movement. Deposition aids are promoted as a possible solution to off-target movement, although their effect on spray canopy deposition are not well understood. Studies were conducted to determine the impact of deposition aids tank-mixed with herbicides on spray droplet size and canopy deposition. Commonly used herbicides were applied on soybean and cotton in combination with deposition aids (oil, polymer, and guargum). Interactions between herbicide solution and deposition aid influenced droplet size parameters for both cotton and soybean herbicides tested herein (p ≤ 0.0001). Generally, the addition of polymer and guargum deposition aids increased spray droplet size, whereas the addition of oil deposition aid decreased droplet size for some treatments. When herbicides were combined, the inclusion of deposition aids did not influence overall spray deposition on cotton (p = 0.82) and soybean (p = 0.72). When herbicide solutions were evaluated individually, the advent of deposition aids had inconsistent results with cotton and soybean spray deposition being unaffected, increased, or even decreased depending on the herbicide solution tested. For example, the polymer-based deposition aid increased spray deposition on cotton for applications of glyphosate + dicamba + S-metolachlor resulting in 1640.6 RFU (relative fluorescence units). However, the same deposition aid decreased spray deposition on cotton for applications of glyphosate + dicamba + acetochlor (1179.3 RFU). Although deposition aids influenced spray deposition on cotton and soybean for some herbicide combinations, their use should be determined on a case-by-case scenario.

Description: Intercropping is an old and commonly used agricultural practice and involves the cultivation of two or more crops in the same area of land at the same time and may improve yield, the use of the environmental resources, product quality, and soil health. The objective of the present study was to study the effect of water availability of wheat-pea intercrops using agronomic and physiological characteristics. The experiment was conducted at the farm of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece during two growing seasons 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 using two different cultivars from pea (Isard and Olympos) and wheat (Yecora E and Elissavet) and two irrigation regimes. The availability of water increased grain yield and affected most of the characteristics that were studied. In terms of total Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) there was a yield advantage of intercrops over monocrops, which indicates the efficiency of intercropping for using the environmental resources. Both wheat cultivars, the pea cultivar Olympos and their intercrops indicated high adaptation capacity to rainfed conditions, whereas Isard and its intercrops performed better under irrigation. Therefore, the intercropping of wheat with pea uses the water resources of the environment more efficiently and can be used in dry land conditions for higher yield.

Description: Salinity in soil or irrigation water requires developing genetically salt-tolerant genotypes, especially in arid regions. Developing salt-tolerant and high-yielding wheat genotypes has become more urgent in particular with continuing global population growth and abrupt climate changes. The current study aimed at investigating the genetic variability of new breeding lines in three advanced generations F6–F8 under salinity stress. The evaluated advanced lines were derived through accurate pedigree selection under actual saline field conditions (7.74 dS/m) and using saline water in irrigation (8.35 dS/m). Ninety-four F6 lines were evaluated in 2017–2018 and reduced by selection to thirty-seven F7 lines in 2018–2019 and afterward to thirty-four F8 lines in 2019–2020 based on grain yield and related traits compared with adopted check cultivars. Significant genetic variability was detected for all evaluated agronomic traits across generations in the salt-stressed field. The elite F8 breeding lines displayed higher performance than the adopted check cultivars. These lines were classified based on yield index into four groups using hierarchical clustering ranging from highly salt-tolerant to slightly salt-tolerant genotypes, which efficiently enhance the narrow genetic pool of salt-tolerance. The detected response to selection and high to intermediate broad-sense heritability for measured traits displayed their potentiality to be utilized through advanced generations under salinity stress for identifying salt-tolerant breeding lines.

Description: Understanding the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on soybean-weed competition is essential for establishing a practical tool for N application and weed management. A two-year field experiment was conducted in a soybean field located in Bogatyrka (43.82° N, 131.6° E), Primorsky krai, Russia, to investigate the effects of N fertilizer and multiple-weed interference on soybean (Glycine max) yield and to model these effects. Soybean yield loss caused by the interference of multiple weeds including common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), and American slough grass (Beckmannia syzigachne) at different levels of N fertilizer was accurately described by a combined model incorporating inverse quadratic and exponential models into the rectangular hyperbolic model for two parameters Y0 and β, respectively. The combined model used in our study indicated that the application of N up to 36 kg N ha−1 can increase weed-free soybean yield by 2.2 Mg ha−1 but soybean yield under multiple-weed interference can sharply decrease with increasing total density equivalent, particularly at 36 kg N ha−1. These results, including the combined model, thus can support decision making for weed management under different N uses in soybean cultivation.

