A consortium of private ICT companies and Research institutions has developed anew automatized decision support system which integrates the results of scientificachievements and technological innovations in the fields of crop water requirementsand irrigation scheduling, on-field data acquisition, transmission and management,and application of web and app tools for real-time irrigation management. Thedecision support system, called Hydro-Tech (HT-DSS) aimed: a) to design a 'simpleand practical', user-friendly computer/mobile-based DSS, by considering also theend-user feedbacks and specific requirements; b) to test and validate at farm levelthe effectiveness and reliability of simulations for different vegetables, fruit treesand grapevine crops, under different agronomic, management and pedo-climaticconditions; c) to test the effective integration of different technologies; and d) toevaluate the most cost-effective solutions. The HT-DSS is based on the Guidelines forcomputing crop water requirements described in the FAO Irrigation and DrainagePaper 56 and consecutive updates and improvements. The system runs on a dailybasis at the scale of a single 'irrigated plot' and permits the optimization of irrigationinputs at the farm scale through a dynamic multi-crop/farm optimizer. A standardinterface connecting the on-field devices with the client software applicationthrough a Data Cloud Network (Hydrotech Data Cloud, HDC) was developed. Itsupports, via new generation of smart devices (tablets, smartphones, laptops),wireless and continuous monitoring of the on-field weather/soil/crop conditions andthe remote control and management of irrigation. The main algorithms of the modelare briefly introduced in this paper, together with the preliminary results of the ongoingexperimental activity at farm level in Apulia region (Southern Italy).

In Puglia, lungo i muretti a secco delimitanti i campi coltivati e nelle aree boschive a macchia mediterranea, è molto diffuso l'asparago selvatico apprezzato per le sue caratteristiche organolettiche e nutrizionali. Osservando attentamente un mazzetto di asparagi selvatici, si può notare una elevata variabilità delle caratteristiche cromatiche e del grado di 'tenerezza' dei turioni; ciò è determinato prevalentemente dal microambiente in cui ciascun turione si è accresciuto e, in modo particolare, dalla prevalenza della radiazione solare diretta o diffusa. In pratica, i turioni raccolti nelle zone più assolate sono di colore dal verde scuro al violaceo e si presentano coriacei, mentre quelli raccolti nel sottobosco sono di colore verde chiaro e più teneri.L'elevata richiesta di mercato dell'asparago e la carenza di aree naturali in cui raccogliere quello selvatico, ha dato una forte spinta alla coltivazione di quest'orticola che attualmente vede la Puglia tra le prime tre regioni produttrici a livello nazionale. In considerazione dell'idea comune che i prodotti selvatici presentano una migliore qualità rispetto a quelli coltivati, è stato realizzato uno studio comparativo di valutazione di alcune caratteristiche qualitative di quattro ibridi ('Early California', 'Grande', 'Vegalim' e 'Purple passion') di asparago coltivato (Asparagus officinalis L.) e dell'asparago selvatico (A. acutifolius L.) raccolto nel sottobosco e in aree assolate di una querceta della Puglia meridionale. In particolare, sono stati valutati: la percentuale di sostanza secca (DM), il contenuto di clorofilla (Chl), carotenoidi (Ca), fenoli totali (TF) e l'attività antiossidante (TAA).Per l'asparago selvatico, tutti i caratteri esaminati si sono differenziati in relazione al luogo di raccolta. I turioni raccolti nelle zone assolate presentavano valori di DM, Chl, Ca, TF e TAA, riferiti al peso fresco (FM), più elevati rispettivamente del 16, 30, 53, 64 e 62%, rispetto a quelli raccolti nel sottobosco. Tra le cultivar di asparago coltivato, non sono state osservate variazioni di DM, Chl e Ca (in media 7,4 g 100 g-1, 5,4 mg 100 g-1 FM e 1,3 mg 100 g-1 FM, rispettivamente), mentre TF e TAA sono variati rispettivamente da 123,2 mg CAE 100 g-1 FM ('Early California') a 89 mg CAE 100 g-1 FM ('Purple passion') e da 69,1 mg Trolox 100 g-1 FM ('Early California') a 52,4 mg Trolox 100 g-1 FM ('Grande' e 'Vegalim'). L'asparago coltivato, rispetto all'asparago selvatico, ha presentato in media valori di DM, Chl, Ca, TF e TAA, riferiti a FM, più bassi di circa il 40, 5, 17, 43 e 53%, rispettivamente.In conclusione possiamo affermare che l'asparago selvatico, soprattutto se raccolto nelle zone con maggiore insolazione, presenta, limitatamente ai parametri considerati, caratteristiche qualitative più elevate rispetto all'asparago coltivato.

This study focused on the assessment of the interactive effect of deficit irrigation and strobilurin application in improving tomato physiological and yield response under water shortage.A two-year field research (2011 and 2012) was carried out in southern Italy, on tomato grown under three irrigation regimes - full recovering of crop evapotranspiration (I100), 50% of full irrigation supply (I50) and rainfed (I0) - and with three fungicide treatments - control (F0) without any fungicide; application of fungicides without strobilurin (F1); application of a strobilurin based fungicide (Cabrio® Duo) (F2). Plant water status, yield and quality parameters, biomass and yield water use efficiency (B_WUE and Y_WUE), yield and biomass water response factors (Ky and Kby) were assessed. Water shortage significantly affected yield and quality response: as an average of the two years, a marketable yield decrement of 52.7 and 80.5% was observed in I50 and I0 in respect to I100 treatment, respectively, because of the reduction in both fruit weight and number. Fruit dry matter, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, firmness and redness showed an increase to the decline of water availability. Strobilurin based fungicide application increased total and marketable yield by 14.2% and 19.1%, respectively. In addition, strobilurin improved the plant water status under water shortage as a consequence of reduction in stomatal conductance.Deficit irrigation caused a decrease of B_WUE and Y_WUE, while the strobilurin application improved Y_WUE by 17%. Kby and Ky on average were equal to 1.11 and 1.40, respectively, and were unaffected by fungicide treatments. These results indicated the potential benefits of using strobilurin based agrochemicals in tomato disease management, due to their complementary action in improving yield, WUE, and plant water status under water stress conditions.

