196,039 research outputs found
Life Cycle Assessment of organic apple supply chain in the North of Italy
No full textThe goal of the study is the assessment of the energy and environmental impacts of 1 ton of organic apples cultivated in the North of Italy, by applying the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The authors examined the supply chain of apples, by including the supply of raw materials and energy sources, and the farming step. In addition, an assessment of apple distribution to the final users was made.
The results show that a relevant share of the total impacts is caused by the transport to the final users, assuming that the product is distributed on local, national and international markets. A detailed analysis of the farming step shows that a significant share in the overall energy and environmental impacts is due to the use of insecticides and to the consumption of diesel for agricultural machines
Impatti energetico-ambientali delle produzioni agricole biologiche: il caso studio delle mele
No full textGrowth of ‘M9’ apple root in five Central Europe replanted soils
No full textSoil sickness is a widespread problem in replanted apple orchards with a complex symptomatology and etiology influenced by soil and climate conditions. Consequently, a conclusive technical solution is still lacking for intensive apple orchards. The present work aims to analyze the morphological and functional changes occurring in the M9 apple root systems growing in pot filled with soil derived from five different European growing areas. For each growing area, the soil was collected from the apple orchard and used directly in the pot or gamma-ray sterilized before potting. Soil from a neighborhood fallow was also used as control for each growing area. In the non-sterilized replant soils plants developed poor root systems due to a limited biomass allocation. Fibrous roots production was particularly compromised. The roots had a smaller diameter and a lower ramification index. The root cell membrane integrity was also lower. Gamma-ray sterilized replant soils increased root growth, branching and cell integrity, while nearby fallow soil induced an intermediate root behavior. The magnitude of the symptoms showed a significant interaction between soil treatment and sampling site and root growth was correlated with the organic matter content in the soils
Efficacia anti-deriva dell’impianto sovrachioma
No full textPrime valutazioni sull’entità delle dispersioni prodotte nei trattamenti con irrigatori sovrachioma in fruttet
Influence of low O2 and high CO2 on quality of organically grown winter melon and control of disorders of organically grown apples by ULO in commercial storage rooms
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Effect of biostimulants on apple quality at harvest and after storage
No full textNutritional unbalances, such as calcium deficiency at the fruit level, are generally the causative agent of post-harvest disorders in apples. Foliar application of Ca as calcium chloride is the current solution to increase Ca concentration in apples, even though the effectiveness of this approach is often not satisfactory. In this research, we tested the efficacy of a combined application of Ca with selected biostimulants to improve apple quality and to reduce the incidence of storage disorders. The experiment was conducted in two “Jonathan” apple orchards that differed in management systems and characteristics. Tree canopies were sprayed with calcium chloride alone and in combination with a commercial product containing zinc and silicon or a seaweed extract. The seaweed extract increased apple quality by boosting the reddish coloration (+32% of color index) and by enhancing final anthocyanin concentration of fruit skin. Both biostimulants significantly reduced (by 20%) the incidence of the physiological disorder, known as “Jonathan spot”, after 160 days of storage. Increased concentration of nutrients (Ca, Zn, and Mn) in the skin of apples after biostimulant applications, together with changes of the phenolic profile during the storage, are discussed as the possible causes of the reduced fruit susceptibility to post-harvest disorders
Microbial indication of soil health in apple orchards affected by replant disease
No full textThe aim of this study was to describe the interactions between soil physico-chemical parameters, plant growth, and soil microbial diversity under different fertilisation regimes in apple orchards affected by replant disease. The hypothesis was that fertiliser type and application, as well as tillage technique, could exert a shift in the soil chemical and biological parameters linked to soil sickness. Two apple orchards affected by ARD and located at different sites in South Tyrol, Italy, were selected as representatives of perennial crops affected by replant disease. The effects of application of six different amendments to the soil, at both sites, were investigated. Physicochemical and ecophysiological properties, along with soil microbial communities (evaluated with PCRDenaturing gradientgelelectrophoresisandhighthroughputsequencing oftheV1-V3region ofthebacterial16S rRNA gene) were analysed. High-throughput sequencing resulted in 1,590,042 sequence reads, classified in 326,371 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Considering a threshold of 1% relative abundance of OTUs for each sample, 39 bacterial phyla and 197 genera were detected. The phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria andBacteroidetes comprised between24%and 71%ofall sequences. Plant growthparameters were correlated with physico-chemical and ecophysiological parameters as well as with bacterial genus abundances. Findings revealed that in this study, Rhodanobacter, Blastocatella, Arenimonas, Variovorax, Ferruginobacter, Demequina and Schlesneria were the genera most affected by treatment type in terms of abundance. Furthermore, Ferruginobacter, Demequina and Schlesneria, genera not commonly described as involved in biocontrol, were strongly correlated with plant growth by a positive association. Treatments were found to exert contradictory effects on the bacterial communities and on the ecophysiological parameters atthe different sites. These findings indicate not only a high complexity in the interaction between environmental and biological entities, but also that changes in environmental parameters result in changes in the interactions within bacterial communities. High-throughput sequencing confirmed the hypothesis that soil bacterial communities at the two sites were diverse and differed significantly, while they did not differ significantly according to treatment type. The dominant genera detected were not directly related to the treatment or to the growth of apple plants, suggesting that minor populations and unclassified sequences could be involved in replant disease. High-throughput sequencing can be proposed as a suitable method to deeply describe the soil microbiota found in ARD soils
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