Giovanni Lacolla | University of Bari Italy (original) (raw)
Papers by Giovanni Lacolla
Agronomy, Apr 5, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Diversity, Oct 1, 2019
Soil nitrogen abundance, as well as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), significantly affect the crop ... more Soil nitrogen abundance, as well as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), significantly affect the crop yield and grain protein content (GPC). Depending on the genotype, a negative correlation between the yield and GPC can occur. The aim of the study was to assess the agronomic performance, and to explore physiological pathways for the efficient use of N fertilizer for two durum wheat cultivars, "Aureo" and "Vespucci". After fertilization, the nitrogen content and values of some of the agronomic parameters and yield-related traits increased in both cultivars; nevertheless, a simultaneous rise in both the yield and GPC occurred only in Aureo. The biochemical parameters, analyzed at tillering, confirm the genotypic specificity of nitrogen use. In Vespucci's roots, the nitrogen supply did not affect the nitrate reductase (NR), but greatly increased the amino acids and proteins, suggesting that ammonium is preferentially assimilated. In Aureo, nitrate is in part assimilated by the roots, as suggested by the ammonium increase and NR enhancement. In the leaves of both cultivars, organic nitrogen significantly increased after fertilization; however, the rise in amino acids, as well as in NR activity, was higher in Aureo than in Vespucci. These results indicate that the different nitrogen use, and in particular the diverse NR behavior, at tillering, are in part responsible of the cultivar differences in grain yield and GPC.
Italian Journal of Agronomy, Dec 16, 2007
The agricultural use of olive processing waste is a strategic resource in the integrated manageme... more The agricultural use of olive processing waste is a strategic resource in the integrated management of the agricultural system as it satisfies the two objectives of evacuating the olive-processing residue and using it beneficially for agricultural purposes. For such aims, a research was conducted in Bari (South of Italy) to study the effects of the incorporation into the soil of increasing amounts of non-fermented wet pomace (WP) (0, 17.5, 35, 70, 105, 140, 175, 210 Mg ha-1) on the oil yield and acid profile of sunflower seeds. The results obtained point out that the seed yield was negatively affected by the application of WP starting from 70 Mg ha-1 ; an opposite trend was observed for the seed oil yield. The incorporation of WP has also affected the oil fatty acids' composition. Oleic and linoleic acids, the principal fatty acids (beyond 90% of total fatty acids), showed significant variations: from the control treatment to the one receiving the maximum application of waste, oleic acid decreased (-5.4%), linoleic acid increased (+ 6.6%), and the saturated fatty acids fraction decreased (-7.6%).
Soil Use and Management, Sep 22, 2020
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Applied Soil Ecology, Oct 1, 2020
Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and... more Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and crop productivity under open field condition. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of tomato-wheat rotation on Fusarium wilt suppression and shoot growth on tomato in comparison to tomato monoculture. The following factors were determined and integrated through a transdisciplinary approach: (i) soil chemical parameters; (ii) abundance, composition, richness and diversity of soil fungal and bacterial communities; (iii) soil biochemical and enzymatic indicators; (iv) abundance of Fusarium oxysporum isolates in rhizosphere under tomato cultivation and evaluation of the pathogenicity of the isolates; (v) suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against a selected pathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomato; and (vi) tomato shoot growth. The integrated approach included soil amplicon sequencing by metabarcoding analyses carried out by Illumina MiSeq platform in association with the standard procedure for soil analyses. In addition, the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum from the tomato rhizosphere and the suppressive response of the soil bulk to Fusarium wilt were performed by bioassays under greenhouse condition. The results showed that, if durum wheat was rotated with cherry tomato for at least four consecutive years, it had the following beneficial effects: (i) increased suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, (ii) decreased abundance of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) decreased pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates, and (iv) increased tomato shoot growth. The increased abundance of certain microbial groups belonging to potential biocontrol agents against fusaria-related wilt including Bacillales (Bacillus and Paenibacillus), Pseudomonadales (Pseudomonas), Streptomycetales (Streptomyces), Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium) and Mortierellales (Mortierella), as well as the highest tomato shoot growth, coincided with the end of the second wheat rotation cycle. There were significant Spearman cross-correlations and two-way ANOVA interactions among the microbiome variables with the (i) soil chemical parameters, (ii) abundance and pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) soil suppression to Fusarium wilt, and (iv) tomato shoot growth. The results indicate that a soil managed under tomato-wheat rotation displays increased suppressive response against Fusarium wilt and improved shoot growth in tomato plants by changing the microbial composition and chemical parameters of the soil.