Wheat is the most widely cultivated crop in Southern Italy, mainly under rainfedconditions. Planning suitable irrigation and fertilization strategies is a crucial issuefor stabilizing production and thereby enhancing socio-economic developmentof farm communities. However, imposed irrigation and agronomic practices cangenerate more pressure on water resources and environmental burdens due toadditional energy and fertilizers requirements. Life cycle assessment (LCA) hasbeen recognised as a valuable tool for assessing the environmental impacts ofagricultural production and has been applied widely to winter wheat production.While LCA consider only the environmental aspects, the concept of eco-efficiency(EE) has been used as an instrument to analyze farm sustainability, i.e. to relateeconomic value of an activity and its impact on environment. The aim of this study is toanalyze the eco-efficiency of wheat cultivation under rainfed and irrigation conditionsin Apulia Region, Southern Italy. The study applies a novel approach (EcoWater,2014) based on a combination of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) following ISOprinciples and the assessment of Life Cycle Costing (LCC). LCA followed a problemoriented approach using CML-IA baseline 2000 impact assessment method. Thesystem boundaries were defined following the "cradle to grave" approach (i.e. fromthe extraction of primary resources to final use in the field). The environmentalburdens covered induced emissions through the production and use of fossil fuel,production and use of fertilizers and electricity usage for irrigation. A distinction wasmade between impacts coming from direct use of resources on-field (foreground)and resource production processes (background). Fertilizer (direct/indirect N2O andother substances) and diesel on-field emission were estimated and converted usingthe IPCC Guidelines. Emission values for production of fertilizers and power inputs(i.e diesel and electricity) were retrieved from LCA databases. Total Value Added(TVA) to the product due to water use estimated as a difference between of totaleconomic value generated from water use (substracting non-water expenses fromtotal value of products) and total financial cost related to water supply was employedto analyse the economic performance. Eco-Efficiency Indicators (EEI) were definedas ratios of the economic performance (total value added, TVA) to the environmentalperformance of the system (environmental impacts). The respective assessmentwas performed using Systemic Environmental Analysis Tool (SEAT) and theEconomic Value Analysis Tool (EVAT) modeling tools. The analysis encompassed cause-effect relations and shows whether EE improves or declines and in which respect. Obtained results showed that optimal production with water application of 2000 m3/ha and associated agronomic practices generates on average about 55% additional emissions versus rainfed condition, with t

Ready-to-eat asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a tasty food with excellent nutraceutical properties. In order to realize a new ready-to-eat product, in this study asparagus's spears were cooked by blanching or microwave, and then dehydrated until they reached a weight loss of 25%,and packaged in air or in modified atmosphere (30% CO2 + 70% N2). Sensorial, physico-chemical,biochemical, and microbiological parameters were evaluated during a 30 days storage period at 4°C. The microwave cooking proved to be the most effective method to preserve green colour,improving the overall acceptability of the product. Moreover, the storage in the absence of O2 andin the presence of high CO2 percentage was the most effective method to preserve phytochemicalcomposition, total antioxidant capacity, and hygienic quality. In conclusion, asparagus spearscooked by microwave, semi-dried, packaged in modified atmosphere and stored at 4 °C for 30 daysretained their quality and sensorial properties.

In the last decade, among the species proposed for the production of renewable energy, a growing interest has been directed toward the cardoon, due to the high biomass that can be obtained even in marginal environments without irrigation and with low input nitrogen. Studies carried out in Italy and in other Mediterranean countries demonstrated the high variability of the cardoon response in terms of biomass and seed production performance, in relation to the genotype and the cultivation environment. Given the need to use marginal land for bioenergy crops to avoid competition with food crops, a trial in a marginal area of the Sub-Appennino Dauno (southern Italy) was carried out, to identify genotypes that are best suited to this environment and alternative strategies to fulfil crop nitrogen requirements. The trial was carried out during 2012-2013 on a two-year-old crop in rainfed conditions, to compare three nitrogen management strategies and four genotypes: i) unfertilized control (N0), one nitrogen level (50 kg ha-1, N1), and unfertilized with the intercropping with subterranean clover (Trifolium brachycalycinum Katzn. and Morley) in order to exploit the nitrogen-fixing capacity (TB); ii) a wild cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L. var. sylvestris Lamk) landrace (RCT10) and 3 lines (CDL07, CDL09, CDL10) of domestic cardoon (C. cardunculus L. var. altilis DC.). A split plot with three replications experimental design was adopted. Drought during the growing season played a crucial role in the experiment. 'CDL07' performed better in terms of above ground dry biomass (AGDB) with 9.0 Mg ha-1 with respect to the other genotypes (5.4 Mg ha-1, on average). On the contrary, grain yield was the highest in 'RCT10' (2.0 Mg ha-1) and the lowest in 'CDL10' (0.6 Mg ha-1). N1 performed better both for AGDB yield (10.7 Mg ha-1) and seed yield (2.2 Mg ha-1). Conversely, TB provided very low yield (1.4 and 0.2 Mg ha-1, AGDB and seed yield, respectively) because of adverse effect of competition of subterranean clover for water. Results confirmed high variability in biomass and seed yield of different genotypes and the limiting role of the water availability in environments such as those Mediterranean. The intercropping with subterranean clover as eco-sustainable strategy for nitrogen supply is not suitable in dry areas.

Tomato for processing is a very widespread crop in the Mediterranean area whereoften there are problems of high salinity of irrigation water. It's well known that thehigh salinity creates physiological problems with considerable negative effects onproduction.Pyraclostrobin belongs to a class of fungicide (strobilurins) having a broad spectrumof applications, with preventive, curative, translaminar and locosystemic properties.In the literature it is reported that strobilurins can affect the plant metabolismresulting in the increase of yield, dry matter, content of both chlorophyll and proteinand delay senescence. In addition, it was observed plant water balance modificationby reducing root water uptake, resulting in the postponement of soil dehydration,so it may contribute to yield enhancement. Because many effects of salt stress arecomparable to water stress, we may speculate that Pyraclostrobin could alleviatedetrimental effects of salinity on plants.This study focused on the interactive effect of salinity and Pyraclostrobin applicationon tomato grown in pots under plastic tunnel. The objective was to investigatethe complementary properties of Pyraclostrobin in the improvement of tomatophysiological (SPAD, gas exchange, activity of antioxidative enzymes as SOD, CAT,POD, APX), yield and fruit quality responses under salinity.A two-year research (2010 and 2011) was carried out in Basilicata region, southernItaly, on cv Coronel to compare two soil salinity levels - 1.0 (S0) and 5.4 dS m-1 (S1)- and two fungicide treatments - application of fungicides without strobilurins (F0);application of a strobilurin based fungicide (Cabrio® Duo) (F1). The treatments werearranged in a split plot design with seven replicates.On overall, when plants are treated with Pyraclostrobin, a considerable increase inPOD, APX and CAT activity occurred, whereas no significant changes were observedin SOD. Different extent of changes in enzyme activity was observed in the two partsof the plant: POD increased only in roots, APX in roots as well as in leaves, and CATonly in leaves. In some sampling date, the increase in antioxidant enzyme activitieswas higher in saline stressed plants.The amount of chlorophyll, measured in SPAD units, did not differed between salinitylevels, instead, F1 showed the increase of about 6%. Gas exchanges were influencedby salinity level and fungicide treatments. In particular, S1 has shown values of net assimilation (A), transpiration (T) and stomatal conductance (gs) respectively of about 17, 26 and 22% lower than S0, while the water use efficiency (WUE) was not influenced. Pyraclostrobin reduced A and T by about 8%, and gs by about 17%.Salinity reduced fruit mean weight by 19%, total and marketable yield by 25 and 21%, respectively, and increased fruit blossom-end rot (BER) by 57%. Among the qualitative parameters, salinity caused the increase of total soluble solids (TSS) and dry mat

