Fabio Stagnari

Conservation Agriculture: A Different Approach for Crop Production Through Sustainable Soil and Water Management: A Review

Tillage-based soil management for intensive crop production generally leads to soil degradation and eventual loss of crop productivity. Moreover, farmers have to face high costs for fuel, labor, agro-chemicals, and other production inputs required by intensive cropping. Intensive tillage causes a greater loss of soil carbon and increases greenhouse gas emission, mainly CO2, that not only impacts soil productive capacity but also impacts atmospheric quality that is responsible for “climate change.” This article reviews the practice of conservation agriculture as a viable system for sustainable crop production and agricultural development. The following major points have been found to be associated with the adoption of conservation agriculture when compared with tillage-based agriculture: improved soil structure and stability; increased drainage and water-holding capacity; reduced risk of rainfall runoff and pollution of surface waters with pesticides of up to 100% and fertilizers up to 70%; and about one quarter to one half lower energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions. Moreover, crop residues are more naturally left on the surface to protect the soil and to drive the carbon cycle towards the conversion of plant biomass carbon to soil organic matter and humus. The changes in the physical environment affect many different groups of organisms, and although there is a wide range of responses among different species, most organism groups are in greater abundance in conservation agriculture than in tillage-based systems. The practice of conservation agriculture requires attention to crop rotation, adequate weed control, management of crop residues, mulching, introduction and management of cover crops, changes in seeding, and transplanting equipment. Despite the benefits linked to the practice of conservation agriculture, there is still much scepticism—especially in Europe—about the suitability of the conservation practice within the European soil and climatic conditions and cropping systems. Nevertheless, it will be more necessary than ever for farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural systems that can simultaneously meet their economic needs, address the concerns of consumers, and minimize the impact on the environment.

Application of photo‐selective films to manipulate wavelength of transmitted radiation and photosynthate composition in red beet (Beta vulgaris var. conditiva Alef.)

BACKGROUND Interest is increasing around both the use of plants as functional foods and the agronomic techniques which can increase nutrients and phytochemicals. Nevertheless, little research has focused on the effects of light on accumulation of active compounds in root storage organs. Red beet was treated with RED (red/far red ratio: 1.29; transmitted photosynthetically active radiation: 66.9%) and GREEN (red/far red ratio: 0.43; transmitted photosynthetically active radiation: 25.8%) photo-selective films and changes in nutrients and biomass accumulation were measured. RESULTS Plants subjected to GREEN treatment had less dry weight accumulation both in storage roots (68%) and leaves (42%); moreover, soluble and structural carbohydrate concentration in roots was increased, as were the K, Mg and Zn concentrations (40.08, 2.95 and 0.023 mg g⁻¹ fresh weight, respectively). Conversely, GREEN lowered total phenolic concentration (0.33 vs. 0.47 mg g⁻¹ fresh weight) and antioxidant activity (0.65 vs. 0.94 µm Trolox equivalents g⁻¹ fresh weight) compared to CONTROL. Total pigment concentration was reduced by 20% and 48% with RED and GREEN treatments, respectively. CONCLUSION Red beet showed a strong plasticity in its adaptation to light availability. Some macronutrients (fiber, sugars, minerals) can be concentrated in roots by modifying the amount and quality of the light, principally with GREEN photo-selective films.

Phenolic compounds in grains, sprouts and wheatgrass of hulled and non-hulled wheat species.

BACKGROUND The use of sprouts and young plantlets in human nutrition is increasing because they often contain phytochemicals and other high value nutrients. This is also the case for wheat, although there is no literature for hulled wheat species. Thus we determined total polyphenols, phenolic acids (PAs), fibre and minerals in grains, 5-day-old sprouts and 12-day-old wheatgrass of einkorn (cv. Monlis), emmer (cvs Augeo, Rosso Rubino, Zefiro), spelt (cvs Pietro, Giuseppe), durum wheat (cv. Creso) and soft wheat (cv. Orso). RESULTS Grains of einkorn and emmer contained twice bound PAs as compared to soft and durum wheat and spelt, with p-coumaric acid accounting for about 50% of total bound PAs. In wheatgrass, differences between species for bound PAs decreased due to a decrease in einkorn and emmer and an increase in soft and durum wheat. In all species, total phenols and free PAs increased passing from grains to sprouts and wheatgrass. Neutral and acid detergent fibre content increased with sprouting only in einkorn and emmer. CONCLUSION Our evidence suggests that the grains of einkorn and emmer and the sprouts and wheatgrass of all Triticum species might potentially be valuable for the development of functional foods.