Agronomy, May 30, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Plants, Jul 14, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Soil and Water Research, Sep 30, 2016
In the context of the overall competition for water resources it is important to understand the c... more In the context of the overall competition for water resources it is important to understand the complex dynamics of crop water management including evapotranspiration, water quality, and leaching requirement, each of them depending on the site-specific conditions. The research started with grain maize and continued with sunflower, grain maize, and wheat, at the experimental field. On both grain maize and sunflower, 10 irrigation treatments were compared that resulted from the factorial combination of two types of water (fresh and brackish water) with five irrigation regimes; the scheduled treatments were applied by furrow irrigation. The amount of salts brought into the soil with the irrigation water during the three irrigation seasons of our trial increased shifting from the lowest to the highest irrigation regime and with the increase of salinity in the irrigation water. From the study of salt distribution in the soil it follows that at the end of the irrigation season the salt concentration increased by passing from the middle of the furrow, a zone more subject to leaching during irrigation, to the intermediate zone between the furrow and the ridge, and in the middle of the ridge between two contiguous furrows, an area of confluence of the wetting and salt accumulation fronts. The leaching water supplied during the irrigation season was poorly efficient in leaching the salts brought in through irrigation, whereas the rainfall water of the autumn-winter period after the irrigation season ensured a good control of soil salinity.
Plants
Plant density is among the most critical factors affecting plant yields and resource use efficien... more Plant density is among the most critical factors affecting plant yields and resource use efficiency since it drives the exploitation of the available resources per unit area, root distribution and soil water losses by direct evaporation from the soil. Consequently, in fine-textured soils, it can also affect the formation and development of desiccation cracks. The aim of this study, carried out on a sandy clay loam soil in a typical Mediterranean environment, was to investigate the effects of different row spacings of maize (Zea mais L.) on yield response, root distribution and the main features of desiccation cracks. The field experiment compared bare soil and soil cropped with maize using three plant densities (6, 4 and 3 plants m−2), obtained by keeping the number of plants in a row constant and varying the distance between the rows (0.5–0.75–1.0 m). The highest kernel yield (16.57 Mg ha−1) was obtained with the greatest planting density (6 plants m−2) with a row spacing of 0.5 m;...
Agronomy
The use of green compost is a suitable technology to recycle organic waste into environmentally f... more The use of green compost is a suitable technology to recycle organic waste into environmentally friendly soil improvement mitigating the pressure on landfills and contributing to sustainability. Among the major nutrients, phosphorus (P) stands at a significant position for seed and fruit quality, photosynthesis, and metabolic function in plants. This work evaluates the effects of different doses of mineral/organic fertilizers on two durum wheat cultivars: Anco Marzio and Vespucci. The fertilization trials compared one unfertilized control test and six treatments performed with different types of fertilizers (four minerals and two organics, based on green compost). Grain yield, compared with the unfertilized control, increased with the mineral fertilization by 125.5% for Anco Marzio and 136.42% for Vespucci, while organic fertilization alone determined an increase of 25.52% and 30.92% for Anco Marzio and Vespucci, respectively. The contribution of a higher dose of phosphorus (140 kg ...