Efficient utilization of saline land for food cultivation can increase agricultural productivity and rural income. To obtain information on the salt tolerance/susceptibility of wild chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), the influence of salinity (0-260 mM NaCl) on chicory seed germination and that of two salinity levels of irrigation water (100 and 200 mM NaCl) on plant growth, antioxidative enzyme activity, and accumulation of proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) were investigated. The trials were performed outdoors, in pots placed under a protective glass covering, for two consecutive years. Seeds showed a high capacity to germinate in saline conditions. The use of 100 mM NaCl solution resulted in 81 % germination, whereas seed germinability decreased below 40 % using salt concentrations above 200 mM NaCl. Wild chicory showed tolerance to medium salinity (100 mM NaCl), whereas a drastic reduction in biomass was observed when 200 mM NaCl solution was used for irrigation. MDA, present in higher amounts in leaves than in roots, decreased in both tissues under increasing salinity. Proline content increased remarkably with the level of salt stress, more so in roots than in leaves. In salt stress conditions, the activity of antioxidant enzymes (APX, CAT, POD, SOD) was enhanced. The electrophoretic patterns of the studied enzymes showed that the salinity of irrigation water affected only the intensity of bands, but did not activate new isoforms. Our results suggest that wild chicory is able to grow in soil with moderate salinity by activating antioxidative responses both in roots and leaves.

In view of increasing water demand by other sectors, and expected reduction ofwater availability in the future, it is necessary to adopt water management strategieswhich aim at water saving while maintaining satisfactory levels of production. One ofthese strategies is to improve water use efficiency through the application of deficitirrigation (DI) which deliberately sustains some degree of water deficit and yieldreduction. The expectation of these strategies is that any yield reduction will be notsignificant as compared with the benefits gained from water saving.Partial root-zone deficit irrigation (PRD) is a DI technique to save irrigation waterwithout much yield reduction. In fact, several authors report that when only part ofthe root system undergoes water-stress, abscissic acid (ABA) may be produced.This is transported through the xylem towards the leaves and reduces stomatalopening. On the contrary, poor root function reduces the production of cytokininswhich are responsible for stomatal opening. These two aspects may combine toreduce stomatal opening and, consequently, gaseous exchange between the leavesand the surrounding environment.This study focused on the effect of DI via PRD on gas exchange, assimilateddistribution, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE), to acquire useful information forthe possible application of this technique on eggplant crop.Research has been carried out in southern Italy to study the split-root water stresseffect on some physiological and morphological parameters of eggplant (Solanummelongena L. cv Tania). Plants were grown in pots and the root system was dividedinto two equal halves by a plastic wall. The pots were put in open air and the soilsurface was covered by a waterproof film to protect the soil from rain water. Thefollowing treatments were compared: 1) the entire rhizosphere (both halves) wellwatered during the whole vegetative cycle (WW); 2) half a rhizosphere well wateredand the other half water stressed after the beginning of blooming until the end ofthe vegetative cycle (WS1); 3) half a rhizosphere well watered and the other halfwater stressed, 30 days later in respect to treatment WS1, and until the end of thevegetative cycle (WS2). It was adopted a randomized blocks layout with 5 replicates.The results showed that stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration and assimilationrate (A) decreased at beginning of partial root water shortage cycle, but after thefirst days of plant adaptation to the new situation, was observed a recovery in this parameters, mainly in A. The reduction of gs is likely to depend not only by the low water potential in the xylem but also by ABA and cytokinins produced by the stressed root system. The shoot/root ratio decreased in PRD plants, mainly in WS1. In PRD plants was observed a reduction in yield, by around 13 (WS1) and 9% (WS2) but, because of lower evapotranspiration experienced by these plants, the WUE increa

Biostimulants can have physiological effects on plants that improve yield,quality, and nutrients use efficiency. The mechanisms activated by these compoundsare unknown and are difficult to identify, because the most part of these substances iscomposed mainly by plant extracts, algae extracts, amino acids, vitamins and mineralnutrients. Therefore, their effect is the result of many components that may worksynergistically. In the recent years, the biostimulants are gaining importance for theirpossible use in organic and sustainable agriculture. The results of a study conductedto assess the interactive effects of irrigation regime, leaf application of a biostimulantbased on brown seaweed extract and nitrogen rate on leaf net photosynthesis (A),transpiration (T), stomatal conductance (gs), internal CO2 concentration (Ci) andintrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi), are reported. The research was carried outduring November-February 2016-2017, under greenhouse located in southern Italy.Two irrigation regimes (restoration of 100 and 50% of crop evapotranspiration,respectively named I100 and I50), two leaf biostimulant application (Bioproject SM23-BioKimia® International S.r.l., and a control without biostimulant, respectively namedB and C) and three nitrogen rates (0, 75 and 150 kg ha-1 N, respectively named N0, N1and N2) on wild rocket [Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC.] grown in pots, were compared. Asplit plot experimental design with three reps was utilized. All treatments affected gasexchange parameters. I50 in respect to I100 reduced A, T and gs, but improved WUEi, andthe differences were raised with increasing soil water content gap betweentreatments. N rate increase improved A but, in condition of high water stress, thehigher N rate was detrimental. Biostimulant improved A by 8.9% and WUEi by 7.5%,and the positive effect was greater in water shortage conditions. Positive effects ofBioproject SM23® on A and WUEi suggest its use to improve the performances of wildrocket and mitigate harmful effects of water stress.

Environmental stress, as high air temperature and low relative humidity, increases the evaporative demand of the atmosphere, drives the sap flow mainly towards the leaves and causes a calcium deficiency in the artichoke heads that often promotes the formation of atrophic heads. The hypothesis is that conditions leading to a reduction of leaf temperature and transpiration can contribute to reduce the Ca deficiency-related disorders. Therefore, the use of kaolin-based particle film could be an effective tool as antitranspirant, thus mitigating detrimental effect of high evaporative demand that leads to the head atrophy. This study has investigated the effects of kaolin on gas exchange, yield and head atrophy of artichoke 'Violetto di Provenza', during June 2009-May 2010 in field conditions (southern Italy). The following treatments were compared: control without kaolin (C); kaolin sprayed plants starting 60 days (K1) and 67 days (K2) after the awakening. Kaolin, overall, at leaf scale caused the reduction, respectively by 10.3 and 23.8% in assimilation rate and transpiration, which led to 17.9% increase in photosynthetic water use efficiency. The production of marketable heads and atrophic heads not changed with kaolin application. The atrophic heads, all produced in the first three harvests, were 1,635 and 1,346 ha-1, respectively in C and K treatments, corresponding to 51.0 and 44.1% of total yield obtained in the same harvests. This does not exclude that kaolin can reduce heads atrophy, since the excessive earliness in artichoke awakening (mid-June), might have placed the crop in extreme climatic conditions, not sufficiently 'mitigated' from kaolin. Less extreme climatic conditions, which normally occur by awakening the artichoke later, could instead be mitigated by kaolin. Therefore, it would be useful to repeat the trial by scheduling artichoke awakening in different periods