Agronomic and kernel quality of ancient wheats grown in central and Southern Italy

Several genotypes of the two “ancients wheats” species, Khorasan wheat and emmer, were evaluated in two different marginal areas of central and southern Italy. They were compared with some old and new released varieties of durum wheat, in order to better understand their agronomic potential and their suitability to be grown in those conditions. Khorasan wheat was the worst yielding species with the highest plant height, kernel and hectolitre weight. Yield and kernel weight from emmer resulted intermediate between the other two species, while plant height did not differ from that of durum wheat. Emmer exhibited high protein and gluten content. Wide genetic response to many traits was found within each species grouping; this suggests that some emmer and Khorasan wheat genotypes have the potential to give high quality product and interesting yield in rainfed marginal areas of central and southern Italy.

A Multivariate Clustering Approach for Characterization of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane Area

A multivariate clustering approach combined with geomatics was applied to delineate and define homogeneous zones (terroir units) within the premium Denomination of Guaranteed Origin Colline Teramane winegrowing area, in the Teramo Province, Italy. A geographical information system (GIS) architecture was set up to incorporate the main factors affecting the geographical differentiation of land capability. Vine-related environmental indices and parameters were interpolated and incorporated in the GIS. A principal component analysis followed by a multivariate clustering algorithm was applied to obtain a continuous topography climate map, in which each cluster represented a homogeneous zone or terroir unit. Terroir units were further characterized by overlaying the topography climate map with land-use information and a geologic map of the same area. This territory classification provides a useful framework for further hypotheses testing, in particular vine interaction with environment and new cultivar suitability. Moreover, the approach represents a potential tool for rational territory management and land-use planning.

Long-term impact of farm management and crops on soil microorganisms assessed by combined DGGE and PLFA analyses

In the present study, long-term organic and conventional managements were compared at the experimental field of Monsampolo del Tronto (Marche region, Italy) with the aim of investigating soil chemical fertility and microbial community structure. A polyphasic approach, combining soil fertility indicators with microbiological analyses (plate counts, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis [DGGE] and phospholipid fatty acid analysis [PLFA]) was applied. Organic matter, N as well as some important macro and micronutrients (K, P, Mg, Mn, Cu, and Zn) for crop growth, were more available under organic management. Bacterial counts were higher in organic management. A significant influence of management system and management x crop interaction was observed for total mesophilic bacteria, nitrogen fixing bacteria and actinobacteria. Interestingly, cultivable fungi were not detected in all analyzed samples. PLFA biomass was higher in the organic and Gram positive bacteria dominated the microbial community in both systems. Even if fungal biomass was higher in organic management, fungal PCR-DGGE fingerprinting revealed that the two systems were very similar in terms of fungal species suggesting that 10 years were not enough to establish a new dynamic equilibrium among ecosystem components. A better knowledge of soil biota and in particular of fungal community structure will be useful for the development of sustainable management strategies.

Improved multivariate analyses to discriminate the behaviour of faba bean varieties