Agronomy
In Mediterranean regions, the scarcity of freshwater for agricultural purposes is leading to the ... more In Mediterranean regions, the scarcity of freshwater for agricultural purposes is leading to the use of alternative water sources. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term irrigation with reclaimed water on chemical and biological soil properties. On a mandarin tree orchard (Citrus clementina, cv. Orogrande), freshwater (FW) and tertiary reclaimed water (RW) were supplied for irrigation. In spring 2017, a soil sampling was carried out, collecting from each experimental plot four samples at 0–0.20 m depth. Chemical and biochemical soil properties were determined on air dried and sieved soil and on fresh and field-moist soil, respectively. The irrigation with reclaimed water significantly increased the soil water extractable organic carbon (WEOC), available P, Mg, and Na content, and the electrical conductivity (EC). Although not significant, the respiration rates and enzymatic activities were higher in RW treatment. The results of this research highlighted that the irrig...
This research was aimed to assess the influence of density with different row spacing on sunflowe... more This research was aimed to assess the influence of density with different row spacing on sunflower crop in two different locations in southern Italy. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with four replicates. It involved the comparison of sunflower grown in the field on 25 m2 (5 x 5 m) plots at three plant densities (7.5, 5.0 and 3.75 plants m-2), obtained by keeping a constant number of plants within the row (3 plants m-1) and varying the spacing between rows (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 m). In the crops grown at the density of 7.5 plants m-2 (0.4 m row spacing) achene and oil yields were significantly lower as compared to the other treatments. Therefore, the mean values of the two trials did not show any statistical difference between the two densities of 3.75 and 5 plants m-2 (0.8 and 0.6 m row spacing, respectively). However, the superiority in the quality of the fatty acid composition was observed in the crops grown at lower density. Therefore, the row spacing of 0.8 m...
Land, 2022
Knowledge of the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is of crucial importance for i... more Knowledge of the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is of crucial importance for improving crop productivity and assessing the effect of agronomic management strategies on crop response and soil quality. Incorporating secondary variables correlated to SOC allows using information often available at finer spatial resolution, such as proximal and remote sensing data, and improving prediction accuracy. In this study, two nonstationary interpolation methods were used to predict SOC, namely, regression kriging (RK) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), using as secondary variables electromagnetic induction (EMI) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data. Two GPR covariates, representing two soil layers at different depths, and X geographical coordinates were selected by both methods with similar variable importance. Unlike the linear model of RK, the MARS model also selected one EMI covariate. This result can be attributed to the intrinsic capability of MARS t...
of reclamation on the structure of silty-clay soils irrigated
The reuse of treated municipal wastewater for irrigation is an established alternative to convent... more The reuse of treated municipal wastewater for irrigation is an established alternative to conventional water, in many countries of the world, particularly where or when water resources are extremely limited. Wastewater reuse could represent a double benefit when used in agriculture, helping overcome any lack of water resources and additionally, enriching the soil with nutrients especially nitrogen and phosphorus. In the experimental site of Castellana Grotte (Apulia region, Southern Italy) during the 2012/13 and 2013/14 growing seasons, vegetable crops (fennel and lettuce) in succession were dripirrigated with three different water sources. Two reclaimed water streams, obtained by applying different treatment schemes to the same municipal wastewater (an effluent from the full-scale treatment plant and an effluent from the Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge – Membrane BioReactor pilot plant) and a conventional source, to verify the crops response and nutrient contribution through...
