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Chemical weed control in processing spinach
No full textProcessing spinach shows a good competitive ability and as a consequence yield losses due to weed competition are commonly low. Physical weed control gives reliable results (Tei et al., 2002) but weed management is still mainly chemical because: 1) the mechanical harvest needs a crop with an erect leaf posture favoured by a narrow row width (0.10 – 0.15 m) and that prevents the use of most post-emergence physical weed control methods; 2) processing industries demand harvested product without weeds, considered as “pollutant bodies” in industrial process. However, there are few herbicides registered for this crop.
For the above mentioned reasons, chemical weed control field experiments on processing spinach were carried out in southern (Foggia, silty-clay soil, mid-October 2001 sowing) and central Italy (Latina, silty-sandy soil, mid-March 2002 sowing) to verify the efficacy and selectivity of authorised herbicides (i.e. lenacil, cycloate) and to evaluate the performance of potential “new” active ingredients (phenmedipham, metamitron, desmedipham) already used in sugar beets. Several different combinations of active ingredients and application timing were evaluated: pre-emergence treatments with lenacil or metolachlor; post-emergence treatments (at 2-4 crop leaf stage) with phenmedipham + lenacil, phenmedipham + desmedipham, phenmedipham + cycloate or phenmedipham + metamitron; pre-emergence application of lenacil or metolachlor followed by post-emergence application of phenmedipham + metamitron, phenmedipham + cycloate, phenmedipham + desmedipham or phenmedipham + quizalofop-ethyl.
The most important weeds were Lolium multiflorum, Fumaria officinalis, Sinapis arvensis, Matricaria chamomilla, Veronica hederifolia in the southern Italy experiment and Chenopodium album, Stellaria media, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Amaranthus retroflexus and V. hederifolia in the central Italy experiment.
Among pre-emergence treatments, metolachlor did not significantly affect the crop while lenacil caused a temporary leaf discoloration. Metamitron and the combination phenmedipham + metamitron applied post-emergence caused a reduction in growth, leaf bleaching and necroses. The other post-emergence treatments showed slight symptoms of phytotoxicity just after the application that disappeared one week later.
Pre-emergence metolachlor controlled L. multiflorum, F. officinalis and V. hederifolia, but showed a low control of S. arvensis; lenacil sufficiently controlled only F. officinalis. Considering the efficacy of post-emergence applications, phenmedipham + lenacil and phenmedipham + metamitron exhibited good control of F. officinalis, but they were only partially effective toward L. multiflorum, S. arvensis, and C. album, and completely ineffective against V. hederifolia. Phenmedipham + desmedipham partially controlled all the weeds, while phenmedipham + cycloate showed a general good efficacy except on L. multiflorum.
The results indicated that a pre-emergence herbicide application with metolachlor followed by a post-emergence treatment with phenmedipham + cycloate or phenmedipham + lenacil was the most suitable chemical weed management.
However, spinach yield was not significantly affected by weed competition and herbicide efficacy but only by phytotoxicity due to post-emergence phemnmedipham + metamitron. Moreover, the presence of weeds, as “pollutant bodies” in harvested product, was always at very low level due to the possibility to regulate the harvest height in relation to crop and weed growth.
Reference
Tei F., Stagnari F. & Granier A. (2002) Preliminary results on physical weed control in processing spinach. 5th EWRS Workshop on Physical Weed Control. Pisa, Italy, 11-13 March 2002, 164-171 (http://www. EWRS-et.org/pwc/pdf/Pisa.pdf)
Verifica della miscibilità tra prodotti graminicidi e dicotiledonicidi di post-emergenza della soia
No full textResponse to French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars to foliar applications of magnesium.
No full textSoil quality conservation in vineyards of Italian hilly area through sustainable agronomic management
No full textInfluence of vegetable and mineral oils on the efficacy of some post-emergence herbicides for grass weed control in wheat
No full textPreliminary results on physical weed control in processing spinach
No full textA field experiment was carried out in Central Italy (Tiber Valley, Perugia, 43oN, elev. 165 m) to evaluate applicability and efficacy of some physical weed control methods in processing spinach, sown at two different inter-row distances (0.125 and 0.25 m).
With rows 0.125 m apart, pre-sowing herbicide application (cycloate at 3635 g a.i. ha-1), harrowing and post-emergence flaming were applied, while with rows 0.25 m apart the treatments were pre-sowing herbicide application (same herbicide as above), finger-weeding, split-hoeing and post-emergence flaming; untreated plots were added as checks. Physical weed control was performed at the “4-6 true leaves” stage of the crop and at the “cotyledons” to “6 true leaves” stages of the weeds.
Pre-sowing chemical application caused a growth reduction and, as a consequence, a delay in harvest date in comparison with physical weed control. Flaming caused a temporary wilting of the crop which then fully recovered, although unmarketable deformed leaves at final harvest were about 12% of total yield (on mass basis) with rows 0.125 m apart and about 7% with rows 0.250 m apart. Finger-weeding and split-hoeing on rows 0.250 m apart, as well as harrowing on rows 0.125 m apart, did not injure the crop.