Agricultural systems of Southern European regions are often based on short rotations of winter cereals and are thus subject to agro-ecological problems such as decreasing biodiversity, loss of soil fertility and increasing reliance on mineral fertilisers. Introducing new crops such as new varieties of faba bean, and new production methods, e.g. different planting times, may increase the sustainability of farming systems. To advance the use of these methods, both multi-environment field experiments and improved statistical methods to summarise and interpret results are needed. This report summarizes experiments conducted over three years and two locations where we compared phenology, morphology and yield of six faba bean, Vicia faba L., genotypes, sown in November and February. We have analyzed the data using canonical variate and additive main effect multiplicative interaction (AMMI). We demonstrate how such methods may be useful to obtain relevant information about a more successful introduction of faba bean in southern Europe. Our results show that sowing in November is much more suitable to Southern European regions than a February planting. Indeed, for the November planting, beans flower earlier and pods fill before the drought period. Concerning morphology, November sown plants were taller of 0.93 m versus 0.79 m on average; gave a lower insertion of first fertile branch of 0.44 m versus 0.51 m; gave a higher number of lateral branching per plant, of 1.5 versus 0.8; and gave a higher number of pods per plant of 10.2 versus 7.6. On the average yield levels were the highest for November sown varieties, of 3.55 versus 2.66 t ha−1. These findings indicate autumn sown faba bean could be introduced in Southern European regions. Using adequate varietal selection, this crop may improve the agro-environmental sustainability of farming systems. These results also highlight the usefulness of canonical variate and AMMI analysis, as 576 morphological data, e.g. 6 varieties, 2 sowing times, 6 environments and 8 variables, and 72 yield data, e.g. 6 varieties, 2 sowing times and 6 environments, can be summarised in two bi-plots, clearly depicting the effect of sowing dates on crop morphology and yield, across locations and years. Such methods deserve a more widespread use when it is necessary to interpret crop response to environmental and agronomic factors.

Influence of phosphorus management on melon (Cucumis melo L.) fruit quality

BACKGROUND At harvest time, melon quality is related to internal and external parameters, which are very important for consumer attractiveness and marketable yield. Several agronomic factors can affect the quality of melon fruits and among them mineral availability may play a significant role. Therefore the aim of the work was to investigate the effect of phosphorus fertigation on melon fruit (Cucumis melo L.) qualitative characteristics, such as fruit size and yield, pulp colour and firmness, aroma and taste, as well as the accumulation of bioactive antioxidant compounds, namely phenols and carotenoids, and their antiradical properties. RESULTS Results allowed us to extrapolate the optimal P doses to be used for melon fertigation, to achieve high yield and fruit quality characteristics. Modelling the optimal P dose allowed us to maximize yield and resulted in around 257 kg P2 O5 ha(-1) , even if the quality indices relating to carotenoid content, texture and colour of the melon flesh were not significantly different between samples fertigated with the two highest levels tested. CONCLUSION It can be assumed that the level of 200 kg P2 O5 ha(-1) would be a good compromise between optimization of agronomic performance and melon fruit quality.

Proteomics of Durum Wheat Grain during Transition to Conservation Agriculture.

Nitrogen management in combination with sustainable agronomic techniques can have a great impact on the wheat grain proteome influencing its technological quality. In this study, proteomic analyses were used to document changes in the proportion of prolamins in mature grains of the newly released Italian durum wheat cv Achille. Such an approach was applied to wheat fertilized with urea (UREA) and calcium nitrate (NITRATE), during the transition to no-till Conservation Agriculture (CA) practice in a Mediterranean environment. Results obtained in a two-years field experiment study suggest low molecular weight glutenins (LMW-GS) as the fraction particularly inducible regardless of the N-form. Quantitative analyses of LMW-GS by 2D-GE followed by protein identification by LC-ESI-MS/MS showed that the stable increase was principally due to C-type LMW-GS. The highest accumulation resulted from a physiologically healthier state of plants treated with UREA and NITRATE. Proteomic analysis on the total protein fraction during the active phase of grain filling was also performed. For both N treatments, but at different extent, an up-regulation of different classes of proteins was observed: i) enzymes involved in glycolysis and citric acid cycles which contribute to an enhanced source of energy and carbohydrates, ii) stress proteins like heat shock proteins (HSPs) and antioxidant enzymes, such as peroxidases and superoxide dismutase which protect the grain from abiotic stress during starch and storage protein synthesis. In conclusion N inputs, which combined rate with N form gave high yield and improved quality traits in the selected durum wheat cultivar. The specific up-regulation of some HSPs, antioxidant enzymes and defense proteins in the early stages of grain development and physiological indicators related to fitness traits, could be useful bio-indicators, for wheat genotype screening under more sustainable agronomic conditions, like transition phase to no-till CA in Mediterranean environments.