We evaluated mycorrhizal responses of two container-grown ornamental shrubs, Photinia × fraseri a... more We evaluated mycorrhizal responses of two container-grown ornamental shrubs, Photinia × fraseri and Lantana camara cultivated in soilless substrate with two fertilization regimes and inoculated with two mycorrhizal inocula, a commercial one (Symb) and an experimental one (MicroLab). Fertilization rate, inoculum type and plant genotype differentially affected mycorrhizal colonization, plant growth and mineral nutrition. At high fertility levels a significant reduction of mycorrhizal colonization occurred in both shrubs inoculated with Symb, while MicroLab successfully colonized L. camara roots. In P. fraseri MicroLab increased shoot dry weight at low fertility by 44.3% and 78.6% compared with control and Symb, respectively. In L. camara Symb increased plant height and shoot fresh weight at both fertility levels, compared with MicroLab and Control. Our work shows that host plant/mycorrhizal symbionts compatibility and fertilization may modulate the establishment and performance of mycorrhizal symbioses in container-grown woody ornamentals.
Landfill leachate can release pollutants into the environment. Nevertheless, it can be treated us... more Landfill leachate can release pollutants into the environment. Nevertheless, it can be treated using a phytodepuration system via constructed wetlands to reduce contaminants. Moreover, this leachate can also increase the availability of macro and micronutrients in soil and water. In this trial, the reuse of untreated and treated wastewater from municipal solid waste (MSW) for fertigation was assessed. Plantlets of Viola × wittrockiana (pansy) were grown in a greenhouse and five fertigation treatments were applied: W9.0 (pure wastewater, EC 9.0 dS m−1), W4.5 (diluted wastewater, EC 4.5 dS m−1), DW4.5 (depurated wastewater, EC 4.5 dS m−1), PW4.5 (phytodepurated wastewater, EC 4.5 dS m−1), and T (tap water, control, EC 1.5 dS m−1). The treatment with untreated wastewater had a negative effect on plant dry weight, leaf size, specific leaf area, water content, and the number of closed and open flowers, due to the high concentration of SO42− in the fertigation water. It also reduced the c...
Large amounts of fertilizers are being used in agriculture to sustain growing demands for food, e... more Large amounts of fertilizers are being used in agriculture to sustain growing demands for food, especially in vegetable production systems. Soluble fertilizers can generally ensure high crop yields, but excessive leaching of nutrients, mainly as nitrate, can be a major cause of water pollution. Controlled-release fertilizers improve the nutrient use efficiency and lower the environmental hazard, usually without affecting the production. In this study, an innovative controlled-release coated urea fertilizer was compared to conventional nitrogen (N) fertilizers and a soluble ammonium-based fertilizer containing a nitrification inhibitor, in a round table tomato cultivation. Both the water and N balance were evaluated for each treatment, along with the yield and quality of the production. The experiment was repeated in three different seasons (spring, autumn and summer-autumn) in a glasshouse to prevent the effect of uncontrolled rainfall. The results indicated that N leaching decrease...
This paper follows an integrated approach of Internet of Things based sensing and machine learnin... more This paper follows an integrated approach of Internet of Things based sensing and machine learning for crop growth prediction in agriculture. A Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) relates crop growth associated measurement data to environmental control data via hidden states. The measurement data, having (non-linear) sigmoid-type dynamics, are instances of the two classes observed and missing, respectively. Considering that the time series of the logistic sigmoid function is the solution to a reciprocal linear dynamic model, the exact expectation-maximization algorithm can be applied to infer the hidden states and to learn the parameters of the model. At iterative convergence, the parameter estimates are then used to derive a predictor of the measurement data several days ahead. To evaluate the performance of the proposed DBN, we followed three cultivation cycles of micro-tomatoes (MicroTom) in a mini-greenhouse. The environmental parameters were temperature, converted into Growing Degre...