On fresh mass basis, the percentage of weed control with rows 0.250 m apart was 97% by pre-sowing herbicide application, 90% by flaming, 88% by split-hoeing and 64% by finger-weeding; with rows 0.125 m apart the weed control efficacy was 82% by pre-sowing herbicide application, 30% by flaming while harrowing showed no control.
Crop yield was not affected by row distance and only slightly by weed control method
Integrated soil and water management for vineyards in southern Italy: A case study
No full textThe accelerated erosion of soil by water from hill-slopes under viticulture is a major problem in the Mediterranean basin (Garcia-Torres and Martinez-Vilela, 2002; Martinez-Casanovas and Sanchez- Bosch, 2000 and Tropeano, 1983). It is largely a result of the land management techniques employed and their influence on soil protection, structure and stability. Vineyard is one type of land use that incurs in large amounts of soil loss in the Mediterranean hillside environment; this is particularly evident in vineyard where the soil is managed with an intensive tillage. With the time this has lead to the degradation of soil structure, soil compaction, decreased levels of soil organic matter which in turn has caused a wide range of environmental issues including: soil degradation, water and wind erosion, increased carbon emissions from the soil and an overall reduction in soil organisms. Vegetative cover has long been accepted as one of the most effective means of conserving soil and improving soil condition (Lal, 1994). However, for successful integration with an established cropping system, the type of cover and management require careful consideration. The objective of the present study is to investigate on the suitability of some agronomic practices for the conservation of the soil quality and the minimization of soil erosion process within viticulture of the centre and south of Italy
Periodo critico della competizione delle infestanti in fagiolino da industria
No full textA field experiment was carried out in central Italy in order to evaluate the effect of weed-infested and weed-free periods on French bean yield. Results showed that in order not to exceed a 5% yield reduction the critical period of competition occurred from 10 to 33 Days after Emergence corresponding to 87 and 323 Growing Day Degrees after
Emergence (Tbase = 10°C). Weed competition decreased no. pods plant-1 whereas did not affect no. crop plant m-2, pod length and diameter
Improved multivariate analyses to discriminate the behaviour of faba bean varieties
No full textAgricultural systems of Southern European regions are often based on short rotations of winter cereals and are thus subject to agro-ecological problems such as decreasing biodiversity, loss of soil fertility and increasing reliance on mineral fertilisers. Introducing new crops such as new varieties of faba bean, and new production methods, e.g. different planting times, may increase the sustainability of farming systems. To advance the use of these methods, both multi-environment field experiments and improved statistical methods to summarise and interpret results are needed. This report summarizes experiments conducted over three years and two locations where we compared phenology, morphology and yield of six faba bean, Vicia faba L., genotypes, sown in November and February. We have analyzed the data using canonical variate and additive main effect multiplicative interaction (AMMI). We demonstrate how such methods may be useful to obtain relevant information about a more successful introduction of faba bean in southern Europe. Our results show that sowing in November is much more
suitable to Southern European regions than a February planting. Indeed, for the November planting, beans flower earlier and pods fill before the drought period. Concerning morphology, November sown plants were taller of 0.93 m versus 0.79 m on average; gave a lower insertion of first fertile branch of 0.44 m versus 0.51 m; gave a higher number of lateral branching per plant, of 1.5 versus 0.8; and gave a higher number of pods per plant of 10.2 versus 7.6. On the average yield levels were the highest for November sown varieties, of 3.55 versus 2.66 t ha−1.
These findings indicate autumn sown faba bean could be introduced in Southern European regions. Using adequate varietal selection, this crop may improve the agro-environmental sustainability of farming systems. These results also highlight the usefulness of canonical variate and AMMI analysis, as 576 morphological data, e.g. 6 varieties, 2 sowing times, 6 environments and 8 variables, and 72 yield data, e.g. 6 varieties,
2 sowing times and 6 environments, can be summarised in two bi-plots, clearly depicting the effect of sowing dates on crop morphology and yield, across locations and years. Such methods deserve a more widespread use when it is necessary to interpret crop response to environmental and agronomic factors
Sprouted grains: A comprehensive review
Full text linkIn the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of sprouted grains in human diet and a parallel increase in the scientific literature dealing with their nutritional traits and phytochemical contents. This review examines the physiological and biochemical changes during the germination process, and the effects on final sprout composition in terms of macro- and micro-nutrients and bioactive compounds. The main factors affecting sprout composition are taken into consideration: genotype, environmental conditions experimented by the mother plant, germination conditions. In particular, the review deepens the recent knowledge on the possible elicitation factors useful for increasing the phytochemical contents. Microbiological risks and post-harvest technologies are also evaluated, and a brief summary is given of some important in vivo studies matching with the use of grain sprouts in the diet. All the species belonging to Poaceae (Gramineae) family as well as pseudocereals species are included
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