Applied Soil Ecology, 2020
Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and... more Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and crop productivity under open field condition. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of tomato-wheat rotation on Fusarium wilt suppression and shoot growth on tomato in comparison to tomato monoculture. The following factors were determined and integrated through a transdisciplinary approach: (i) soil chemical parameters; (ii) abundance, composition, richness and diversity of soil fungal and bacterial communities; (iii) soil biochemical and enzymatic indicators; (iv) abundance of Fusarium oxysporum isolates in rhizosphere under tomato cultivation and evaluation of the pathogenicity of the isolates; (v) suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against a selected pathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomato; and (vi) tomato shoot growth. The integrated approach included soil amplicon sequencing by metabarcoding analyses carried out by Illumina MiSeq platform in association with the standard procedure for soil analyses. In addition, the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum from the tomato rhizosphere and the suppressive response of the soil bulk to Fusarium wilt were performed by bioassays under greenhouse condition. The results showed that, if durum wheat was rotated with cherry tomato for at least four consecutive years, it had the following beneficial effects: (i) increased suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, (ii) decreased abundance of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) decreased pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates, and (iv) increased tomato shoot growth. The increased abundance of certain microbial groups belonging to potential biocontrol agents against fusaria-related wilt including Bacillales (Bacillus and Paenibacillus), Pseudomonadales (Pseudomonas), Streptomycetales (Streptomyces), Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium) and Mortierellales (Mortierella), as well as the highest tomato shoot growth, coincided with the end of the second wheat rotation cycle. There were significant Spearman cross-correlations and two-way ANOVA interactions among the microbiome variables with the (i) soil chemical parameters, (ii) abundance and pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) soil suppression to Fusarium wilt, and (iv) tomato shoot growth. The results indicate that a soil managed under tomato-wheat rotation displays increased suppressive response against Fusarium wilt and improved shoot growth in tomato plants by changing the microbial composition and chemical parameters of the soil.
Soil Use and Management, 2020
This research attempted to investigate a part of the United Nations sustainable development goal ... more This research attempted to investigate a part of the United Nations sustainable development goal 15, dealing with preventing land degradation and halting the loss of microorganisms’ diversity. Since soil deterioration and biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean area are occurring because of intensive management, we evaluated some biochemical and microbiological parameters and bacterial biodiversity under long‐term conventional tillage (CT) and no‐tillage (NT) practices, in Basilicata, a typical Region of Southern Italy, characterized by a semiarid ecosystem. The highest biological fertility index (BFI) (composed of soil organic matter, microbial biomass C, cumulative microbial respiration during 25 days of incubation, basal respiration, metabolic quotient and mineralization quotient) was determined for the 0–20 cm of NT soil (class V, high biological fertility level). The analysis of the taxonomic composition at the phylum level revealed the higher relative abundance of copiotrophic ...
Agronomy, Apr 5, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Diversity, Oct 1, 2019
Soil nitrogen abundance, as well as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), significantly affect the crop ... more Soil nitrogen abundance, as well as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), significantly affect the crop yield and grain protein content (GPC). Depending on the genotype, a negative correlation between the yield and GPC can occur. The aim of the study was to assess the agronomic performance, and to explore physiological pathways for the efficient use of N fertilizer for two durum wheat cultivars, "Aureo" and "Vespucci". After fertilization, the nitrogen content and values of some of the agronomic parameters and yield-related traits increased in both cultivars; nevertheless, a simultaneous rise in both the yield and GPC occurred only in Aureo. The biochemical parameters, analyzed at tillering, confirm the genotypic specificity of nitrogen use. In Vespucci's roots, the nitrogen supply did not affect the nitrate reductase (NR), but greatly increased the amino acids and proteins, suggesting that ammonium is preferentially assimilated. In Aureo, nitrate is in part assimilated by the roots, as suggested by the ammonium increase and NR enhancement. In the leaves of both cultivars, organic nitrogen significantly increased after fertilization; however, the rise in amino acids, as well as in NR activity, was higher in Aureo than in Vespucci. These results indicate that the different nitrogen use, and in particular the diverse NR behavior, at tillering, are in part responsible of the cultivar differences in grain yield and GPC.
Italian Journal of Agronomy, Dec 16, 2007
The agricultural use of olive processing waste is a strategic resource in the integrated manageme... more The agricultural use of olive processing waste is a strategic resource in the integrated management of the agricultural system as it satisfies the two objectives of evacuating the olive-processing residue and using it beneficially for agricultural purposes. For such aims, a research was conducted in Bari (South of Italy) to study the effects of the incorporation into the soil of increasing amounts of non-fermented wet pomace (WP) (0, 17.5, 35, 70, 105, 140, 175, 210 Mg ha-1) on the oil yield and acid profile of sunflower seeds. The results obtained point out that the seed yield was negatively affected by the application of WP starting from 70 Mg ha-1 ; an opposite trend was observed for the seed oil yield. The incorporation of WP has also affected the oil fatty acids' composition. Oleic and linoleic acids, the principal fatty acids (beyond 90% of total fatty acids), showed significant variations: from the control treatment to the one receiving the maximum application of waste, oleic acid decreased (-5.4%), linoleic acid increased (+ 6.6%), and the saturated fatty acids fraction decreased (-7.6%).