Gerbera is a very important plant widely grown for cut flowers. To check the influence of salinit... more Gerbera is a very important plant widely grown for cut flowers. To check the influence of salinity and boron excess in nutrient solution, nine treatments as factorial combination of three sodium chloride (NaCl) (1, 15 and 30 mM) and three boron (B) (0.1, 1 and 2 mM) concentrations in the nutrient solution were applied during the gerbera cultivation. The effects of experimental treatments on gerbera growth, flowering and the interaction in morphological and nutritional aspects were tested. The formation of leaves, stems and flowers, flower dry mass and evapotranspiration (ET) were more negatively affected when plants were irrigated with 2 mM B than with 0.1 mM B concentration. High levels of boron (1 and 2 Mm) in nutrient solution resulted in leaf chlorosis and necrosis. The severity of leaf burn was correlated with leaf B content. Salinity acted as a protector against boron content in leaves and flowers at 1 Mm B. However, at the 2 Mm B in nutrient solution, leaf B accumulation was ...
Spinach is one of the most important green-leafy vegetables, consumed worldwide, and its intake i... more Spinach is one of the most important green-leafy vegetables, consumed worldwide, and its intake is beneficial for human beings. In this crop, produce yield and quality are closely related to plant nitrogen (N) nutrition. A precise supply of N is also essential for high environmental and economic sustainability. Main aims of the work were: i) to establish relationships between produce yield or quality and mineral N availability in the root zone; and ii) to define an optimal mineral N level to be maintained in the root zone for spinach. Eight experiments were carried out during a four-year-long period under typical Mediterranean climate conditions. Different amounts of N fertilisers were supplied leading to twenty different levels of mineral N in the root zone. Experimental measurements included climate parameters, plant growth, tissue and soil analyses, produce yield and quality indicators. A segmented linear model significantly represented the relationship between crop yield (1.7 to...
Abstract Peat is the most representative component in the preparation of growing media used in ho... more Abstract Peat is the most representative component in the preparation of growing media used in horticulture. However, environmental issues and increased production costs, related to peat extraction and commercialization, are stimulating the use of new materials and technologies as alternatives to peat-based growing media. Among other locally-produced materials, green compost is one of the most promising alternatives for peat substitution although its variability in terms of physico-chemical characteristics represents the main constraint. In the present work, two composts, differing in terms of the initial composting raw materials, were evaluated for peat substitution and their influence on plant growth and quality, nutrient and water uptake, and gaseous exchange activity. A bedding plant (geranium), cultivated in an intensive growing system, was chosen as the test plant and 100% peat as the control. During the greenhouse experiment, plants were grown in five different growing media, i.e. only peat, 30% and 50% peat volume replaced by the two composts. Growing medium characteristics, plant growth and biometric parameters, water and nutrient uptake, and gaseous exchange activity were evaluated as crop performance indicators. The green compost derived from mixed raw material negatively influenced plant nutrition and photosynthesis, thus significantly reducing plant biomass accumulation and quality. The green compost derived from selected material was found to be a valuable growing medium for peat substitution. This thus supports the widespread opinion that high-quality compost can be produced through the selection of composting material.
Abstract The response of plants to salt stress involves dynamic changes in growth and signaling l... more Abstract The response of plants to salt stress involves dynamic changes in growth and signaling leading to successful adaptation or death. To elucidate how these opposed events are coordinated we identified a salt-tolerant (obesifruticosa) and a salt-sensitive (aestiva) Antirrhinum majus mutants using shoots as sensitive indicator of stress magnitude. A series of physiological tests were performed that compared the response after 6 h and 3 days of these contrasting mutants grown in agar under a single (200 mM) NaCl concentration, including shoot area, root length, relative water content, plant height, and overall biomass accumulation. Additional measurements of ABA content, chlorophyll degradation, ethylene production, net photosynthesis rates and Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ content were also reported. RNA-seq analysis was performed on the two mutants after 6 h and 3 days under 200 mM NaCl. A total of 9199 transcripts were found to be differentially expressed in response to NaCl treatment in the two mutants. A large collection of known genes, including MAPKs, CDKs, CDPKs, CIPKs, various transcription factors, various ion transport proteins, and various genes involved in ABA and ethylene signaling pathways were described in detail that displayed differential expression profiles. Overall these data provided evidences of a putative osmotic tolerance sensing and signaling mechanism through a better integration and transduction of environmental cues into growth programs. The reprogramming of calcium-signaling components, generates specific stress signatures affecting differentially the salinity tolerance traits, such as tissue tolerance and anion exclusion. Interestingly, the hormones ABA and ethylene may action as a positive regulators of salt acclimation by the modulation of their signal transduction pathway.
