Carlo Alberto Campiotti

A comparison between two methods to control nutrient delivery to greenhouse melons grown in recirculating nutrient solution culture

Abstract Two methods to control nutrient delivery to greenhouse melon plants grown with the nutrient film technique were compared: a conventional control system based on the adjustment of electrical conductivity (EC) of the recirculating nutrient solution, and a programmed nutrient addition, which was based simply on pre-established weekly supply of N, P and K without any attempt to maintain constant values of nutrient concentration and EC. The method to control nutrient supply did not influence significantly fruit yield or quality, but the nutrient addition reduced the crop consumption of water, N, P and K by 40–60% with respect to the EC method.

Short communication: Soil-less indoor-grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.): Approaching the modelling task

Process-based modelling approaches developed for field crops were adapted to address the behaviour of indoor-grown soil-less lettuce under alternative growth conditions. The equations for crop growth and development were simplified to common and consistent terms, re-designed against the peculiarities of a controlled environment and implemented into an easy-to-use, management-oriented, software tool. An array of experiments, where lettuce was grown in growth chambers under water- and nutrient-unlimited conditions, at various temperature and radiation levels, was performed to build a data set to evaluate the model. Critical parameters and suitable relationships were identified and evaluated for possible use in management-oriented applications. Summary statistics of the evaluation indicated a satisfactory description of crop growth (EF>0.50) and development (+/-1 day discrepancy). As a result, there is a potential for the present approach to be applied to soil-less lettuce systems under alternative management options.

Energy Efficiency in Italian Fruit and Vegetables Processing Industries in the EU Agro-Food Sector Context

The food and beverages industry is a leading manufacturing sector in Europe. In 2012, the Italian agro-food industry, including farming, food industry, retail, services, and other related components, has reached the 17% of GDP. In terms of energy consumption, the whole agro-food system consumes large amounts of fossil fuels for the production of vegetable and animal food. This paper draws attention to the agro-food industry in Italy and in the European context, exploring more in details the fruit and vegetables industrial sector. Main measures, policies and technologies determining energy consumption in the agro-food industry are focused. Furthermore, available energy efficiency improvement tools and feasible ways to efficiently manage most of energy consumptions are discussed.

Agroalimentare e sviluppo economico sostenibile: energia, efficienza energetica, ambiente e cibo

Nell’ultimo decennio, il sistema agroalimentare nazionale nella sua accezione piu ampia di agricoltura e industria alimentare, ha assunto una configurazione fortemente sistemica, aperta al contributo di diverse discipline e tecnologie. Tale evoluzione ha consentito al sistema agricolo di raggiungere posizioni ragguardevoli se consideriamo che nel complesso l’agroalimentare rappresenta per l’economia italiana un valore di 250 miliardi €, pari a circa 16% del PIL. Il mondo agricolo, nel suo complesso, costituisce ormai uno snodo fondamentale per attivita che riguardano: l’energia, l’ambiente, il cibo, il territorio, il benessere dei cittadini, il sistema economico aree urbane-aree rurali. Il lavoro e focalizzato sul ruolo strategico dell’agroalimentare per gli obiettivi del Pacchetto Europeo 20-20-20 nonche per lo sviluppo economico sostenibile del sistema Paese.

Innovative sustainable strategies in agro-food systems and in buildings for energy efficiency

EU identified the energy efficiency policy as the major strategy for ensuring both the sustainability of the use of energy resources and to develop the transition towards a low-carbon and decentralized energy system in Europe. This paper presents a brief analysis on available innovative technologies to reduce the dependency of agriculture and agro-food sector from fossil energy, and comply with the international commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions and to combat climate change. A general overview is provided on the energy consumption in agriculture and agro-food sector, with particular focus on the Italian sector is taken into consideration. It is discussed the role of solid biomass in place of fossil resources and the application of solar cooling technology as new technologies for acclimatization in greenhouse agriculture. Moreover, the application of living vegetated horizontal and vertical layers on buildings is evaluated as innovative and natural technology for improving the sustainability of towns and reducing the energy consumption for air conditioning in summer and CO2 emissions in towns.

State of the art and perspectives on application of mathematical models to greenhouse crops

An increasing trend was observed over the last years in the modelling of soil-plant-management interactions of protected crops, mainly as an adaptation of approaches originally developed for field crops. The variety of modelling approaches used world-wide reflects the difficulty of unifying physiological principles across various crops (plant types). The heterogeneity of software development techniques (typically based on procedural principles) has been another obstacle to the progress of research in this field, since it hampered model extension and re-usability. This paper describes and discusses the scientific basis, the design, implementation and perspectives in modelling greenhouse crops. Generic modular architectures developed according to up to date software technologies (.NET, Java) were identified and proposed as valuable for the design, implementation, verification and comparison of process-based modelling approaches. On this basis, the authors argue that the combination of good software engineering with sound crop science can enhance the rate of advance in crop modelling for protected crops.