Soil Use and Management, Sep 22, 2020
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Applied Soil Ecology, Oct 1, 2020
Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and... more Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and crop productivity under open field condition. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of tomato-wheat rotation on Fusarium wilt suppression and shoot growth on tomato in comparison to tomato monoculture. The following factors were determined and integrated through a transdisciplinary approach: (i) soil chemical parameters; (ii) abundance, composition, richness and diversity of soil fungal and bacterial communities; (iii) soil biochemical and enzymatic indicators; (iv) abundance of Fusarium oxysporum isolates in rhizosphere under tomato cultivation and evaluation of the pathogenicity of the isolates; (v) suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against a selected pathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomato; and (vi) tomato shoot growth. The integrated approach included soil amplicon sequencing by metabarcoding analyses carried out by Illumina MiSeq platform in association with the standard procedure for soil analyses. In addition, the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum from the tomato rhizosphere and the suppressive response of the soil bulk to Fusarium wilt were performed by bioassays under greenhouse condition. The results showed that, if durum wheat was rotated with cherry tomato for at least four consecutive years, it had the following beneficial effects: (i) increased suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, (ii) decreased abundance of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) decreased pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates, and (iv) increased tomato shoot growth. The increased abundance of certain microbial groups belonging to potential biocontrol agents against fusaria-related wilt including Bacillales (Bacillus and Paenibacillus), Pseudomonadales (Pseudomonas), Streptomycetales (Streptomyces), Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium) and Mortierellales (Mortierella), as well as the highest tomato shoot growth, coincided with the end of the second wheat rotation cycle. There were significant Spearman cross-correlations and two-way ANOVA interactions among the microbiome variables with the (i) soil chemical parameters, (ii) abundance and pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) soil suppression to Fusarium wilt, and (iv) tomato shoot growth. The results indicate that a soil managed under tomato-wheat rotation displays increased suppressive response against Fusarium wilt and improved shoot growth in tomato plants by changing the microbial composition and chemical parameters of the soil.
Agronomy, May 30, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Plants, Jul 14, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Soil and Water Research, Sep 30, 2016
In the context of the overall competition for water resources it is important to understand the c... more In the context of the overall competition for water resources it is important to understand the complex dynamics of crop water management including evapotranspiration, water quality, and leaching requirement, each of them depending on the site-specific conditions. The research started with grain maize and continued with sunflower, grain maize, and wheat, at the experimental field. On both grain maize and sunflower, 10 irrigation treatments were compared that resulted from the factorial combination of two types of water (fresh and brackish water) with five irrigation regimes; the scheduled treatments were applied by furrow irrigation. The amount of salts brought into the soil with the irrigation water during the three irrigation seasons of our trial increased shifting from the lowest to the highest irrigation regime and with the increase of salinity in the irrigation water. From the study of salt distribution in the soil it follows that at the end of the irrigation season the salt concentration increased by passing from the middle of the furrow, a zone more subject to leaching during irrigation, to the intermediate zone between the furrow and the ridge, and in the middle of the ridge between two contiguous furrows, an area of confluence of the wetting and salt accumulation fronts. The leaching water supplied during the irrigation season was poorly efficient in leaching the salts brought in through irrigation, whereas the rainfall water of the autumn-winter period after the irrigation season ensured a good control of soil salinity.
