1,720,992 research outputs found
Morpho-biometrical, nutritional and phytochemical characterization of carrot landraces from Puglia region (southern Italy)
Full text linkThe explorations as a part of the regional BiodiverSO Programme of vegetable genetic resource rescue revealed that in the arenili (sandy shores) of “Salterns of Margherita di Savoia” (SMS), a coastal landscape area of Puglia region (southern Italy), along the commercial genotypes of small rooting species, landraces are still cultivated. The morpho-biometrical, nutritional and phytochemical properties of two carrot landraces (“Carota a punta lunga” and “Carota a punta tonda”) and a commercial carrot hybrid (“Presto”) collected from the SMS area are examined. The study highlighted that the pedological conditions of the arenili of the SMS area are the main driving force in controlling the nutritional and nutraceutical characteristics of carrot, conferring to genotypes grown in this area a high profile in comparison with literature data. In the site of cultivation of arenili, a large variability in the morpho-qualitative traits emerged among carrot genotypes. “Carota a punta tonda” stands for a promising genotype being very rich in phenols (209.8 mg kg-1 fw) (mainly di-caffeic acid derivative and chlorogenic acid), Β-carotene (21,512 μg 100 g-1 fw), and high antioxidative proprieties. “Carota a punta tonda” could be considered as a healthy product for consumers and also amenable to selection for breeding purpose. Increasing the knowledge about nutritional and nutraceutical properties of local landraces may push the preference of consumers beyond the local community and, at the same time, farmers can be stimulated to continue their cultivation. Thus, the promotion of their on-farm/in situ conservation (cultivation) could represent an efficient strategy for agro-biodiversity preservation
Post-harvest performance of ready-to-eat wild rocket salad as affected by growing period, soilless cultivation system and genotype
No full textThe present study focuses on the effect of growing period (autumn-winter and winter-spring), soilless cultivation system (floating system and ebb and flow system) and genotype (‘Naturelle’ and ‘Nature’) on the post-harvest performance of wild rocket salad. Changes in bio-physical characteristics (weight losses, main colour indices, the concentration of dry matter and chlorophylls), physiological characteristics (relative water content, osmotic potential, electrolytic leakage), antioxidant compounds (vitamin C, phenolic compounds, carotenoids), glucosinulates, and activity of antioxidant enzymes (CAT-catalase; APX-ascorbate peroxidase; SOD-superoxide dismutase; GR-glutathione reductase) were evaluated in wild rocket salad after 7 days of cold storage. Wild rocket salad grown under winter spring conditions and in a floating system was more prone to post-harvest quality decay as highlighted by higher electrolyte leakage and osmotic potential, and lower relative water content, greater weight losses due to respiration activity, and a rapid breakdown of colour to yellowness. A higher shelf-life of the product grown under less photo-thermal stressing condition (autumn-winter cycle) was attributable to less physiologically stressed raw material and to a rise in non-enzymatic antioxidant compounds, namely carotenoids, phenols, and vitamin C (ascorbic acid), all effective at contrasting oxidative stress during storage. The higher shelf-life of the product grown in an ebb and flow system (lower losses of mass and lower visual decay) and of ‘Nature’ (a higher retention of the green colour) under autumn-winter conditions, seems to be imputable both to a higher efficiency of antioxidant enzyme activity (APX and CAT) and to a greater content of antioxidant compounds, mainly carotenoids. The role of individual glucosinolates in delaying senescence was only observed as a genotype-specific response of ‘Nature’ to the root oxygen limitation occurring with the floating system
Effect of silicon in the nutrient solution on the incidence of powdery mildew and quality traits in carosello and barattiere (Cucumis melo L.) grown in a soilless system