Description: Hydroponic systems are efficient for studying plant nutrition. It is often desirable to adjust individual nutrients for unique species’ needs and/or to create multiple nutrient deficiencies within the same study. However, this is challenging to do with traditional solutions as nutrients are generally added as dual nutrient salts, such as when varying phosphorus (P) concentration also affects nitrogen concentration; potentially, the chemical form of the nutrient taken up when ammonium phosphate is the source for P. This can create unintended consequences with nutrients other than those intended for adjustment. A new hydroponic system has been created to allow for nutrient deficiencies using single-nutrient sources, including ammonium nitrate; phosphoric, sulfuric, hydrochloric, and boric acids; potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and copper carbonates; manganese acetate; sodium molybdate; iron EDDHA; with HEDTA as an additional chelate. This nutrient solution was compared to a traditional “Hoagland” hydroponic solution to grow soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr). Additional treatments included alteration of pH in the new solution as well as evaluating varying levels of calcium, magnesium, and manganese. This new solution proved effective, as soybean was grown to maturity and performed as well as the traditional Hoagland solution. Adjusting pH downward with hydrochloric acid resulted in healthy plants, but solution pH was not adequately buffered. Adjusting pH with acetic acid resulted in toxicity. Further work is required to provide better pH buffering and approximately align tissue nutrient concentrations with field-grown soybean.

Description: This study explores whether Thermomagnesium (TM), a by-product of Ni ore mining, is an efficient fertilizer for maize. The effects of TM on soil pH, the supply of Si and Mg to the soil and plants, carbohydrate metabolism, grain filling, and yield were assessed in two simultaneous experiments performed in greenhouse conditions. Five TM doses were applied to two soil textures—clayey (0, 55, 273, 709, and 2018 mg kg−1) and sandy (0, 293, 410, 645, and 1260 mg kg−1). In general, the best results in soil and maize plants occurred at the highest TM dose for both soil textures (clayey 2018 mg kg−1 and sandy 1260 mg kg−1). The results demonstrated that in both soils, the concentrations of Mg and Si in the maize leaves increased with the dose of TM, similarly to that which occurred in the soil. Interestingly, in clayey soil, the soil pH increased linearly, whereas in sandy soil, the pH reached its maximum value between the two largest TM doses. The concentration of reducing sugars increased at the highest TM dose, whereas the concentrations of sucrose and starch decreased. The enhancement of carbohydrate partitioning led to higher maize growth, grain filling, and yield. Overall, the results clearly demonstrate that TM is a sustainable alternative fertilizer for maize and can be used for countless other crops and soil classifications, thus providing a suitable destination for this by-product of Ni ore mining.

Description: Atmospheric nitrogen biologically reduced in legumes root nodule and accumulated in their postharvest residues may be of great importance as a source of this macronutrient for succeeding crops. The aim of the study was to determine nitrogen uptake by winter triticale from pea postharvest residues, including N fixed from atmosphere, using in the study fertilizer enriched with the 15N isotope. Triticale was grown without nitrogen fertilization at sites where the forecrops had been two pea cultivars (multi-purpose and field pea) and, for comparison, spring barley. The triticale crop succeeding pea took up more nitrogen from the soil (59.1%) and less from the residues of the forecrop (41.1%). The corresponding values where the forecrop was barley were 92.1% and 7.9%. In the triticale, the percentage of nitrogen derived from the atmosphere, introduced into the soil with pea crop residues amounted to 23.8%. The amounts of nitrogen derived from all sources in the entire biomass of triticale plants grown after harvesting of pea were similar for both pea cultivars. The cereal took up more nitrogen from all sources, when the soil on which the experiment was conducted had higher content of carbon and nitrogen and a greater amount of N was introduced with the pea residues. Nitrogen from pea residues had high availability for winter triticale as a succeeding crop cultivated on sandy soils.

Description: Farm machinery like water sprinklers (WS) and pesticide sprayers (PS) are becoming quite popular in the agricultural sector. The WS and PS are two distinct types of machinery, mostly powered using conventional energy sources. In recent times, the battery and solar-powered WS and PS have also emerged. With the current WS and PS, the main drawback is the lack of intelligence on water and pesticide use decisions and autonomous control. This paper proposes a novel multi-purpose smart farming robot (MpSFR) that handles both water sprinkling and pesticide spraying. The MpSFR is a photovoltaic (PV) powered battery-operated internet of things (IoT) and computer vision (CV) based robot that helps in automating the watering and spraying process. Firstly, the PV-powered battery-operated autonomous MpSFR equipped with a storage tank for water and pesticide drove with a programmed pumping device is engineered. The sprinkling and spraying mechanisms are made fully automatic with a programmed pattern that utilizes IoT sensors and CV to continuously monitor the soil moisture and the plant’s health based on pests. Two servo motors accomplish the horizontal and vertical orientation of the spraying nozzle. We provided an option to remotely switch the sprayer to spray either water or pesticide using an infrared device, i.e., within a 5-m range. Secondly, the operation of the developed MpSFR is experimentally verified in the test farm. The field test’s observed results include the solar power profile, battery charging, and discharging conditions. The results show that the MpSFR operates effectively, and decisions on water use and pesticide are automated.

Description: The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.