Plants
Plant density is among the most critical factors affecting plant yields and resource use efficien... more Plant density is among the most critical factors affecting plant yields and resource use efficiency since it drives the exploitation of the available resources per unit area, root distribution and soil water losses by direct evaporation from the soil. Consequently, in fine-textured soils, it can also affect the formation and development of desiccation cracks. The aim of this study, carried out on a sandy clay loam soil in a typical Mediterranean environment, was to investigate the effects of different row spacings of maize (Zea mais L.) on yield response, root distribution and the main features of desiccation cracks. The field experiment compared bare soil and soil cropped with maize using three plant densities (6, 4 and 3 plants m−2), obtained by keeping the number of plants in a row constant and varying the distance between the rows (0.5–0.75–1.0 m). The highest kernel yield (16.57 Mg ha−1) was obtained with the greatest planting density (6 plants m−2) with a row spacing of 0.5 m;...
Agronomy
The use of green compost is a suitable technology to recycle organic waste into environmentally f... more The use of green compost is a suitable technology to recycle organic waste into environmentally friendly soil improvement mitigating the pressure on landfills and contributing to sustainability. Among the major nutrients, phosphorus (P) stands at a significant position for seed and fruit quality, photosynthesis, and metabolic function in plants. This work evaluates the effects of different doses of mineral/organic fertilizers on two durum wheat cultivars: Anco Marzio and Vespucci. The fertilization trials compared one unfertilized control test and six treatments performed with different types of fertilizers (four minerals and two organics, based on green compost). Grain yield, compared with the unfertilized control, increased with the mineral fertilization by 125.5% for Anco Marzio and 136.42% for Vespucci, while organic fertilization alone determined an increase of 25.52% and 30.92% for Anco Marzio and Vespucci, respectively. The contribution of a higher dose of phosphorus (140 kg ...
Agronomy
In Mediterranean regions, the scarcity of freshwater for agricultural purposes is leading to the ... more In Mediterranean regions, the scarcity of freshwater for agricultural purposes is leading to the use of alternative water sources. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term irrigation with reclaimed water on chemical and biological soil properties. On a mandarin tree orchard (Citrus clementina, cv. Orogrande), freshwater (FW) and tertiary reclaimed water (RW) were supplied for irrigation. In spring 2017, a soil sampling was carried out, collecting from each experimental plot four samples at 0–0.20 m depth. Chemical and biochemical soil properties were determined on air dried and sieved soil and on fresh and field-moist soil, respectively. The irrigation with reclaimed water significantly increased the soil water extractable organic carbon (WEOC), available P, Mg, and Na content, and the electrical conductivity (EC). Although not significant, the respiration rates and enzymatic activities were higher in RW treatment. The results of this research highlighted that the irrig...
This research was aimed to assess the influence of density with different row spacing on sunflowe... more This research was aimed to assess the influence of density with different row spacing on sunflower crop in two different locations in southern Italy. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with four replicates. It involved the comparison of sunflower grown in the field on 25 m2 (5 x 5 m) plots at three plant densities (7.5, 5.0 and 3.75 plants m-2), obtained by keeping a constant number of plants within the row (3 plants m-1) and varying the spacing between rows (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 m). In the crops grown at the density of 7.5 plants m-2 (0.4 m row spacing) achene and oil yields were significantly lower as compared to the other treatments. Therefore, the mean values of the two trials did not show any statistical difference between the two densities of 3.75 and 5 plants m-2 (0.8 and 0.6 m row spacing, respectively). However, the superiority in the quality of the fatty acid composition was observed in the crops grown at lower density. Therefore, the row spacing of 0.8 m...
Land, 2022
Knowledge of the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is of crucial importance for i... more Knowledge of the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is of crucial importance for improving crop productivity and assessing the effect of agronomic management strategies on crop response and soil quality. Incorporating secondary variables correlated to SOC allows using information often available at finer spatial resolution, such as proximal and remote sensing data, and improving prediction accuracy. In this study, two nonstationary interpolation methods were used to predict SOC, namely, regression kriging (RK) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), using as secondary variables electromagnetic induction (EMI) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data. Two GPR covariates, representing two soil layers at different depths, and X geographical coordinates were selected by both methods with similar variable importance. Unlike the linear model of RK, the MARS model also selected one EMI covariate. This result can be attributed to the intrinsic capability of MARS t...