No full textCarosello and barattiere are herbaceous landraces belonging to the species Cucumis melo L. These landraces are grown in and consumed throughout the Puglia Region of southern Italy as unripened melons and are appreciated in place of cucumbers due to their improved quality profile. There are serious difficulties in the use of chemical disease control methods for these landraces due to frequent and long periods of harvest.The aim of this research was to study
the effect of the application of silicon (≤ 3.6 mM potassium silicate) in the nutrient solution on the yield, quality, and sensitivity to powdery mildew of carosello and barattiere plants. Carosello showed a higher sensitivity to powdery
mildew than barattiere. A supply of silicon reduced the severity (3.3% vs. 29.5%) and incidence (49.1% vs. 81.5%) of
powdery mildew on both carosello and barattiere, compared with non-Si-fed control plants.The relative water content of leaves was higher in Si-treated plants, without changes to membrane permeability. Carosello proved to be more productive than barattiere (6.0 vs. 2.2 kg fresh fruit per plant, respectively). Among the qualitative parameters
measured, total soluble solids and dry matter contents were higher in barattiere than in carosello fruit (4.0 °Brix and 4.95 g 100 g–1 FW vs. 3.6 °Brix and 4.81 g 100 g–1 FW, respectively). The silicon content of Si-fed carosello fruit was twice that of control fruit; whereas, the Si content of barattiere was not influenced by Si treatment
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Soilless Cultivation System, Electrical Conductivity of Nutrient Solution, and Growing Season on Yield and Quality of Baby-Leaf Oak-Leaf Lettuce
No full textThe floating system (FL) is a common soilless method for baby-leaf production, whereas the ebb and flow system (EF) has been proposed as an alternative. Both of them allow managing plant saline stress while preventing reduction in plant growth and yield and increasing product quality. The oak-leaf lettuce response to the growing conditions (hydroponics, salinity) in interaction with climate and genotype has been little studied. Two experiments were carried out with two oak-leaf cultivars (green- and red-colored type) grown in FL and EF systems at two levels of nutrient solution (NS) electrical conductivity (EC) (EC = 2.5 and 3.5 dS m−1; EC2.5, EC3.5, respectively) under autumn and late-spring conditions. The EF system caused an increase in salinity in the substrate where roots mainly develop, so it overcomes the effect of the EC3.5 treatment. In the autumn cycle, irrespective of the EC, EF-grown plants had improved leaf thickness (specific leaf area), color, and antioxidative (total phenol and carotenoid contents) properties; however, a reduction in yield was observed in the most productive cultivar (green type). In late spring, higher yield and product quality (processability, nitrate content) were obtained at the expense of color, with the FL showing the best productivity in the green type cultivar. The red type cultivar had higher dry mass, phenol, and carotenoid concentrations
Harvest and Post-Harvest Performance of Autumn-Winter Butterhead Lettuce as Affected by Nitrogen and Azoxystrobin Application
No full textAn autumn-winter trial was carried out in Southern Italy in open-field conditions on butterhead lettuce to investigate the effect of the nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate (0, 50, and 100 kg ha−1, N0, N50, N100) and the application of the azoxystrobin, sprayed twice in an earlier vs. a later application scheme, specifically at 65/85 or 65/100 days after transplantation. An untreated control was also included. The evaluation of the product quality was conducted on fresh and stored shredded leaves. The N50 was a suitable rate for autumn-winter butterhead lettuce, but it does not guarantee the color appearance of the fresh leaves (lowest h°, highest L*). Concerning post-harvest changes, the N50- and N100-product were less suitable for storage, accounting for higher decay of visual quality (h°) and physiological senescence (EL) indices. Irrespective of N rate and application time, azoxystrobin improved growth and yield (+16%), visual (lower L*, higher h°, and chlorophylls), and nutritional (higher carotenoids and antioxidant capacity) quality of the fresh leaves. The application of azoxystrobin improved the shelf-life of butterhead lettuce leaves, by keeping higher turgidity (RWC), lower color decay (CHLs, h°), and higher nutritional value (carotenoids), and by limiting the browning spreading in shredded leaves
- …