Description: The recent increase in the use of renewable sources in electrical systems has transformed the electrical distribution network with the subsequent implementation of the distributed generation (DG) concept. The high penetration level of photovoltaic units increases their injected fault current that may result in a lack of coordination of fuse reclosers in distribution networks. One of the main protection devices that is generally used in rural distribution networks is the fuse. A correct size selection is key for ensuring good operation and coordination with other protection devices. The DG implementation makes the selection above more difficult, as the current flow both in steady state and in case of short-circuit is subject to alterations. A new protection fuse selection method for distribution networks with implemented DG is proposed in this paper with the aim of ensuring an effective coordination between them, avoiding untimely behaviors. Different case studies have been analyzed (for diverse locations of DG in the network with various penetration levels which represent 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the total installed load), using an IEEE 13-node test feeder. Besides, a new model to analyze fuse performance is proposed in this work. This model has proven to fit the manufacturer’s data well, with a maximum error of 2% within the normal trip current values.

Description: Within the project “BIOSEA” funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, a preliminary laboratory test was conducted to assess the variability for cold tolerance during germination in 30 cultivars of biomass sorghum, among fiber and sweet types. Seed germination (%) and mean germination time (MGT) were examined at seven constant temperatures (from 8 °C to 35 °C) and base temperature (Tb) and thermal time (θT) for 50% germination were calculated. A wide genetic diversity in the germination response of sorghum was ascertained at 8 °C (CV 45%) and 10 °C (CV 25.4%). At 8 °C, in cultivars of ‘Padana 4’, ‘PR811F’, ‘PSE24213’, ‘PR849’ and ‘Zerberus’, seed germination exceeded 80%. Seeds of ‘Zerberus’ were also the fastest, requiring less than 13 days for final germination at this low temperature. Great differences were found in Tb and θT among cultivars. Tb varied between 7.44 °C (‘PR811F’) and 13.48 °C (‘Nectar’). Thermal time (θT) was, on average, 24.09 °Cd−1, and ranged between 16.62 (‘Nectar’) and 33.42 °Cd−1 (‘PSE24213’). The best combination of the two germination parameters (i.e., low Tb and θT) corresponded to ‘Zerberus’, ‘Sucrosorgo 506’, ‘Jumbo’ and ‘PR811F’. Accordingly, these cultivars are more tolerant to cold stress during germination and, thus, more adapt to early spring sowings in Mediterranean areas (March-April). Cultivars ‘PR811F’ (fiber type) and ‘Sucrosorgo 506’ (sweet type) also combine high cold tolerance with good productivity in terms of final dry biomass, as assessed in open-field conditions (late spring sowing). The genetic variation in the germination response to a low temperature is useful for the identification of genotypes of sorghum suitable to early sowings in semi-arid areas. Selection within existing cultivars for cold tolerance during germination may also contribute to the expansion of biomass sorghum into cooler cultivation areas, such as those of Northern Europe, which are less suitable to this warm season crop.

Description: Biosurfactants, a wide group of compounds produced by different microorganisms, generally have less toxicity and are more biodegradable than synthetic surfactants. Biosurfactant-producing bacteria can be found in contaminated environments, such as soils receiving pesticide applications constantly, or in pesticides treatment systems where microorganisms are adapted to biodegrading pesticides. Five pesticide-tolerant bacteria previously isolated from a pesticide biopurification system were evaluated as biosurfactant-producers. Pseudomonas rhodesiae C4, Rhodococcus jialingiae C8 and Pseudomonas marginalis C9 strains were positive in qualitative tests. Biosurfactant production by these strains using Bushnell-Haas medium with olive oil at 2% (w/v) was evaluated as emulsification index, oil displacement, droplet collapse test and surface tension. After 144 h, these strains showed a similar emulsification index of 〉55%. The two Pseudomonas (C4 and C9) strains showed lower superficial tension compared with Rhodococcus strain (C8)—34.47, 37.44 and 47.55 mN/m for strains C4, C9 and C8, respectively. The chemical characterization of the biosurfactants revealed the presence of glycolipids in P. rhodesiae (C4) and glycopeptides in P. marginalis (C9). The degradation of chlorpyrifos increased from 39.2% to 51.6% when biosurfactants produced by P.rhodesiae (C4) were added (10%) with respect to the control. Therefore, biopurification systems are a relevant source of biosurfactant-producing bacteria with environmental biotechnology applications.

Description: This work presents an alternative for adding value to greenhouse crop residues, used for (1) heating and (2) as a CO2 source. Both options are focused on greenhouse agricultural production, but could be applied to other applications. The influence of factors, such as the air/fuel rate and turbulence inside the combustion chamber, is studied. Our results show that for pine pellets, olive pits, tomato-crop residues, and a blend of the latter mixed with almond prunings (75–25%), the thermal losses ranged from 19.5–53.1, 20.5–58.9, 39.9–95%, and 29.4–75.5%, respectively, while the NOX emissions were 30–247, 411–1792, and 361–2333 mg/Nm3, respectively. The above-mentioned blend was identified as the best set-up. The thermal losses were 39.2%, and the CO, NOX, and SO2 concentrations were 11,690, 906, and 1134 mg/Nm3, respectively (the gas concentration values were recalculated for 0% O2). Currently, no other work exists in the literature include a similar analysis performed using a boiler with a comparable thermal output (160.46 kW). The optimal configurations comply with the relevant local legislation. This optimization is important for future emission control strategies relating to using crop residues as a CO2 source. The work also highlights the importance of ensuring a proper boiler set-up for each case considered.