of reclamation on the structure of silty-clay soils irrigated
The reuse of treated municipal wastewater for irrigation is an established alternative to convent... more The reuse of treated municipal wastewater for irrigation is an established alternative to conventional water, in many countries of the world, particularly where or when water resources are extremely limited. Wastewater reuse could represent a double benefit when used in agriculture, helping overcome any lack of water resources and additionally, enriching the soil with nutrients especially nitrogen and phosphorus. In the experimental site of Castellana Grotte (Apulia region, Southern Italy) during the 2012/13 and 2013/14 growing seasons, vegetable crops (fennel and lettuce) in succession were dripirrigated with three different water sources. Two reclaimed water streams, obtained by applying different treatment schemes to the same municipal wastewater (an effluent from the full-scale treatment plant and an effluent from the Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge – Membrane BioReactor pilot plant) and a conventional source, to verify the crops response and nutrient contribution through...
Applied Soil Ecology, 2020
Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and... more Abstract Crop rotation is a common practice aimed at enhancing both plant disease suppression and crop productivity under open field condition. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of tomato-wheat rotation on Fusarium wilt suppression and shoot growth on tomato in comparison to tomato monoculture. The following factors were determined and integrated through a transdisciplinary approach: (i) soil chemical parameters; (ii) abundance, composition, richness and diversity of soil fungal and bacterial communities; (iii) soil biochemical and enzymatic indicators; (iv) abundance of Fusarium oxysporum isolates in rhizosphere under tomato cultivation and evaluation of the pathogenicity of the isolates; (v) suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against a selected pathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomato; and (vi) tomato shoot growth. The integrated approach included soil amplicon sequencing by metabarcoding analyses carried out by Illumina MiSeq platform in association with the standard procedure for soil analyses. In addition, the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum from the tomato rhizosphere and the suppressive response of the soil bulk to Fusarium wilt were performed by bioassays under greenhouse condition. The results showed that, if durum wheat was rotated with cherry tomato for at least four consecutive years, it had the following beneficial effects: (i) increased suppressive response of the bulk soil samples against F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, (ii) decreased abundance of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) decreased pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates, and (iv) increased tomato shoot growth. The increased abundance of certain microbial groups belonging to potential biocontrol agents against fusaria-related wilt including Bacillales (Bacillus and Paenibacillus), Pseudomonadales (Pseudomonas), Streptomycetales (Streptomyces), Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium) and Mortierellales (Mortierella), as well as the highest tomato shoot growth, coincided with the end of the second wheat rotation cycle. There were significant Spearman cross-correlations and two-way ANOVA interactions among the microbiome variables with the (i) soil chemical parameters, (ii) abundance and pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum isolates in tomato rhizosphere, (iii) soil suppression to Fusarium wilt, and (iv) tomato shoot growth. The results indicate that a soil managed under tomato-wheat rotation displays increased suppressive response against Fusarium wilt and improved shoot growth in tomato plants by changing the microbial composition and chemical parameters of the soil.
Soil Use and Management, 2020
This research attempted to investigate a part of the United Nations sustainable development goal ... more This research attempted to investigate a part of the United Nations sustainable development goal 15, dealing with preventing land degradation and halting the loss of microorganisms’ diversity. Since soil deterioration and biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean area are occurring because of intensive management, we evaluated some biochemical and microbiological parameters and bacterial biodiversity under long‐term conventional tillage (CT) and no‐tillage (NT) practices, in Basilicata, a typical Region of Southern Italy, characterized by a semiarid ecosystem. The highest biological fertility index (BFI) (composed of soil organic matter, microbial biomass C, cumulative microbial respiration during 25 days of incubation, basal respiration, metabolic quotient and mineralization quotient) was determined for the 0–20 cm of NT soil (class V, high biological fertility level). The analysis of the taxonomic composition at the phylum level revealed the higher relative abundance of copiotrophic ...