RESUMEN
Rapeseed (Brassica napus var. oleifera D.C.) and Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) are promising industrial crops for cultivation in the Southern Mediterranean area due to profitable yields under semi-arid conditions. The exploitation of raw materials produced by these crops is very convenient for farmers to produce bioenergy directly on-farm and permits them to create a short agri-energy supply chain. The purpose of this study was to determine their yield performance under rainfed conditions and make an economic assessment of a combined heat and power plant (CHP) system operating on pure vegetable oil (PVO). Tests were conducted in Sicily (Italy) from 2012 to 2014. Seed and crop residue yields were detected. The analysis of seed, defatted seed meal and crop residue, and the chemical-physical aspects of PVO were carried out according to conventional protocols. A pilot CHP system was used for cogenerating electricity and heat. In general, rapeseed had the highest seed (2.27 t ha-1) and oil (1.11 t ha-1) yields. The average oil content ranged from 44.88 % (Ethiopian mustard) to 45.73 % dry matter (rapeseed). Ethiopian mustard performed better than rapeseed in terms of aboveground biomass yield (5.49 t ha-1), in both years. The two crops showed different fatty acid profiles of the oil mainly due to diverse content of erucic and oleic acids. The CHP system had an average consumption of 14.41 kg PVO h-1. These results confirm that the productivity of the species can be appreciable in the Southern Mediterranean area and indicate the use of raw materials of these crops as crucial to the development a sustainable short agri-energy supply chain.
RESUMEN
The vegetative propagation of hops, despite being a reliable method, is not very common due to the unavailability of the plant material. In this study, the technique of in vitro propagation was applied to the Cascade variety of Humulus lupulus L. The plant material was collected from a private field in Sicily; the explants were subjected to sterilization before in vitro culture. Single-node explants were placed in in vitro culture in nine different culture media for multiplication. Thidiazuron (TDZ), Benzyladenine (BAP) and meta-Topoline (mT) were tested for multiplication phase. For the rooting phase, five types of different culture media were evaluated. Binodal cuttings coming from the previous multiplication test were placed in the culture. The rooting media differ from each other in the concentration and ratio of two auxin hormones: Indolo-3-acetic acid (IAA) and Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). In vitro rooted plants obtained from the rooting phase were transferred to ex vitro conditions in a microbox with agri-perlite and a solution containing Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium at half concentration. With a culture medium containing the highest TDZ doses (H6) and combination with cytokinin (H8 and H9), the highest shoot percentage was obtained. After 3 months of in vitro culture, the highest shoot percentage was observed in the culture medium with 2 mL L-1 of BAP. The highest rooting percentage, roots numbers and root length were found when the culture medium was supplemented with 1 mL L-1 of IAA. The usage of agri-perlite and MS at half concentration, without PGR, allowed us to obtain a 99.1% survival rate. This micropropagation protocol is useful for obtaining virus-free plants and for the development of the brewery industry.
RESUMEN
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a promising oilseed crop for cultivation in central Southern Italy due to its high tolerance to drought and salinity stress and appreciable seed and oil yields. The genetic diversity of cultivars and climate factors can affect fatty acid composition and yield traits. This study aimed to assess the effects of genotype and climate conditions on the productive performance of eight high oleic safflower genotypes under rainfed conditions in Sicily (Italy). These genotypes were compared to the Montola 2000 cultivar, which was used as a reference. Tests were carried out during the growing seasons of 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Morphological and yield components were significantly affected by genotype while the year had a significant effect on plant height only. In general, CTI 17 produced the highest seed yield (1.40 t ha-1) and oil yield (0.58 t ha-1). The seed oil content was found on 40.2% of dry matter, on average. The "genotype" factor significantly affected oil content and fatty acid composition. Oleic acid content was on average 66.1% and did not vary greatly over the two growing seasons. The above- and belowground plant parts showed the highest carbon content and the lowest nitrogen content as a percentage of dry matter. The results indicate that, under rainfed conditions, yield parameters of high oleic safflower genotypes can be profitable in southern Italy though significantly dependent upon genotype.
RESUMEN
In recent years, climate change has greatly affected rainfall and air temperature levels leading to a reduction in water resources in Southern Europe. This fact has emphasized the need to focus on the use of non-conventional water resources for agricultural irrigation. The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) can represent a sustainable solution, reducing the consumption of freshwater (FW) and the need for mineral fertilisers. The main aim of this study was to assess, in a three-year period, the effects of TWW irrigation compared to FW on the biomass production of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] plants and soil characteristics and to estimate the nutritional input provided by TWW irrigation. TWW was obtained by a constructed wetland system (CWs) which was used to treat urban wastewater. The system had a total surface area of 100 m2. An experimental field of bermudagrass was set up close to the system in a Sicilian location (Italy), using a split-plot design for a two-factor experiment with three replications. Results highlighted a high organic pollutant removal [five days biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5): 61%, chemical oxygen demand (COD): 65%] and a good efficiency in nutrients [total nitrogen (TN): 50%, total phosphorus (TP): 42%] of the CWs. Plants irrigated with TWW showed higher dry aboveground dry-weight (1259.3 kg ha-1) than those irrigated with FW (942.2 kg ha-1), on average. TWW irrigation approximately allowed a saving of 50.0 kg TN ha-1 year-1, 24.0 kg TP ha-1 year-1 and 29.0 kg K ha-1 year-1 on average with respect to commonly used N-P-K fertilisation programme for bermudagrass in the Mediterranean region. Soil salinity increased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) over the years and was detected to be higher in TWW-irrigated plots (+6.34%) in comparison with FW-irrigated plots. Our findings demonstrate that medium-term TWW irrigation increases the biomass production of bermudagrass turf and contributes to save significant amounts of nutrients, providing a series of agronomic and environmental benefits.