VI International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climate: Product and Process Innovation, 2003
... The paper presents a simple model for the changes in ion concentration and the related variat... more ... The paper presents a simple model for the changes in ion concentration and the related variations in Na of recirculating nutrient solution in closed-loop hydroponics. The model was calibrated for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) using data from the literature and, finally ...
Although the physiological and molecular mechanisms of flower development and senescence have bee... more Although the physiological and molecular mechanisms of flower development and senescence have been extensively investigated, a whole-flower partitioning study of mineral concentrations has not been carried out. In this work, the distribution of sucrose, total reducing sugars, dry and fresh weight and macro and micronutrients were analysed in Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. petals, stylestigma including stamens and ovary at different developmental stages (bud, open and senescent flowers). Total reducing sugars showed the highest value in petals of bud flowers, then fell during the later stages of flower development whereas sucrose showed the highest value in petals of senescent flowers. In petals, nitrogen and phosphorus content increased during flower opening, then nitrogen level decreased in senescent flowers. The calcium, phosphorus and boron concentrations were highest in ovary tissues whatever the developmental stage. Overall, the data presented suggests that the high level of total r...
Aerosol marine strongly affects the growth and development of urban, garden and landscape plants.... more Aerosol marine strongly affects the growth and development of urban, garden and landscape plants. Few studies have focused on the effects of sodium chloride on plant growth, which is usually applied through irrigation water or substrate media. Even less information is available on the eco-physiological responses of plants to marine aerosol. The aim of this work was to evaluate the physiological responses of different plant species to seawater nebulisation treatments. Plant species that are commonly used along sea fronts ...
We evaluated mycorrhizal responses of two container-grown ornamental shrubs, Photinia × fraseri a... more We evaluated mycorrhizal responses of two container-grown ornamental shrubs, Photinia × fraseri and Lantana camara cultivated in soilless substrate with two fertilization regimes and inoculated with two mycorrhizal inocula, a commercial one (Symb) and an experimental one (MicroLab). Fertilization rate, inoculum type and plant genotype differentially affected mycorrhizal colonization, plant growth and mineral nutrition. At high fertility levels a significant reduction of mycorrhizal colonization occurred in both shrubs inoculated with Symb, while MicroLab successfully colonized L. camara roots. In P. fraseri MicroLab increased shoot dry weight at low fertility by 44.3% and 78.6% compared with control and Symb, respectively. In L. camara Symb increased plant height and shoot fresh weight at both fertility levels, compared with MicroLab and Control. Our work shows that host plant/mycorrhizal symbionts compatibility and fertilization may modulate the establishment and performance of mycorrhizal symbioses in container-grown woody ornamentals.
Landfill leachate can release pollutants into the environment. Nevertheless, it can be treated us... more Landfill leachate can release pollutants into the environment. Nevertheless, it can be treated using a phytodepuration system via constructed wetlands to reduce contaminants. Moreover, this leachate can also increase the availability of macro and micronutrients in soil and water. In this trial, the reuse of untreated and treated wastewater from municipal solid waste (MSW) for fertigation was assessed. Plantlets of Viola × wittrockiana (pansy) were grown in a greenhouse and five fertigation treatments were applied: W9.0 (pure wastewater, EC 9.0 dS m−1), W4.5 (diluted wastewater, EC 4.5 dS m−1), DW4.5 (depurated wastewater, EC 4.5 dS m−1), PW4.5 (phytodepurated wastewater, EC 4.5 dS m−1), and T (tap water, control, EC 1.5 dS m−1). The treatment with untreated wastewater had a negative effect on plant dry weight, leaf size, specific leaf area, water content, and the number of closed and open flowers, due to the high concentration of SO42− in the fertigation water. It also reduced the c...