Irrigated agriculture is dependent on adequate water supply and its quality. Waterused for irrigation can vary greatly in quality, depending upon type and quantity ofdissolved salts. They originate from dissolution or weathering of the rocks and soils,and by intrusion of seawater into the river and underground water resources. Theproblem of saltwater intrusion due to groundwater over-exploitation is one of themajor threats in the coastal areas of Italy, as occurs in Apulia region, where thechronic water shortage forces farmers to use saline irrigation water.Salinity is detrimental for many crops because of its negative effects on the physiologyand production. The salinity tolerance, as well as the genotype, is influenced byseveral agronomic and environmental parameters as air temperature and relativehumidity (RH). Thus, conditions leading to a reduction of transpiration, as lowertemperature and higher RH, can contribute to greater tolerance to salinity. Thus,the techniques that reduce the transpiration rate and heat stress of the crops couldhave a positive effect on salinity tolerance. Among those there is the kaolin-basedparticle film technology (Pft) that employs a multi-functional, environmentally friendlymaterial effective in pest control, mitigation of heat stress, and to produce fruit andvegetables of good quality. The presence of mineral particles over leaves and fruitsurfaces interferes with physiological processes, mainly with heat and radiationbalance and gas exchange.Therefore, it was hypothesized that the Pft could contribute to increasing the salttolerance. In consideration that the tomato, species moderately sensitive to salinity,is a major vegetable crops present in the areas of Apulia at risk of salinity, to verifythe hypotheses, was investigated the effects of Pft on yield and quality, and wateruse efficiency of field grown tomato.The research was carried out in three years on tomato for processing, irrigated withbrackish water, in Southern Italy. Treatments were i) three salinity levels of irrigationwater (Electrical Conductivity of water = 0.5, 5, and 10 dS m-1), ii) tomato plantstreated or not with kaolin, and iii) two cultivars in each year, arranged in a split plotdesign with three replications.The salinity increase caused the reduction in yield mainly for declining fruit weight,but the fruit quality was better in terms of dry matter content and total soluble solids. In addition, salinity increased the blossom-end rot mainly on cultivar with elongated fruits.Pft, overall, as average of three years, improved total (12.7%) and marketable yield (17.7%), fruit weight (8.1%) and harvest index (10.3%), and reduced fruit sunburn by 76.4%. In addition, kaolin contributed to the declining in insect attack to the fruit (58.7%), improvement in total solid soluble (6.2%) and redness (10.2% the skin and 16.6% the pulp) of fruits, and increased yield water use efficiency (Y_WUE

The Mediterranean water resources are almost fully exploited in many areas and the impactson water scarcity are projected to multiply under climate change. The most effective mean tosave water appear to be through the adoption of carefully managed irrigation strategies. Plantindicators enable the grower to use the plant directly for clues as to when irrigate. Theseindicators could be obtained through the use of remote sensing that is widely involved innumerous disciplines such as agriculture. Remote sensing is one of the solutions that cansignificantly contribute to providing a timely and accurate imagery of the agricultural sector.The main objective of this study is to compare satellite and ground-based sensing techniquesas tools describing the variations of crop stress related indices under different water regimes(case of durum wheat). The experimental layout was established in Policoro (Matera) locatedin Southern Italy about 3 km far from the Ionian coast. The growing season was fromFebruary to June 2015 with three distinguished water management practices (rain-fed, 50%and 100% of irrigation requirements). The Landsat 8 images and ground-based sensing datawere acquired regularly in April, May and June together with plant physiological parameters.The overall results indicated no significant differences of both biomass and yield among theirrigation regimes. This could be explained by the abundant precipitation (205 mm) whichlimited the needs for irrigation. Correlated to the leaf gas exchange parameters, Water Index(WI), CWSI_Jackson and CWSI_Alves and Pereira performed better than CWSI_Idso. WaterDeficit Index (WDI) was found strongly related to plant water status, than Crop Water StressIndex (CWSI) with average R² of 0.96 in respect to 0.57 (CWSI_Idso). High correlationappear to be evident for satellite and ground-based derived WDI regressions (R²=0.81).Nevertheless, the satellite data could provide reasonable indications about the crop statuswhen other means of measurement are missing.

In the framework of a specific project supported by the EC-ERDF programme in theApulia Region (Italy), a local consortium of private ICT companies and Researchinstitutions is currently developing and testing a Decision Support System called'HydroTech' (HT-DSS), which aims to integrate the latest scientific knowledge on cropwater requirements and irrigation scheduling with the more advanced technologicalsolutions for the continuous sensor-based monitoring in the soil-plant-atmospheresystem, as well as the remote and automated control of irrigation supply networks. The'core' algorithm of Hydrotech-DSS is based on the well-established FAO-56methodology (Allen et al., 1998), further improved in order to allow the application ofdifferent models for ETo estimation, to apply the heat unit concept for the simulation ofcrop development, to customize irrigation strategies options according to a completeset of priorities (including deficit irrigation), and finally to allow the further improvementof the Kc curve according to crop/variety specific biometric and phenologicalmeasurements. An additional 'multi-plot/crop management module' has been createdfor the real-time simulation of the crop water balance, as well as to simulate a 3 to 7-days projected scenario using the high-resolution weather forecasting data, in order toforward a day-by-day irrigation planning. Then, a 'dynamic optimizer' supports theoptimal setting of the irrigation priorities at the farm scale by taking into account wateravailability at the source (e.g. well, reservoir), the level of water stress reached by eachcrop type and the economic parameters including the cost of applied managementpractices and expected market price. At plot scale, the continuous monitoring of soilwater status by capacitance soil water sensors enables the HT-DSS to further supportthe application of 'closed-loop' irrigation control strategies by setting irrigation timingand amount in order to reach a specific soil moisture content and/or to avoid/controlplant water stress. Finally, HT-DSS integrates a set of flexible solutions for partially orcompletely automated irrigation management, by means of real-time and remotemonitoring in the water supply network (volumes, discharges, pressures, etc.) andcontrol of actuators (at the level of pumping station, hydrants, electro-valves, etc.) tosupport farm operational management, as described in the companion paper (Riezzo etal.,2013; this issue).The preliminary results of the DSS implementation are presented inrelation to the on-going experimental and demonstration activities established indifferent local farms, and an example of application for a peach orchard is brieflyintroduced.