Description: Biochar has previously been used in growing media blends as fertilizer or for improving plant growth, disease suppression, and as a sustainable replacement of peat. To achieve optimal circular horticulture, we propose here to reuse the biochar from spent growing media. However, it is unclear to what extent the biochar feedstock determines the mode of action of the biochar and if use of spent growing media biochar may encounter nutrient or salt problems. Differences in chemical characteristics, nutrient release, and interaction in a leaching experiment and effects on plant growth, nutrient uptake, and disease suppression in a strawberry greenhouse trial were studied for 11 biochars either processed from spent growing media or from lignocellulosic biomass. A well-studied biochar produced from oak wood was set as reference. Biochars produced from spent growing media were characterized by higher electrical conductivity, extractable and total nutrient concentrations compared with biochars produced from lignocellulosic biomass. Especially in the first phase of the leaching experiment, all biochars showed nutrient and salt release, with most prominent effects for spent growing media biochars and the reference biochar. The latter biochars were an important source of phosphorus and in particular of potassium. Only for the reference biochar, strawberry plants showed increased uptake of phosphorus, potassium and calcium, and increased chlorophyll concentration. No Bortrytis cinerea disease suppression and no increase in plant growth was observed for the tested biochars. It is concluded that spent growing media can be recycled as biochar in growing media without adverse effects compared to biochars produced from lignocellulosic biomass.

Description: The main challenge facing greenhouse designers is to achieve environment-appropriate greenhouses, especially in tropical regions. The excess radiant energy transmitted into the greenhouse predisposes plants to photo-inhibition and consequently reduces crop production. Lately, photovoltaic (PV) modules are equipped as a greenhouse rooftop to minimize the level of irradiation and air temperature in the greenhouse, simultaneously improving its energy consumption. Nevertheless, due to the low level of irradiation, denser conventional PV internal shading would influence the cultivated crops’ growth. Thus, Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) possesses several attractive features such as transparent, sensitive to low light levels, and various color options that render DSSC a perfect choice able to serve substantially in energy buildings. This study assessed the microclimate conditions inside the greenhouse with semi-transparent DSSC mounted on top of it, describing the Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) (µmol m−2 s−1), Vapor Pressure Deficit VPD (kPa), relative humidity (%), and also temperature (°C). The Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV), which indicates the average thermal energy transmission rate across the external layer of a structure envelope, is also presented. The effects of colored DSSC in altering the spectral of sunlight in reference to the Orthosiphon stamineus growth responses were determined. The information of the condition of DSSC greenhouse microclimate helps to identify the information for designing PV greenhouses and to produce income from both electric power and agronomic activity.

Description: Currently, vegetable production systems have been changed to improve yield and quality, leading to an improvement in sustainability. In horticultural cultivation, one of the most important sectors is the seedling production in nurseries. In the past, horticultural seedlings were produced directly by farmers. Nowadays, industrialized nurseries provide seedlings characterized by a uniform growth and an early and contemporaneous development. In addition, consumer concern about the impact of food production on the environment is driving an increased demand for organic vegetables with a consequent increase of agricultural land cultivated by organic methods. Hence, there is a need to produce high-quality seedlings suitable to be cultivated in the organic farming system. Root zone management, for improving seedling quality of organic horticultural crops, remains largely unexploited, such that this review highlights some of the current research and future development priorities, providing useful information to nursery growers. In particular, we reviewed all the scientific and modern knowledge on the production of organic, healthy and vigorous seedlings including the use of: (1) compost and compost tea; (2) agroindustrial byproducts; (3) microbial and non-microbial plant biostimulants; (4) beneficial microorganisms.

Description: Spinach is rich in minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals and bioactive compounds with health-beneficial effects; however, this plant also tends to accumulate oxalates and nitrates in their leaves. Apart from genotype, nutrition is the pre-harvest factor that mostly affects quality attributes at harvest. Particularly, the application of compost extracts (CE) may induce resistance against soil-borne diseases and favour secondary metabolism, increasing antioxidant capacity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different types of fertilization with or without the addition of CE, on harvest quality and shelf life of minimally processed spinach (Spinacia oleracea, var. Shrike RZ) stored during 12 days at 4 °C. A compost extract (CE) was prepared by mixing a compost from agri-food wastes (vine pruning, leek waste and olive mill waste) with deionized water. CE foliar applications were done from days 28 and 56 after sowing. The treatments applied were: Control; Control + CE; NPK (inorganic NPK fertilizer 15-15-15); NPK + CE; DMPP (ENTEC Nitrofoska® plus the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP)) and DMPP + CE. After harvest, spinach leaves were minimally processed and packaged to generate a passive modified atmosphere. Nitrate content in the control treatment was reduced by the addition of CE, although in the rest of the treatments, CE addition did not produce any effect. For nitrite contents, the lowest value was obtained for the Control + CE. Moreover, the oxalate content was the lowest for the control treatment with a decreasing trend throughout the storage. The treatment Control + CE also showed the highest initial total phenolic contents, with very similar values at the end of shelf life to those observed at harvest for all the treatments. The highest differences in color as regards the initial values were detected for DMPP. Microbial loads increased for all the treatments without differences between them. The atmosphere reached at the end of the cold storage was the same for all the cases, with CO2 and O2 around 10 kPa for each one of them. After 12 days at 4 °C, all the treatments were above the limit of usability, with the spinach leaves acceptable for consumption. The results found in this study indicate that the addition of CE might be convenient for obtaining spinach rich in bioactive compounds and with low concentrations of antinutritional factors, without affecting the microbial load of the final product.