Large amounts of fertilizers are being used in agriculture to sustain growing demands for food, e... more Large amounts of fertilizers are being used in agriculture to sustain growing demands for food, especially in vegetable production systems. Soluble fertilizers can generally ensure high crop yields, but excessive leaching of nutrients, mainly as nitrate, can be a major cause of water pollution. Controlled-release fertilizers improve the nutrient use efficiency and lower the environmental hazard, usually without affecting the production. In this study, an innovative controlled-release coated urea fertilizer was compared to conventional nitrogen (N) fertilizers and a soluble ammonium-based fertilizer containing a nitrification inhibitor, in a round table tomato cultivation. Both the water and N balance were evaluated for each treatment, along with the yield and quality of the production. The experiment was repeated in three different seasons (spring, autumn and summer-autumn) in a glasshouse to prevent the effect of uncontrolled rainfall. The results indicated that N leaching decrease...
This paper follows an integrated approach of Internet of Things based sensing and machine learnin... more This paper follows an integrated approach of Internet of Things based sensing and machine learning for crop growth prediction in agriculture. A Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) relates crop growth associated measurement data to environmental control data via hidden states. The measurement data, having (non-linear) sigmoid-type dynamics, are instances of the two classes observed and missing, respectively. Considering that the time series of the logistic sigmoid function is the solution to a reciprocal linear dynamic model, the exact expectation-maximization algorithm can be applied to infer the hidden states and to learn the parameters of the model. At iterative convergence, the parameter estimates are then used to derive a predictor of the measurement data several days ahead. To evaluate the performance of the proposed DBN, we followed three cultivation cycles of micro-tomatoes (MicroTom) in a mini-greenhouse. The environmental parameters were temperature, converted into Growing Degre...
Gerbera is a very important plant widely grown for cut flowers. To check the influence of salinit... more Gerbera is a very important plant widely grown for cut flowers. To check the influence of salinity and boron excess in nutrient solution, nine treatments as factorial combination of three sodium chloride (NaCl) (1, 15 and 30 mM) and three boron (B) (0.1, 1 and 2 mM) concentrations in the nutrient solution were applied during the gerbera cultivation. The effects of experimental treatments on gerbera growth, flowering and the interaction in morphological and nutritional aspects were tested. The formation of leaves, stems and flowers, flower dry mass and evapotranspiration (ET) were more negatively affected when plants were irrigated with 2 mM B than with 0.1 mM B concentration. High levels of boron (1 and 2 Mm) in nutrient solution resulted in leaf chlorosis and necrosis. The severity of leaf burn was correlated with leaf B content. Salinity acted as a protector against boron content in leaves and flowers at 1 Mm B. However, at the 2 Mm B in nutrient solution, leaf B accumulation was ...
Spinach is one of the most important green-leafy vegetables, consumed worldwide, and its intake i... more Spinach is one of the most important green-leafy vegetables, consumed worldwide, and its intake is beneficial for human beings. In this crop, produce yield and quality are closely related to plant nitrogen (N) nutrition. A precise supply of N is also essential for high environmental and economic sustainability. Main aims of the work were: i) to establish relationships between produce yield or quality and mineral N availability in the root zone; and ii) to define an optimal mineral N level to be maintained in the root zone for spinach. Eight experiments were carried out during a four-year-long period under typical Mediterranean climate conditions. Different amounts of N fertilisers were supplied leading to twenty different levels of mineral N in the root zone. Experimental measurements included climate parameters, plant growth, tissue and soil analyses, produce yield and quality indicators. A segmented linear model significantly represented the relationship between crop yield (1.7 to...