Hydro-Tech is a new automatized decision support system which integrates the results of scientific achievements and technological innovations in the fields of crop water requirements and irrigation scheduling, on-field data acquisition, transmission and management, and application of web and app tools for real-time irrigation management. The system combines agronomic, engineering, environmental and economic aspects of water management, aims to improve the eco-efficiency of agricultural water use and may be applied at both farm and irrigation district scale using the advanced technological solutions for the continuous sensor-based monitoring of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and the remote control of irrigation supply networks. Hydro-Tech is based on the standard FAO-56 approach for the estimation of reference evapotranspiration using the Penman-Monteith equation and determination of crop water requirements and irrigation inputs under different water management strategies. The system has a modular and flexible structure which permits the creation of the user specific scenarios based on the real on-farm conditions and constraints. As such, the system allows the estimation of reference and crop evapotranspiration under limited data availability and employs the latest scientific achievements to recover the missing data and to develop the crop coefficient curves according to the specific crop species, biométrie and phenological characteristics. The crop development is modeled by means of both calendar-day and heat-unit concepts. The real-time soil water balance is based on a simply cascading approach, runs on a daily basis and includes the high-resolution weather forecasting data which permits the pro-active irrigation management considering three to seven forthcoming days. A dynamic multi-crop/multi-plot/farm optimizer supports the user-defined setting of constraints and irrigation priorities at the farm scale by taking into account the water availability at its quality, the soil water moisture level and eventual crop water stress, and the economic parameters. Hydro-Tech provides standard interfaces connecting the on-field devices with the client software application through a Data Cloud Network (Hydrotech Data Cloud, HDC) which permits wireless, via new generation of smart devices (tablets, smartphones), and continuous monitoring of the on-field conditions and the remote control and management of irrigation. Hydro-Tech was developed within the framework of the EC-ERDF program and it is actually operated in the Apulia Region (Italy) at different farms for the irrigation management of peach and olive orchards, wine and table grapes, and vegetables. Several examples of application showing the enhancement of eco-efficiency of local agricultural systems are briefly described.

In the framework of the HydroTech project (supported by Apulia region and the ECERDFprogramme), local private ICT companies in collaboration with researchinstitutions are developing and testing at farm scale an integrated Decision SupportSystem (DSS) for irrigation management, through the integration of advanced softwareand hardware technologies. Hydrotech-DSS provides standard interfaces, whichconnect on-field devices with client software application through a Data Cloud Network(Hydrotech Data Cloud, HDC). The HDC is composed of: 1) Knowledge Data Base, aDB for large amount of data coming from heterogeneous but strongly correlatedsources; 2) a 'gateway' based on web services technology, to connect external (onfield)devices together with an open standard communication protocol; 3) a set ofsoftware components constituting the APP Data Chain from source to destinationpassing by elaboration steps(Data Assimilation, Model Engine, Decision Maker). TheDecision Maker module supports two types of decision system: the MSS (ManagementSupport System) enables the end-user to manage the work flow of his farm, whereasthe DSS (Decision Support System) supports him during irrigation/fertigationmanagement activities (e.g. timing and amount of irrigation according to weatherforecast, crop water stress, irrigation system constraints, etc.). The system allows fastand simply information transfer directly to the field through an easy interface accessiblewith new smart devices (tablet, smartphone, etc.). The user interface allows: 1) toreceive aid for the decision (irrigation and fert-irrigation advice) directly on the fieldwithin its validity time window by means of "push-pull" technology; 2) to interact with theHDC to send the feedback (e.g. treatment registration), characterize the individual farmand adjust the system parameters; 3) to use different type of software client application,such as classic client-server for professional use on rugged tablet and computers, orsmart/user friendly for mobile device and web based; 4) to work off-line and tosynchronize the database when data connection will be available; 5) to enable users forthe automation and remote control of irrigation system equipment (e.g. hydrants,electric valves). With respect to the design and development of the hardwareinfrastructure, the 'field unit' is composed by sensor devices (EAP, end-acquisitionpoint),actuator devices and the so-called 'coordinator' which is aware of the wholeconfiguration and logics to be respected. Each sensor/actuator must be placed in themost favourable site, and each EAP is equipped with Li-Ion rechargeable battery and asolar panel in order to have the highest installation facility. Acquired data can betransferred to the 'coordinator' by means of different technologies (LAN, 3G, GPRS,ZigBee, WiFI, Bluetooth, etc.). The coordinator is a gateway provided with moderatecomputation and storage capabilities ab

In Italy, the cultivation of wild rocket is still rising due to the increase of the market of minimally processedvegetables that requires innovative and high quality products. The present study focused on the interactive effectof irrigation regimes (IR) and nitrogen (N) supply on yield, water use efficiency (WUE), nitrogen use efficiency(NUE), morphological and quality parameters of wild rocket. The research was carried out on four crop cyclesduring autumn-spring season in Basilicata region, Southern Italy, on wild rocket grown in a plastic greenhouse.Four IR (corresponding to 75, 100, 125 and 150% of crop evapotranspiration, and labelled respectively as I75,I100, I125 and I150) and two N levels (60 and 120 kg ha-1), were compared. The irrigation and N levels affectedproduction traits of wild rocket. The highest yield was obtained by I100, while 8% and 6% decrease in yield wasobserved with I75 and I150, respectively. The greater yield was obtained with the higher N rate, to which contributedfirstly the leaf number and secondly the leaf size. However, the higher N dose provided higher leafnitrate content. Moreover, in conditions of greater water stress occurring in the last two crop cycles of I75, higherN rate adversely affected yield. Lower water and N supply improved phenols, carotenoids and antioxidant activityin rocket leaves. Both yield and biomass WUE increased in water shortage conditions (I75) at 1st crop cycle.Thereafter, both parameters tended to decrease because of the increase of water shortage, indicating that biomassand marketable yield losses were proportionally greater than the amount of water used by crops. Higher Nrate improved WUE, but reduced NUE. The latter parameter was higher in water shortage conditions. Thus,adequate water and N supply are critical factors to ensure economically sustainable production levels and highquality features of wild rocket.