Description: Understanding the complex relationships among soil quality, crop productivity, and management practices would help to develop more sustainable agricultural production systems. In this study, we investigated the combined effects of crop rotations and fertilization treatments on soil quality and crop yield in a long term (about 50 years) field experiment. Crop rotations included continuous corn (Zea mays L.), a 2 year corn-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation, and a 9 year corn-wheat-corn-wheat-corn-wheat-alfalfa-alfalfa-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) rotation. Fertilization treatments included control, mineral fertilization with urea and triple superphosphate, and amendment with cattle manure. Crop rotations and fertilization treatments were combined in a factorial experimental design with two replications for each rotation and six replications for each fertilization treatment. The continuous corn and the corn-wheat rotations had negative effects on the main soil quality indicators considered (carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools, microbial biomass and activity). On the contrary, the 9 year rotation had positive effects on soil organic carbon (+24%) and total nitrogen (+23%) but resulted in impoverished available P (−5%). Positive effects on soil microbial biomass (+37% of microbial biomass C and +23% of microbial biomass N) and activity (+19%) were also observed. Soil amendment with manure built up soil organic carbon (+13%), increased nutrient content (+31% of extractable C and +19% of extractable N), including that of available P (+47%), and stimulated microbial growth (+34%) and activity (+8%). As compared to manure, mineral fertilization increased the soil nutrient content to a lesser extent. This study showed that the combined use of rotations, including legume forage crops, and soil amendment with manure may help preserve soil quality and crop productivity in the long term.

Description: Barley fields reach 1.7 million hectares in Spain, of which 320,000 are used to produce malt, generating 450,000 tons of crop residue from barley intended for malt production. One way to treat this waste in an environmentally sound, energy-sustainable and economically cost-effective manner is anaerobic digestion. The biogas generated can be used as fuel and as a renewable source of energy (providing a solution to the energy supply problem from an environmental point of view). It has been shown that, when treated along with sludge from a Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor, the crop malt residue produces about 1604 NmL of biogas per 100 g; with a content in methane of 27.486%. The development of the process has been studied with a novel indicator, hydrogen generation, and it has been determined that the process takes place in two phases. It has been demonstrated that this solution is beginning to be energy-efficient and therefore to produce energy for external uses in regions that have at least 6000 hectares of planted barley. At best, it can be considered, in a given region, the equivalent of a 115 MW power plant. It could supply energy to 10 thousand homes per year. Therefore, it is considered an energy-efficient solution that com-plies with the Sustainable Development Goals #1, #7, #10, #12 and #13. It guarantees access to energy in isolated areas or with supply problems, and results in a 55.4% reduction in emissions of equivalent-CO2 (which equals 38,060 tons of equivalent-CO2 in Spain).

Description: The use of major nutrient-containing solid residuals, such as recycled solid waste materials, has a strong potential in closing the broken nutrient cycles. In this work, biofuel ash (BA) combined with green waste compost (GWC) was used as a nutrient source to improve soil properties and enhance wheat and triticale yields. The main goal was to obtain the nutrient and heavy metal release dynamics and ascertain whether GWC together with BA can potentially be used for concurrent bioremediation to mitigate any negative solid waste effects on the environment. Both BA and GWC were applied in the first year of study. No fertilization was performed in the second year of the study. The results obtained in this work showed the highest spring wheat yield when the GWC (20 t ha−1) and BA (4.5 t ha−1) mixture was used. After the first harvest, the increase in the mobile forms of all measured nutrients was detected in the soil with complex composted materials (GWC + BA). The content of heavy metals (Cd, Zn, and Cr) in the soil increased significantly with BA and all GWC + BA mixtures. In both experiment years, the application of BA together with GWC resulted in fewer heavy metals transferred to the crops than with BA alone.

Description: C. sativa is a valuable oilseed; it has a wide nutritional and technical use. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive study of C. sativa collection accessions in various ecological and geographical conditions to determine the environmental stability parameters. C. sativa All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) collection accessions served as a material source for the study. The study was conducted in four different ecological and geographical regions of the Russian Federation. In the factor structure of the environmental parameters variability two factors are identified covering 94.8% of the variability. The first factor is associated with the precipitation sum (PS) and the temperatures sum (TS) for the vegetation period (68.7%), the second factor is associated with the average daily temperature (TM) for the same period (26.1%). Analysis of the system of correlations between the parameters of stability and plasticity and the value of regression coefficients for meteorological indicators showed that for all the studied features, indicator b closely correlates with regression coefficients for the temperatures sum (TS) and average daily temperature (TM) for the vegetation period. Indicator Sd—with coefficients for the precipitation sum (PS) and average daily precipitation (PM). The result of the study made it possible to identify collection accessions of C. sativa with a high stable adaptability to the contrasting climatic conditions of the studied regions.