Abstract Peat is the most representative component in the preparation of growing media used in ho... more Abstract Peat is the most representative component in the preparation of growing media used in horticulture. However, environmental issues and increased production costs, related to peat extraction and commercialization, are stimulating the use of new materials and technologies as alternatives to peat-based growing media. Among other locally-produced materials, green compost is one of the most promising alternatives for peat substitution although its variability in terms of physico-chemical characteristics represents the main constraint. In the present work, two composts, differing in terms of the initial composting raw materials, were evaluated for peat substitution and their influence on plant growth and quality, nutrient and water uptake, and gaseous exchange activity. A bedding plant (geranium), cultivated in an intensive growing system, was chosen as the test plant and 100% peat as the control. During the greenhouse experiment, plants were grown in five different growing media, i.e. only peat, 30% and 50% peat volume replaced by the two composts. Growing medium characteristics, plant growth and biometric parameters, water and nutrient uptake, and gaseous exchange activity were evaluated as crop performance indicators. The green compost derived from mixed raw material negatively influenced plant nutrition and photosynthesis, thus significantly reducing plant biomass accumulation and quality. The green compost derived from selected material was found to be a valuable growing medium for peat substitution. This thus supports the widespread opinion that high-quality compost can be produced through the selection of composting material.
Abstract The response of plants to salt stress involves dynamic changes in growth and signaling l... more Abstract The response of plants to salt stress involves dynamic changes in growth and signaling leading to successful adaptation or death. To elucidate how these opposed events are coordinated we identified a salt-tolerant (obesifruticosa) and a salt-sensitive (aestiva) Antirrhinum majus mutants using shoots as sensitive indicator of stress magnitude. A series of physiological tests were performed that compared the response after 6 h and 3 days of these contrasting mutants grown in agar under a single (200 mM) NaCl concentration, including shoot area, root length, relative water content, plant height, and overall biomass accumulation. Additional measurements of ABA content, chlorophyll degradation, ethylene production, net photosynthesis rates and Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ content were also reported. RNA-seq analysis was performed on the two mutants after 6 h and 3 days under 200 mM NaCl. A total of 9199 transcripts were found to be differentially expressed in response to NaCl treatment in the two mutants. A large collection of known genes, including MAPKs, CDKs, CDPKs, CIPKs, various transcription factors, various ion transport proteins, and various genes involved in ABA and ethylene signaling pathways were described in detail that displayed differential expression profiles. Overall these data provided evidences of a putative osmotic tolerance sensing and signaling mechanism through a better integration and transduction of environmental cues into growth programs. The reprogramming of calcium-signaling components, generates specific stress signatures affecting differentially the salinity tolerance traits, such as tissue tolerance and anion exclusion. Interestingly, the hormones ABA and ethylene may action as a positive regulators of salt acclimation by the modulation of their signal transduction pathway.
VI International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climate: Product and Process Innovation, 2003
... The paper presents a simple model for the changes in ion concentration and the related variat... more ... The paper presents a simple model for the changes in ion concentration and the related variations in Na of recirculating nutrient solution in closed-loop hydroponics. The model was calibrated for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) using data from the literature and, finally ...
Although the physiological and molecular mechanisms of flower development and senescence have bee... more Although the physiological and molecular mechanisms of flower development and senescence have been extensively investigated, a whole-flower partitioning study of mineral concentrations has not been carried out. In this work, the distribution of sucrose, total reducing sugars, dry and fresh weight and macro and micronutrients were analysed in Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. petals, stylestigma including stamens and ovary at different developmental stages (bud, open and senescent flowers). Total reducing sugars showed the highest value in petals of bud flowers, then fell during the later stages of flower development whereas sucrose showed the highest value in petals of senescent flowers. In petals, nitrogen and phosphorus content increased during flower opening, then nitrogen level decreased in senescent flowers. The calcium, phosphorus and boron concentrations were highest in ovary tissues whatever the developmental stage. Overall, the data presented suggests that the high level of total r...
Aerosol marine strongly affects the growth and development of urban, garden and landscape plants.... more Aerosol marine strongly affects the growth and development of urban, garden and landscape plants. Few studies have focused on the effects of sodium chloride on plant growth, which is usually applied through irrigation water or substrate media. Even less information is available on the eco-physiological responses of plants to marine aerosol. The aim of this work was to evaluate the physiological responses of different plant species to seawater nebulisation treatments. Plant species that are commonly used along sea fronts ...
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