The present study addresses the eco-efficiency (environmental and economic trade-offs) of durum wheat cultivation practices adopted at field level under typical Mediterranean conditions of Southern Italy. This study is based on three years of experimental data of durum wheat cultivation under three water supply regimes (full irrigation, 50% of full irrigation and rainfed) coupled with two nitrogen (N) fertilizer levels (high N, HN: 120 kg/ha, and low N, LN: not fertilized). The environmental impact assessment was based on a novel life cycle impact assessment method which quantifies seventeen midpoints (problems-oriented) and three endpoints (damage-oriented) indicators using ReCiPe 2016 model. The economic performance was evaluated using the total value added to the system's final products due to water and N use and applied management practices. Eco-efficiency was assessed as a ratio of the total value added to the environmental impact categories. The water consumption impacts were estimated in addition to the typical environmental impact categories. The high input (irrigation and fertilization) intensity systems resulted in higher agricultural production, however, produced greater impacts on water consumption, global warming, and energy-related indicators. In turn, these impact categories generated the damages to human health, ecosystem quality, and resource scarcity. The analysis demonstrated that eco-efficiency cannot be always compensated by higher yield and corresponding economic total value added. The eco-efficiency assessment indicated that agronomic practices with the low use of resources (e.g., deficit irrigation with low N) tend to have higher eco-efficiency than more intensive cultivation strategies. Hence, the sustainable crop production strategies should evolve towards the adoption of precision agriculture and optimization of water and fertilization inputs (in space, timing, and quantities) that can improve yield response to resources, environmental and economic performance. In this sense, life cycle thinking and assessment considering multiple impact categories are essential to support decision making processes towards sustainability. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Many irrigated areas of the Mediterranean such as Apulia region have problemsof high salinity of the irrigation water with a negative impact on soil fertility and onproduction. To limit these effects is necessary to minimize the supply of salt andpromote leaching, using an adequate irrigation management, which may varyaccording to climatic conditions, soil type and crop management.Yield results related to a two years trial of a grain maize crop, irrigated with furrowmethod and included in a four-year rotation (maize, sunflower, maize, wheat), arereported. This activity was carried out in Apulia, on a shallow red soil, resting onfissured calcareous rock, as part of multi-year research, with the aim to evaluate theinfluence of water quality and irrigation regime on the production of some crops andthe possibility that the rain water could leach solutes brought with irrigation water.Ten treatments, resulting from the factorial combination of two types of water (freshwater with electrical conductivity-ECw- of 1.2 dS m-1 and brackish water with ECwof 5 dS m-1) have been compared, with the following seasonal irrigation regimes:i) 75% of the maximum crop evapotranspiration (ETc); ii) 100% of ETc; iii) 100%of ETc, plus 50% of the needs of leaching (LR), calculated as: LR = ECw / (5 ECe- ECw), where ECw = electrical conductivity of irrigation water (dS m-1); ECe =electrical conductivity of the saturated extract of the soil; iv) 100% of ETc, plus 100%of LR, calculated as previously indicated; v) 100% of ETc until flowering, and 75% ofETc until the end of the crop cycle.It was adopted a split plot experimental design with four replications. Irrigation wasperformed when in the treatment irrigated at 100% of ETc, the matric potential of thewater in the layer of soil explored by the roots was equal to 0.1 MPa, providing theirrigation volume necessary to bring the matric potential to -0.03 MPa. In the firstyear there was no difference of corn production attributable to the water quality; inthe second year, however, due to the accumulation of solutes in the soil for threeconsecutive seasons, the yield of grain obtained in the plots irrigated with brackishwater, compared to those obtained in the plots irrigated with fresh water, have beenreduced by 33.3 % (6.8 vs 10.2 t ha-1). Moving from the lower irrigation volume, tothe most abundant (seasonal volume of irrigation sufficient to satisfy, respectively,75% and 100% of ETc, plus 100% of LR), as average of the two years, the yield ofgrain increased from 7.4 to 9.1 t ha-1.

Irrigation is a crucial practice that operators often perform empirically, relying on their own experience, especially in productive areas characterized by low technology agriculture (i.e. several parts of Mediterranean countries). One of the possible approach for proper irrigation scheduling is measuring the soil water potential, simple and easy to manage. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of two different irrigation regimes (obtained by the use of tensiometer connected to a relay controller) on yield, fruit quality and water consumption of greenhouse tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. 'Naxos') and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. 'Sarig' in the first cropping cycle, and 'Mezzo lungo di Polignano', a local landarace, in the second one) grown on a silty-clay soil in Mediterranean conditions. For each species, two tests (August-February and February-July cycle) were carried out in a plastic greenhouse-tunnel. Drip irrigation was adopted, with automated schedule based on tensiometer readings. Two water potential irrigation set-points were compared: -100 and -400 hPa for tomato and -100 and -300 hPa for cucumber, in both cycles. Yield (marketable and unmarketable) and quality traits of fruits (soluble solids, dry matter and titratable acidity) were determined. Water consumption was calculated at the end of each crop cycle. In the first cycle, the two water regimes did not affect the yield of tomato and cucumber. The cucumber irrigated at the lowest soil water potential set-point produced fruits with 8% higher dry matter. In the second cycle, the tomato irrigated at the potential of -400 hPa showed a 40% lower yield (mainly due to the lower fruit size) compared to that of plants irrigated at -100 hPa. The fruits of tomato plants irrigated at -400 hPa, however, showed total soluble solids, dry matter and titratable acidity respectively 41, 45 and 59% higher than -100 hPa. On average, in both crop cycles, a water saving of 35% and 46% on average for tomato and cucumber, respectively, was obtained using the lowest potential as irrigation set-point.Proper use of tensiometer could allow a better use of water resource. Selection of proper water potential set-points according to the cultivation season is crucial for satisfactory results. The positive effects of a controlled and moderate water stress on fruit quality should be taken into account.

Le prove svolte in pien'aria e in vasi in serra su pomodoro hanno permesso di evidenziare come l'impiego di fungicidi a base di strobilurine, oltre alla loro principale funzione, possa migliorare lo stato idrico della pianta, in particolare in condizioni di stress idrico. Inoltre il loro utilizzo ha determinato un aumento dell'efficienzad'uso dell'acqua e della produzione totale e commerciabile.

Wheat is among the crops that are affected by increasing drought and water scarcity,and deficit irrigation (DI) is considered to be an effective strategy to stabilize yieldsunder limited water availability. To support on-farm DI management, methods based onsoil water balance and canopy temperature measurements have been suggested to bereliable for field application. A preliminary experiment was set at CIHEAM-IAMB toevaluate the effect of different water regimes on two durum wheat varieties. In ourexperiment, under full irrigation (FI) the crop was kept quite constantly under unstressedconditions, while under DI (supported with 50% of corresponding FI supplies)and rainfed regimes, moderate water stress started respectively during the 'early grainfilling' and the 'booting to heading' stages, subsequently increasing until the end of thecropping season. Grain yield reached 4.4 t/ha under FI, while it was reduced by only14% in the case of DI treatment (3.8 t/ha) but with a corresponding potential watersaving of about 44% (from 281 mm to 159 mm of total irrigation supplies). On the otherside, DI increased yield of about 43% with respect to rainfed production (2.6 t/ha). The'biomass water use efficiency' (WUEb) decreased moving from rainfed (3.51) to FItreatment (2.42), and similarly the 'yield water use efficiency' (WUEy) increased movingfrom FI (1.19) to DI (1.32) and to rainfed treatment (1.47). Midday canopy temperature(Tc) was remotely measured at plot scale by means of a thermal camera and thecorresponding 'empirical' CWSI was computed. The CWSI followed the same dailytrend for the two varieties and it appeared to be a good indicator of plant water stressas it was ranging between 0-0.1 under non-stressed conditions, while it increasedsteadily after the imposition of water stress, first for rainfed (at booting stage) and afterfor DI (at early filling stage), reaching values of 0.7-0.9 at the end of the season. Acomparison of the 'measured' CWSI with the 'simulated' Ks has been done under thedifferent water regimes, and the modification of some selected crop parametersresulted in the improvement of model simulations.