Description: Lodging is the most common factor that affects crop productivity, reducing yield, grain quality, and harvesting efficiency of rice and other cereal crops. The Cheongcheong (Indica)/Nagdong (Japonica) doubled haploid (CNDH) genetic map was used to develop a lodging-resistant variety. The major agricultural traits of rice related to lodging resistance, such as the pushing strength of the lower stem before the heading date (PSLSB) at reproductive growth period and pushing strength of the lower stem after the heading date (PSLSA) at full ripe period were investigated. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of PSLSA and PSLSB detected on RM439-RM20318 on chromosome 6 has overlap in three consecutive years. RM439-RM20318 on chromosome 6 contained 15 lodging resistance candidate genes. Among the candidate genes, Os06g0623200, named OsPSLSq6, which is similar to Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase, involved lignin biosynthesis in defense responses. Lignin is the main structural component of vascular plants’ secondary cell wall, which is not only related to plant growth and development but also to mechanical strength. OsPSLSq6 opens new possibilities to control lignin synthesis to improve lodging resistance. OsPSLSq6 can be used as a target gene for further studies to provide important information for the marker-assisted improvement of target traits and cloning genes underlying the QTL of interest.

Description: The yield and fruit quality of processing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) have increased markedly over the past decades. The aim of this work was to assess the effects of the organic (OFS) and conventional farming systems (CFS) on the main agronomic parameters involved in processing tomato yield components and fruit quality traits of heirloom and modern genotypes. Marketable yield increased from heirloom to modern genotypes, both in OFS and in CFS, showing a difference of ≈20 t per hectare in favor of CFS. Total fruit yield (TY) was not improved from heirloom to modern assessed genotypes, and a difference of ≈35 t per hectare was observed in favor of CFS. In both farming systems, the highest marketable yield of modern genotypes was due to a higher number of fruits per plant, harvest index, nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE), and fruit water productivity. Moreover, the main growth parameters involved in the yield differences between OFS and CFS were the number of leaves per plant, the average fruit weight, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and NAE. It is noteworthy that fruit quality improvement in terms of color and brix per hectare was paralleled by a decrease of tomato pH in both farming systems. According to our results, we conclude that to reduce the current yield gap between OFS and CFS, agronomic and breeding efforts should be undertaken to increase leaf area index, fruit number per plant, and NAE for better genotype adaptation to organic farming systems.

Description: Organic amendments may improve the quality of acidic tropical agricultural soils with low organic carbon contents under conventional management (mineral fertilization and irrigation) in Southeast Asia. We investigated the effect of biochar, compost and their combination on maize growth and yield, soil physical, biological and chemical properties at harvesting time at four sites in three countries: Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Treatments consisted of 10 t·ha−1 cow manure compost and 7 t·ha−1 of Bamboo biochar and their combination. Maize biomass production and cop yields were recorded for two seasons. Elemental content, pH and nutrient availability of soils were analyzed after the first growing season. We also characterized macrofauna abundance and water infiltration. Few changes were noted for maize biomass production and maize cop yield. Soil chemical parameters showed contrasting, site-specific results. Compost and biochar amendments increased soil organic carbon, pH, total K and N, P and K availability especially for sandy soils in Thailand. The combination of both amendments could reduce nutrient availability as compared to compost only treatments. Physical and biological parameters showed no treatment response. We conclude that the addition of compost, biochar and their mixture to tropical soils have site-specific short-term effects on chemical soil parameters. Their short-term effect on plants is thus mainly related to nutrient input. The site-dependent results despite similar crops, fertilization and irrigation practices suggest that inherent soil parameters and optimization of organic amendment application to specific pedoclimatic conditions need future attention.

Description: Forage management and environmental conditions affect water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) storage, and, in turn, influence ruminant forage utilization in silvopastoral systems. The objective was to determine effects of four dependent variables: forage species [(non-native, C3 (orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.)) and native C4 mix (8:1:1 big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium Michx. Nash) and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans L.))]; fertility (poultry litter and an unfertilized control); forage sampling date (mid-May, late-May, early-June, mid-June, and late-June); and hour of day (0800, 1100, 1400, and 1700 h) on WSC accumulation in a silvopasture. Concentrations of WSC (g kg DM−1) were greater (p ≤ 0.05) for C3 forages, with poultry litter not impacting WSC accumulation. Overall, WSC was greatest in mid-June, with the lowest WSC concentration observed at 0800 compared to 1100, 1400, and 1700 h (p ≤ 0.05). Therefore, harvesting forages later in the day resulted in greater WSC. A stepwise regression model indicated acid detergent fiber, ash, and forage P concentration were the best predictors (R2 = 0.85, p ≤ 0.05) of forage WSC. These results may be useful in future studies aimed at explaining diurnal cattle grazing preference and optimum forage harvest timing in silvopastoral systems.

