1,721,064 research outputs found
Influence of tillage and nitrogen fertilization on durum wheat metabolite profiling and yield
No full textDurum wheat represents the most widespread cereal crop in the Mediterranean basin, and Italy is the main Country for its cultivation, processing and marketing in the world. The quality of durum wheat is very important component, and at the same time very variable because it changes according to environmental conditions, crop management, and processing techniques (Flagella, 2006).
The use of alternative techniques for durum wheat cultivation is strategic for a sustainable intensification of wheat production, which considers the use of alternative soil tillage, and optimisation of nutrients use efficiency, in particular that of nitrogen (Ali, 2015). However, there is little information in the literature concerning the long term effects of tillage systems and nitrogen application on durum wheat grain quality and methabolic profile in Mediterranean dryland conditions.
In this research, the effects of different tillage systems and nitrogen application on the metabolic profile of the kernels’ components of durum wheat in a long-term fava bean rotation were evaluated
Food Loss and Waste Prevention Strategies from Farm to Fork
No full textAbout one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted each year. This represents a loss of natural resources consumed along the food supply chain that can also have negative impacts on food security. While food loss occurs between production and distribution and is prevalent in low-income countries, food waste occurs mainly at the consumer level, in the retail and food service sectors, and especially in developed countries. Preventing food losses and waste is therefore a potential strategy for better balance food supply and demand and is essential to improve food security while reducing environmental impact and providing economic benefits to the different actors in the food supply chain. In this context, we specifically provide an overview of case studies and examples of legislation from different countries and actions carried out by the various actors in the food chain and by non-profit organisations to effectively prevent and or reduce food loss and waste. We also outline current limitations and possible research avenues. We conclude that the comparison and the integration of knowledge, and the awareness of where along the food chain, for which foods and in which countries the greatest losses are produced, is essential to decide where and how to target efforts in the most effective way
Can biostimulants enhance plant resilience to heat and water stress in the Mediterranean hotspot?
No full textHeat and water stress are imposing significant constraints on agricultural systems, particularly in Mediterranean regions experiencing prolonged droughts, rising temperatures, and increasing aridity. These abiotic stresses trigger secondary effects, including osmotic and oxidative stress, simultaneously influencing multiple plant traits. Under drought conditions, stomatal closure limits CO2 uptake, interfering with photosynthetic electron transport and increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Elevated ROS determine oxidative stress, damaging cell membranes, causing genotoxicity, and disrupting key metabolic processes like nutrient transport, cell division, and expansion. Plants activate natural defence mechanisms to counter these stresses, but these responses are energetically costly. The diversion of carbon skeletons and energy from growth and biomass accumulation to stress responses results in reduced yields, especially in key Mediterranean crops such as wheat, tomato, grapevine, and olive trees, which are highly vulnerable to extreme climatic events. Biostimulants hold significant potential as an innovative approach to strengthening plants' natural defences and enhancing their capacity to endure heat and drought stress. By modulating stress-related pathways, enhancing antioxidant defence mechanisms, and promoting the accumulation of osmolytes, these products help maintain water use efficiency (WUE), sustain photosynthetic activity, and reduce stress-induced yield losses. In areas where water scarcity is a major limiting factor for agriculture, biostimulants offer a promising strategy to enhance plant adaptation to increasingly unpredictable precipitation patterns and higher temperatures. Beyond their immediate benefits, biostimulants offer a sustainable solution for supporting crop productivity amidst climate change. Further research into their biochemical, physiological, and metabolic impacts, specifically focusing on Mediterranean cropping systems, will be essential to optimise their application and integrate them effectively into modern, sustainable farming strategies
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
Use of Biostimulants to Improve Salinity Tolerance in Agronomic Crops
No full textThe world population is exceeding 7.63 billion, resulting in more than quadrupled compared to that of 1915 (1.8 billion), and according to the United Nations most recent predictions, we may reach 9.7 inhabitants by the year 2050. This exponential growth, along with the shift from rural to urban life, the increase in per capita food consumption, and the changes in diet in developing countries, due to the rise in income, are driving up the global food demand, which is expected to increase worldwide from 59% to 98% in the next 30 years. However, it will be hard to square the twin challenge of reconciling a maximization of agricultural production with environmental sustainability. Indeed, in the last 50 years, mechanization and new management techniques based on the massive use of fertilizers and irrigation have increased agricultural production also in arid and semi-arid areas, but they have also exacerbated the problems of soil salinity and pollution. In fact, one of the most serious effects of these unsustainable practices has been the salinization of at least 20% of all irrigated and productive lands. Therefore, the main objective of modern agriculture is to increase crop yield production and potential, also in marginal and salinized areas, through innovative farming systems and/or products with an eco-friendly approach. Among the new products which have favorable effects both on soil and cultivated crops, even under environmental constrains like salinity, are biostimulants. They include substances, metabolites, or mixtures of metabolites and/or microorganisms which, when applied to plants or soil, increase the nutrient availability, uptake, and assimilation while reducing the use of agrochemicals in agriculture and improving food resources, preventing leaching of nutrients, and increasing the response to stress in an eco-friendly perspective. Biostimulants do not replace fertilizers or pesticides but represent a complement to the action of both fertilizers and crop protection products, allowing enhancing crop performance even under stress. We will consider the biostimulants derived from plants or animals like seaweed extracts, humic substances, protein hydrolysates, microbial inoculations, etc. and will describe their beneficial effects on plants, especially nutrient use efficiency and plant fitness to abiotic stresses and in particular to salinity
GABA Shunt in Durum Wheat
Full text linkPlant responses to salinity are complex, especially when combined with other stresses, and involve many changes in gene expression and metabolic fluxes. Until now, plant stress studies have been mainly dealt only with a single stress approach. However, plants exposed to multiple stresses at the same time, a combinatorial approach reflecting real-world scenarios, show tailored responses completely different from the response to the individual stresses, due to the stress-related plasticity of plant genome and to specific metabolic modifications. In this view, recently it has been found that γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) but not glycine betaine (GB) is accumulated in durum wheat plants under salinity only when it is combined with high nitrate and high light. In these conditions, plants show lower reactive oxygen species levels and higher photosynthetic efficiency than plants under salinity at low light. This is certainly relevant because the most of drought or salinity studies performed on cereal seedlings have been done in growth chambers under controlled culture conditions and artificial lighting set at low light. However, it is very difficult to interpret these data. To unravel the reason of GABA accumulation and its possible mode of action, in this review, all possible roles for GABA shunt under stress are considered, and an additional mechanism of action triggered by salinity and high light suggested
Distribution of soil organic components in a Podzol and possible relations with the biological soil activities
No full textFood Loss and Waste Prevention Strategies from Farm to Fork
Full text linkAbout one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted each year. This represents a loss of natural resources consumed along the food supply chain that can also have negative impacts on food security. While food loss occurs between production and distribution and is prevalent in low-income countries, food waste occurs mainly at the consumer level, in the retail and food service sectors, and especially in developed countries. Preventing food losses and waste is therefore a potential strategy for better balance food supply and demand and is essential to improve food security while reducing environmental impact and providing economic benefits to the different actors in the food supply chain. In this context, we specifically provide an overview of case studies and examples of legislation from different countries and actions carried out by the various actors in the food chain and by non-profit organisations to effectively prevent and or reduce food loss and waste. We also outline current limitations and possible research avenues. We conclude that the comparison and the integration of knowledge, and the awareness of where along the food chain, for which foods and in which countries the greatest losses are produced, is essential to decide where and how to target efforts in the most effective way
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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