This work aims at improving the estimation of artichoke evapotranspiration inMediterranean climates through the modelling of crop coefficients (Kc) and duration ofphenological phases of a seed propagated artichoke. A two years trial was carried outat the experimental station "E. Pantanelli" of University Aldo Moro (Bari), located in thecountryside of Policoro (MT), southern Italy.The seed propagated artichoke cv. 044 was grown in two weighing lysimeters placed ina large field and watered regularly. The irrigation was applied when 40% of totalavailable water in the soil layer occupied by roots was consumed which correspondedto the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) between 25 and 40 mm. Irrigation was applied insuch a way to replenished completely the depletion of water in the root zone. Thereference evapotranspiration (ETo) was computed daily, by using Penman-Monteithequation from the weather data collected at the agro-meteorological station near theexperimental field. The growing season started in mid of July and ended in the secondpart of May.The artichoke crop cycle was 310 and 313 days in the 1st and 2nd year, respectively.Average seasonal ETc measured at two lysimeters was slightly higher in the 1st year(967 mm) than in the 2nd one (911 mm). Water use obtained in this trial was 85%higher than usually reported in the literature for vegetatively propagated crops in thesame area and with similar crop length. Most likely this was due to taller crops (1.7 inrespect to 0.8 m) and higher biomass production in seed propagated crop.Crop coefficients (Kc), calculated daily as the ratio between ETc and ETo, revealed thatfive phenological stages could be considered in ETc estimate: i) the seedlingestablishment of about 30 days; ii) the initial development phase of approximately 60days; iii) winter vegetative stagnation of approximately 90 days; iv) spring recovery ofabout 90 days, and v) full development stage of about 45 days. The Kc values duringthe seedling establishment were between 0.3 and 0.4 and increased up to 0.8-0.9 atthe end of initial development period. The Kc values were reduced gradually to 0.4 atthe end of winter vegetative stagnation and then increased up to 1.1 during the fulldevelopment period.The presented results differ from those available in the literature since they refer to aseed propagated artichoke which is taller and more vigorous than vegetativelypropagated crop. In the last years, the former crop tends to substitute the later one inmany Mediterranean areas and a proper crop evapotranspiration estimate and irrigationmanagement are of crucial importance for a more efficient water use in the region.Further efforts could focus on the introduction of the growing degree days concept andsubstitution of sum of days with thermal sums as well as on the link between Kc andleaf area index (LAI).

Kaolin-based particle film technology (Pft) employs a multi-functional,environmentally friendly material that provides effective insect control, mitigates heatstress, and contributes to production of high-quality fruit and vegetables. Thesecharacteristics make kaolin suitable also for organic farming, especially in arid andsemi-arid environments.The presence of mineral particles on leaves and fruit surfaces interferes withphysiological processes, mainly with heat and radiation balance and gas exchange.Several experimental findings show that the Pft, as well to limit the damage from someinsects, changes the radiative and thermal regime of the different organs of the plantthat may result in a significant reduction in stress from high temperatures, mainlysunburn, as widely proven on apple, pear, pomegranate and tomato.The Institute of Sciences of Food Production, CNR, for several years is carrying outresearch to test the effects of kaolin on the control of the heat stress and some insectsof fruit trees and vegetables. In addition, is evaluating the effects on gas exchange,water and salt stress. In the latter area, was assessed the gas exchange,evapotranspiration and water use efficiency (WUE) of tomato, orange and bean. Inaddition, we studied the effects on transplanting stress of seedling of tomato, pepper,eggplant and zucchini. In this paper we report some significant results that highlight thepositive effect of kaolin on the reduction of evapotranspiration, water use, water andsaline stress, and improvement of WUE.The water and salinity stress has caused the reduction of the leaf water potential,stomatal conductance, leaf net photosynthesis and transpiration and the increase ofleaf and canopy temperature of tomato plants. The kaolin has resulted in animprovement of the water status of the plant, the reduction in stomatal conductance,net photosynthesis and transpiration under well watered or low salinity conditions.Instead, under drought or salt stress, the kaolin was effective to limiting the reductionsin net photosynthesis and to reduce leaf and canopy temperature, resulting respectivelyin a 15 and 20% in WUE increase. The leaf and canopy temperature was slightlyaffected by kaolin, in different ways in different water/salt stress treatments. Inparticular, while in non stressed plant it was 0.2-0.8 °C higher in the kaolin-treatedplants, the situation was reversed in stressed plants. In fact, in the latter situation, thekaolin has determined 0.2-1.5 °C reduction in canopy temperature, especially at noontime. The variations of the canopy temperature show that the kaolin influences thethermal balance of vegetation mainly for the dual effect of reflection of the incomingradiation and partial occlusion of the stomata.Kaolin has reduced by 13% the crop evapotranspiration of bean and has resulted in a6% increase in the yield-WUE. In well watered orange tree kaolin led to a reduction

Nowadays, the remotely provided information is urgently needed for variousdecision makers and remote sensing is widely used for different purposes. An evaluation andstandardization of the remote sensing techniques is becoming a necessity after the increase ofthe sensors number and way of data acquisition. The use of remotely sensed information is ofcrucial importance for agricultural sector as the monitoring of agricultural activities facesspecial problems related to the spatial and temporal variability, physical landscape, as wellas climatic driving variables and agricultural management practices. Requests for objectiveinformation will increase in the future, because of the expected modernization of agriculturalsector and needs for a more efficient use of resources. This research aims to provide acomparison of two remote sensing techniques (satellite and ground-based) as tools describingthe variations of crop stress related indices under different water regimes (case of durumwheat). The experimental layout was established in Policoro (Matera) located in SouthernItaly about 3 km far from the Ionian coast. The growing season was from February to June2015 with three distinguished water management practices (rain-fed, 50% and 100% ofirrigation requirements). The Landsat 8 images and ground-based sensing data wereacquired regularly in April, May and June together with plant physiological parameters.The overall results indicated no significant differences in terms of both biomass and yieldamong the irrigation regimes because of the abundant precipitation (355 mm) which limitedthe irrigation supply. Moderate correlations appear to be evident for satellite and groundbasedderived LAI, NDVI and SAVI regressions, with R² values close or higher than 0.5. Thebest performance was obtained for the WDI with (R²=0.81). Nevertheless, the satellite datacould provide reasonable indications about the crop status if applied with higher resolution.

