1,721,286 research outputs found
Growth, yield, fruit quality and nutrient uptake of hydroponically cultivated zucchini squash as affected by irrigation systems and growing seasons
No full textRadiation and water use efficiencies of greenhouse zucchini squash in relation to different climate parameters
No full textGrowth and water use efficiency of potted Murraya paniculata as affected by irrigation system and container size
No full textIrrigation system and pot size can affect the growth and development of containerized ornamental crops. A greenhouse experiment was carried out from November 2011 till July 2012, in order to determine the influence of two irrigation systems (closed drip-irrigation or subirrigation) and two pot sizes (∅14 or 18 cm) on growth, chlorophyll content, leaf gas exchanges and water use efficiency (WUE) of potted Murraya paniculata. Subirrigation offered promising potential for M. paniculata when compared to drip-irrigation given the similar growth
and the higher WUE. Lower variation of the electrical conductivity in the subirrigation in comparison to drip-irrigation represents a crucial aspect for the simplification of the nutrient solution management. Increasing the pot size from 14 to 18-cm diameter yielded plants with 156%, 30%, 43%, and 138% more shoot biomass, height, leaf number and area, respectively. Best performance of plants grown in 18 cm-pots was attributed to higher net photosynthesis and SPAD index (by 35% and 16%, respectively), suggesting that suitable manipulation of container
volume and switching from drip-irrigation to subirrigation will yield high quality potted M. paniculata and improve WUE
Effects of partial root-zone drying irrigation on yield, fruit quality, and water-use efficiency in processing tomato
No full textPrevious partial root-zone drying (PRD) experiments on tomato, carried out under controlled conditions, have occasionally shown significant positive results in terms of increased water-use efficiency and fruit quality. These results raised expectations for the transfer of PRD to commercial-scale tomato growing. However, PRD experiments
in the open field are completely lacking for processing tomato varieties. An experiment was conducted, in two
consecutive growing seasons, to assess the potential of PRD compared to deficit irrigation (DI) or full irrigation
(FULL), on two varieties of processing tomato, using drip irrigation. Both the DI and PRD treatments delivered a 50% recovery of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), whereas the FULL treatment delivered 100% of ETc. Soil moisture measurements highlighted the difficulty in attaining the desired alternate wet and dry pattern in different parts of the root-zone prescribed by PRD, as well as the considerable water stress experienced under PRD or DI. On average,
over the 2 years, marketable yields were significantly reduced, by 56% under DI and by 52% under PRD, compared
to FULL irrigation.Yield decreases were caused by reductions in fruit fresh weight (FW), rather than in the number
of fruit per plant. DI and PRD improved fruit quality in terms of total soluble solids contents (TSSC) as well as
titratable acidity (TA) and juice pH, but not lycopene concentrations or fruit colour.Water-use efficiency (WUE),
calculated as the ratio of marketable yield to actual evapotranspiration (ETa; calculated using the water balance) was
not significantly different among treatments. However, when computed as the ratio of above-ground dry weight
(biomass) to ETa, WUE was higher, on average, in the PRD (2.1 kg m–3) and DI (1.9 kg m–3) treatments than in the
FULL treatment (1.4 kg m–3)
Modelling the transpiration of a greenhouse zucchini crop grown under a Mediterranean climate using the Penman-Monteith equation and its simplified version
No full textThe influence of drip or furrow irrigation on yield and quality of Burley tobacco under saline conditions
No full textIrrigation methods are critical to alleviate salinity problems in Mediterranean areas where saline waters are frequently used to irrigate crops. Field experiments were conducted on Burley tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cv. C104 in Southern Italy over two years to compare drip versus furrow irrigation when waters of increasing salinity were used. Two irrigation methods (drip and furrow) and six irrigation treatments (rainfed control, RC; fully-irrigated with water at 0.5 dS m-1 electrical conductivity (ECw), NW; at 2.5 dS m-1 ECw, SW1; at 5 dS m-1 ECw, SW2; 10 dS m-1 ECw, SW3; at 15 dS m-1 ECw, SW4) were factorially combined.