Description: The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify Rhodococcus spp. strains from almond and pistachio rootstocks and trees in Tunisia. Twenty-eight strains were identified through 16S rDNA and vicA genes amplification and sequencing. Pea bioassay was performed to determine the pathogenicity of the strains. Representative 16S rDNA and vicA sequences of eight strains from pistachio and seven strains from almond were closely related (〉98% similarity) to Rhodococcus spp. accessions in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences revealed that the yellow-colored strains clustered with phytopathogenic Rhodococcusfascians. The red and orange-colored strains were separated into a different group with R. kroppenstedtii and R. corynebacteiroides isolates. Eleven strains affected the pea seedlings’ growth and exhibited different levels of virulence. The number of shoots was significantly higher in seedlings inoculated with four Rhodococcus strains, whereas the other three strains caused up to 80% of plant height reduction and reduced root secondary growth compared to non-inoculated pea seedlings. These strains, most of which are epiphytes from asymptomatic hosts, showed strong pathogenicity during pea bioassay and were established endophytically in pea tissues. Ten att and five fas genes were detected in four strains and may represent a novel model of plant pathogenic Rhodococcus virulence. The results of our survey showed that Rhodococcus is present but not prevalent in all visited orchards of almond and pistachio rootstocks and trees. Our surveys complemented the investments being made on ornamental species in Tunisia and unveiled the presence of undocumented plant-associated Rhodococcus spp. on economically important crops.

Description: The quality of red lettuce is based on the content of anthocyanin pigments, and the content of these pigments increases when the plant receives ultraviolet radiation. Lettuce crops are increasingly being grown in greenhouses to provide better quality fresh lettuce; however, both quality and productivity are affected by the type of cover used. The effects of UV-transparent and UV-blocking plastic films on the growth and quality of three lettuce cultivars (‘Casabella’ and ‘Vera’, which are both green leaf, and ‘Lollo Rosso’, which is red leaf) were investigated. The crop was cultivated at an altitude of 2576 m a.s.l. to naturally expose it to high ultraviolet radiation. The height and diameter of plants, fresh and dry weight, leaf area index, chlorophyll fluorescence, and leaf colour were determined throughout the crop cycle. Growth characteristics were not significantly influenced by the plastic film in all cultivars, probably due to the high altitude and the high solar radiation received. The UV-transparent film could increase the red colour in ‘Lollo Rosso’, and a higher commercial quality was achieved. No effect of the plastic film on the yield component was observed in the ‘Casabella’ and ‘Vera’ cultivars. The findings of this study provide guidance on what cultivar and plastic film must be used in high-altitude areas where the solar and UV radiation is high.

Description: The interaction of genotype by the environment is very common in multi-environment trials of maize hybrids. This study evaluates the quantity and the quality of grain production and the stability of four maize genotypes in a field experiment that was conducted in five different locations for two years. In order to make a reliable evaluation of the performance of genotypes in the environments, principal components analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the correlation of the yield, soil properties and quality characteristics, while the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis detected the narrow adaptations of genotypes at specific mega-environments. For the yield, AMMI analysis indicated that a group of five environments (ENV1, ENV8, ENV6 ENV10 and ENV9) gave higher yields than the mean value and at the same time had low first interaction principal components axis (IPC1) scores, indicating small interactions. Regarding protein and fiber contents, ENV1 and ENV2, gave the highest values and this could be attributed to the high concentration rates of nutrients like Mg, Ca and the soil texture (C). Specifically for the protein, the results of the analysis indicated that certain environment would provide more protein content, so in order to obtain higher grain protein, growers should grow in certain locations in order to improve the content of this quality characteristic, certain genotypes should be used in certain environments.

Description: Nasturtium is a popular herbal plant, widely cultivated as culinary and medicinal plants all over the world. However, the seed propagation of nasturtium is inefficient, and in-vitro propagation is sophisticated and high-cost. In this study, the cutting propagation method was employed to produce nasturtium seedlings. We aimed to determine the optimal conditions for cutting propagation of nasturtium seedlings by investigating the effects of node position and electric conductivity (EC) of nutrient solution on the root formation of the cuttings. Cuttings from five node positions (apical bud, 2nd node, 3rd node, 4th node, and 5th node) were subjected to water and five EC (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 dS m−1) treatments with a hydroponic cultivation system in a plant factory. Results showed that all cuttings rooted successfully within two weeks. The cuttings from the apical bud position rooted earliest and produced the most roots regardless of EC level. Cuttings from other node positions produced longer roots and heavier root fresh and dry weights than those from the apical bud position. The cuttings under EC of 1.0 dS m−1 had the greatest root number, the longest root length, and the heaviest root fresh and dry weights regardless of node positions. The EC of 1.0 dS m−1 is considered the best condition for nasturtium cuttings for the range of EC tested in this study, and the cuttings from all the five node positions can be used as seedling materials.

