1,720,973 research outputs found
Soil profile water content in pepper crop production as affected by different weed infestation
No full textExperiments were conducted to evaluate the soil water status and pepper water use efficiency under irrigated and rainfed conditions as affected by different weed infestation in a semiarid environment. The experiment was carried out in 2008 and 2009 in Southern Italy. Two water regimes were imposed to compare water competitive effects under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Weeds were studied within a naturally occurring weed population in a pepper field, where a rainfed treatment was compared to a full irrigated one corresponding to the restoration of 100% of the maximum crop evapotranspiration. Leaf water potential, soil water content, water use efficiency, maximum Leaf Area Index, dry matter and pepper yield were measured. Results revealed that all parameters differed significantly due to irrigated and rainfed treatments. Weed infestation reduced the pepper yield and interaction between irrigation regime with weed interference was highly significant. In 2008 weed-free pepper yield of irrigated treatment was equal to 36.5 t ha -1, while it was 43.4 t ha-1 in 2009. Lower yield was obtained in rainfed weedy treatment in both years, 0.2 and 0.5 t ha-1, respectively. In semiarid environment, different weed population had a great impact on pepper growth and yield, both in rainfed and irrigated conditions. Results showed that a weed-free agrosystem, especially in a drought condition, is necessary to maximize production and water use efficiency
Influenza della resistenza a trazione delle radici sulla crepacciabilità dei suoli argillosi
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Indici sul contributo della vegetazione alla stabilità di terreni periurbani a seguito di cambiamenti d’uso del suolo.
No full textAgronomic response and energy balance of Canola (Brassica napus L.)cropped in southern Italy
No full textShrinking Behaviour of Badland Soil Under Different Soil Covers
No full textIndicators used to estimate the soil structure stability facing erosion are the basis of major indicators of soil quality, and their behaviour is affected by permanent soil properties, vegetation and management. The relation between the pore-volume fraction occupied by water and the pore size distribution in clay soils is studied by the shrinkage curve describing clay soil porosity dynamics as a function of soil moisture. The aim of this work is to study the shrinking behaviour of the surface soil in a badland site through the shrinkage curve and to assess its relations with vegetation. Six treatments with different soil vegetation cover and aspect were selected on a badland site in Pisticci (Southern Italy). Shrinkage curves were built from natural aggregates collected in the 0-10 cm soil depth. Soil stability under shaking in water was also determined, with pre-treatments in water, alcohol and benzene for the determination of the SSI (Soil Stability Index). Soil organic matter, electrical conductivity, ESP were determined in order to investigate the relations between soil cover, chemical properties, SSI and shrink-swell behaviour. Vegetation was associated with lower soil salinity and ESP, and higher soil organic matter content. Vegetated sites showed a higher SSI and a lower overall swelling. The shrinkage curves for samples from vegetated areas lack of the structural phase of shrinkage, likely due to the combined effect of lower ESP and the mechanical effect of plant roots. All soil properties and indicators point to a higher stability of soils under grass in the south aspect and under shrub in the north one
Subsurface Imaging of Tillage Systems Effects On Soil Physical Properties Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography
No full textProcessing tomato quality as affected by irrigation scheduling
No full textIn Southern Italy the paucity of water is a very important problem and due to the fundamental
importance of the water for the processing tomato, in this study the influence of irrigation on processing
tomato quality was investigated in the years 2002 and 2003. A hybrid processing tomato (Lycopersicon
esculentum L. Mill cv. Ability) was treated with different water regimes obtained combining amount of
water and irrigation interval. The effects of the trials were evaluated taking into account the physical and
chemical characteristics of the fruits, as well as the content in antioxidants moieties. Furthermore, the
relationship among all the quality parameters and the seasonal amount of irrigation water was
evaluated.
The results, comparing different water regimes obtained combining amount of water and irrigation
interval, gave useful indications on the possibility to improve nutritional tomato quality by reducing
irrigation water during tomato cropping. In particular, relatively to the Mediterranean areas of tomato
cultivation and to the texture of the soil considered in this study, the best compromise between quality
and quantity of the processing tomato fruit was achieved both with the extension of the irrigation
interval (L40 or L60) and with the limitation of irrigation volume for the second part of the tomato crop
cycle (thesis 100-50). Extending the irrigation interval and limiting irrigation volume for the second part
of the tomato crop cycle, appeared to be the best management strategy to optimize the yield and
nutritional quality of processing tomato
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