Over the growing season the electrical conductivity of soil (ECe) across the 0.6 m top profile increased with increasing salinity of the irrigation water at very low rates but more in drip- than in furrow-irrigated plots. Salinity of the irrigation water did not affect yield of cured leaves in the SW2 - SW4 range. Nevertheless, in the same range quality was generally depressed due to increases in leaf Cl- and decreases of filling power. Overall, furrow irrigation determined significantly greater yield, mean cured leaves weight and IWUE as compared with drip irrigation (1.7 vs. 1.5 Mg ha-1, 5.8 vs. 5.2 g, 5.9 vs. 5.4 kg ha-1 mm-1)
Arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation is a useful to improve crop tolerance to salinity and adverse soil pH conditions
No full textLa qualità dei prodotti orticoli freschi: influenza dei fattori in pre-raccolta
No full textConsumer interest in the quality of vegetable
products has increased in recent years.
Regular consumption of vegetables has been linked
to a reduction of some diseases, since vegetable is a
source of an array of phytochemicals, which are
appreciated for their benef icial heal th ef fects.
Vegetable quality is a complex issue with different
means depending to the target customer group.
Quality has both a product- and a consumer-dependent
dimension. From the first perspective, quality
attributes are inherent in a product and can be objectively
quantified, whereas a consumer orientation,
which defines quality in terms of user satisfaction, is
much less tangible and less quantifiable concept. This
review will be focused only on product-oriented quality
and objective criteria for its evaluation. Standard for
quality assessment of fresh vegetables are established
in Europe and North and Central America.
However, they take into consideration mostly external
quality attributes (e.g. size, shape, color, absence of
defects and decay, critical concentrations of pesticides
and nitrate), whereas very important internal
quality attributes such as texture, flavor and healthpromot
ing compounds are not considered.
Environmental conditions, crop management and
physiological factors may modify the vegetable quality.
The purpose of this paper is to review the recent literature
dealing with the main pre-harvest factors that
can modify the quality of vegetables and, in particular,
the physical properties, flavor, and health–related
compounds. First of all, the importance of the genotype
and grafted plants selection, the optimization of
the environmental conditions and the advantages and
disadvantages of protected environments in comparison
to open field cultivation concerning product quality
will be outlined. Then, the effects of the optimization of
agricultural practices, in particular water quantity and quality, mineral nutrition and growing systems (e.g.
soilless culture), will be discussed. The review highlighted
that vegetable quality is a product of the interaction
of genetic, climatic, and cultural factors. Finding
the best combinations of those factors to maximize
vegetable quality according consumer demand will be
a challenge. The use of novel cultural practices and
development of new genetic lines to enhance the
quality of vegetables are the main directions that
research should take in the near future. Integrated
quality production and management must be considered
as a global target to reach
An appraisal of horticultural plant morpho-physiological and molecular responses to variable salt stress agents
Full text linkIn the coming years, the scientific community, extension specialists and horticulturists will have to deal with growing agronomic and horticultural crops under sub-optimal conditions dictated by a global change scenarios. Salinity which is a water or soil quality concern is one of the most serious threats limiting the productivity of vegetables which are highly susceptible to soil and/or water salinity. In vegetable crops, soil and/or water salinity have been reported to disturb biochemical, morpho-physiological, and molecular processes leading to stunted growth and yield reduction. This article gives an overview of the recent literature on salinity response of vegetable crops (in which sodium chloride, NaCl, is the predominant salt) as well as the physiological and molecular mechanisms of salt tolerance. The physiological mechanisms behind the response of vegetable crops to Na+ and Cl- and the functions that directly and/or indirectly affect the produce quality in terms of nutritional and functional quality will be elucidated. In addition, the effects of different salinity sources coming from other ions such as Mg2+, SO42-, HCO3- and Ca2+ are also discussed. Finally, the review paper identifies trendy research areas relevant to salinity as a eustressor for boosting quality of vegetables without compromising yield
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