Description: A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of biochar-compost on availability of P for maize cultivation in a concretionary Lixisol of northern Ghana and residual soil characteristics thereof. Sawdust biochar was co-composted with kitchen waste and cow dung in various proportions. Four biochar-composts were selected based on their superior carbon and available P content, lower pH, and electrical conductivity (EC). These were amended to attain the standard phosphorus requirement (SPR) and half the SPR of the Lixisol. Triple superphosphate and (NH4)2 SO4 were, respectively, applied as inorganic fertilizer to meet the SPR and the average total nitrogen of the selected biochar-compost treatments. A control without any soil amendment was included. Maize was grown to tasseling (eight weeks) and shoot dry matter and P uptake determined. A 2.71 to 3.71-fold increase in P uptake led to a 1.51 to 2.33-fold increase in shoot dry matter in biochar-compost-amended soils over the control. Residual soil C, pH, and total and available P in the biochar-compost-amended soils were enhanced. Biochar-composts at half the SPR level produced maize with higher shoot dry matter than the equivalent inorganic amendment at full SPR.

Description: Sap flow measurements of trees are today the most common method to determine evapotranspiration at the tree and the forest/crop canopy level. They provide independent measurements for flux comparisons and model validation. The most common approach to measure the sap flow is based on intrusive solutions with heaters and thermal sensors. This sap flow sensor technology is not very reliable for more than one season crop; it is intrusive and not adequate for low diameter trunk trees. The non-invasive methods comprise mostly Radio-frequency (RF) technologies, typically using satellite or air-born sources. This system can monitor large fields but cannot measure sap levels of a single plant (precision agriculture). This article studies the hypothesis to use of RF signals attenuation principle to detect variations in the quantity of water present in a single plant. This article presents a well-defined experience to measure water content in leaves, by means of high gains RF antennas, spectrometer, and a robotic arm. Moreover, a similar concept is studied with an off-the-shelf radar solution—for the automotive industry—to detect changes in the water presence in a single plant and leaf. The conclusions indicate a novel potential application of this technology to precision agriculture as the experiments data is directly related to the sap flow variations in plant.

Description: With the intensification of desertification in northwest China, drought has become a serious environmental problem restricting plant growth and ecological restoration. Recently, dark septate endophytes (DSEs) have attracted more attention because of their ability to improve plants’ resistance to drought. Here, we investigated DSE colonization and species diversity in roots of Lycium ruthenicum collected from Anxi and Minqin, in northwest China, during July, September, and December 2019. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of seasonality and sampling sites on DSEs. In different seasons, DSE colonization varied with the phenology of L. ruthenicum. At different sites, DSE colonization significantly differed. Four isolates were reported in desert ecosystems for the first time. The results showed microsclerotial colonization was directly affected by changing seasons, while hyphal colonization and species diversity were directly affected by sampling sites. The soil organic carbon, pH, alkaline phosphatase, and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen were the main predictors of DSE colonization and species diversity. We conclude that DSE colonization and diversity showed significant spatial–temporal heterogeneity and were closely related to soil factors. This research provides a basis for the further understanding of the ecological functions of DSEs and their application potential for vegetative restoration and agricultural cultivation in drylands.

Description: This study was conducted to assess the influence of gibberellic acid (GA3) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the flowering and quality of Zantedeschia albomaculata (Hook.) Baill ‘Albomaculata’ plants. Before planting, the rhizomes were soaked in water or an aqueous solution of GA3 at a concentration of 150 mg dm−3 for 30 min. A mixture of AMF was applied to the rhizomes a week after planting. The AMF treatment increased the yield of inflorescences of the ‘Albomaculata’ cultivar by 100%. AMF and GA3 had a favourable effect on the quality of inflorescences, expressed by the length of peduncles, whereas AMF individually positively affected the length of the spathes. AMF and GA3 had no effect on the level of macroelements in calla lily leaves, with the exception of calcium (Ca). The leaves of mycorrhized plants had a high content of sodium (Na) and micronutrients, except for iron (Fe). The results of the study showed that GA3 could be replaced by mycorrhizal inoculation when applied to Zantedeschia plants.

Description: The expected shortage of global phosphate has enforced the search for alternative resources for P fertilizers. Therefore, the present study focuses on the turnover of phosphorus (P) of hydrochars and pyrochars derived from sewage sludge (SS) in soils during plant growth. We designed a pot experiment in which Lolium perenne L. was allowed to grow on a Calcic Cambisol amended with SS-derived chars. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) yielded the SS-hydrochars (200 °C, 260 °C; 30 min, 3 h), whereas the SS-pyrochars were obtained after dry pyrolysis (600 °C, 1 h). Increasing severity of HTC lowered the recovery of total P (PT) from the feedstock to 76%. The Olsen-P diminished from 4% PT in the untreated sludge to 1% PT in the hydrochars, whereas the pyrochars exhibited an Olsen-P between 3 and 6%. At the end of the pot experiment, the soils amended with pyrochars and with hydrochars produced at 200 °C contained more Olsen-P than the unamended soils, proving that P-rich chars can indeed serve as a P fertilizer. Part of the P sequestered in the chars turned into a mobile form during the experiment. After addition of our chars, the soil pH remained alkaline, allowing the conclusion that P could not have been solubilized through just abiotic processes. We suggest that biological and biochemical processes are involved in this mobilization. This work demonstrates that, in order to evaluate the efficiency of an organic amendment as a P fertilizer, the knowledge of their P availability alone is not sufficient and a better understanding of the biochemical processes involved in the cycling of its immobilized P is certainly required.