Water management is a strategic activity for farmers who have to find the optimal trade off between water saving and highquality production, especially during summer, when crop water requirements increase. Hydrotech project aims to supportfarmers to define and apply a sustainable and effective irrigation strategy based on real crop water requirements and waterresource availability. Hydrotech was carried out by a local consortium of private ICT SME (Sysman Progetti & Servizi) andResearch institutions (CIHEAM-IAMB, CNR-ISPA) in order to develop an ICT solution focused on precision farming andirrigation support. The Hydrotech-system performances were presented in collaboration with ASSOCODIPUGLIA in theframework of the Interreg IRMA project. Test results on peach crops have shown a potential water saving of 15% with aresulting reduction of water losses due to deep percolation and a correspondent increase in the water use efficiency.

In molte aree dell'Italia meridionale in cui è diffusa la coltivazione del carciofo (Cynara cardunculus [L.] subsp. scolymus Hayek), l'acqua impiegata per l'irrigazione presenta elevata salinità a causa della salinizzazione della falda per intrusione marina. Per limitare i danni da salinità sulle colture è necessario adottare appropriate strategie agronomiche tra cui la scelta dei genotipi più tolleranti. In considerazione del crescente interesse verso nuovi ibridi di carciofo propagati per 'seme', è stata realizzata un'attività di ricerca poliennale per valutarne il grado di tolleranza alla salinità, in confronto con il 'Violetto di Provenza' e il 'Catanese', le cultivar più diffuse in Puglia.Le prove sperimentali sono state realizzate in pien'aria presso il CDS 'E. Pantanelli' dell'Università di Bari Aldo Moro. Sono state valutate nove cultivar ibride (Orlando, Concerto, Tempo, Madrigal, Symphony, Opal, A106, Lorca, Violin), di cui sono state determinate le principali caratteristiche dei capolini (numero e peso, numero di capolini atrofici, sostanza secca). I genotipi più produttivi nel controllo non salino sono risultati 'Tempo', 'Concerto', 'A106' e 'Madrigal' (in media 2670 g pianta-1), i meno produttivi 'Catanese', 'Violin' e 'Lorca' (in media 1652 g pianta-1). In generale, la produzione di capolini si è ridotta progressivamente con l'aumento della salinità, in misura diversa in relazione alle cultivar, mentre la sostanza secca è aumentata con l'aumento della salinità. La riduzione di produzione si è manifestata principalmente per la diminuzione del peso medio dei capolini e, in secondo luogo, del loro numero. L'applicazione del modello di tolleranza alla salinità di Maas e Hoffman (1977) ha messo in evidenza la notevole variabilità tra le cultivar dei parametri caratteristici del modello che ne sintetizzano il grado di tolleranza: il livello di salinità oltre il quale comincia a manifestarsi una riduzione produttiva (soglia critica), la riduzione di produzione per ogni incremento unitario della ECe (pendenza), e il valore di ECe in corrispondenza del quale la produzione si dimezza (ECe50). I genotipi esaminati si suddividono in due gruppi in termini di soglia di tolleranza. Il primo gruppo ('Symphony', 'Tempo', 'A106', 'Opal' e 'Orlando') presenta un valore medio di 2,0 dS m-1, mentre il secondo 3,9 dS m-1. Combinando i valori di soglia con quelli relativi alla pendenza, molto variabile tra i genotipi, si ottengono valori di EC50 compresi tra 8,4 di 'Symphony', il genotipo meno tollerante la salinità, e 17,2 dS m-1 di 'Concerto', il genotipo più tollerante. Le informazioni ottenute possono essere utili agli agricoltori nella scelta dei genotipi di carciofo da coltivare in presenza di salinità. In particolare, la scelta deve essere orientata verso i genotipi con elevata soglia per valori di salinità moderati; in presenza di salinità elevata, invece, ci si dovrebbe orientare verso i genotipi con i più alti valori di ECe50.

Nowadays, the remote sensing technologies have been widely studied by manyresearch programs. An evaluation and standardization of the available sensors isbecoming a necessity after the increase of the sensors number and way of dataacquisition for agricultural purposes. The aim of this study was to compare two remotesensing techniques (satellite and ground-based) as tools describing the variations ofphysiological and biometric parameters of durum wheat grown under different waterregimes. The experimental layout was established in Policoro (Matera) located inSouthern Italy about 3 km far from the Ionian coast. The growing season was fromFebruary to June with three distinguished water management practices (rainfed,50% and 100% of irrigation requirements). The Landsat 8 images and radiometricground-based data were acquired regularly in April, May and June together withplant biometric and physiological parameters. The overall results indicated nosignificant difference of biomass and yield for different irrigation regimes. This couldbe explained by large precipitation amount (205 mm) regularly distributed duringthe season which limited the needs for irrigation (105 and 52.5 mm for 100% and50% irrigation, respectively). Soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) showed slightlybetter performance than normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) when plottedagainst the leaf area index (LAI). The regression coefficient of such relationshipwas greater if based on the ground than on the satellite data. Therefore, it couldbe concluded that in site vegetation indices describe the LAI with higher fidelitythan those from the satellite system. Nevertheless, the satellite data could providereasonable indications about the crop growth when other means of measurementare missing.

Dielectric moisture sensors are particularly suitable for irrigation management in greenhouse soilless production. Identifying the practical effects of substrate water content set-points on crop performance is crucial for successful sensor-based irrigation. We designed and constructed a prototype cloud-connected system for wireless, sensor based irrigation management, and tested it on basil, grown in a perlite-coco (1:1 v:v) soilless substrate under greenhouse conditions. Dielectric moisture/salinity sensors (GS3, Decagon Devices, Pullman - WA, USA) were used. The study, with two subsequent experiments, assessed i) the effects of a progressive decline in substrate water availability, corresponding to moisture levels from water holding capacity to 0.10 m(3) m(-3), on the gas exchange parameters and leaf water status of basil plants; ii) the short-term recovery response of plants when re watered after substrate water content has decreased to different levels; iii) the effects of different irrigation set points (0.40, 0.30 and 0.20 m(3) m(-3)) and leaching rates (approximate to 8% or approximate to 18%) on the basil crop performance over a complete growing cycle. No physiological stress responses were observed on basil plants when moisture level was higher than approximately 0.20 m(3) m(-3), while plants showed drought symptoms at approximately 0.17 m(3) m(-3), corresponding to a substrate matric potential and hydraulic conductivity of -300 hPa and 0.0005 cm day(-1), respectively. Photosynthesis and leaf water potential recovered to values similar to non-stress conditions following a short drought (with moisture level as low as 0.10 m(3) m(-3)). Basil growth was similar when plants were grown with irrigation set-points of 0.40, 0.30 or 0.20 m(3) m(-3) for the complete growing cycle. Fresh weight tended to increase when a higher leaching rate was used, probably because leaching lowered substrate EC. Water use efficiency (basil fresh weight/unit water used) was similar at different irrigation set points and leaching rates. Our results indicate that the use of a wireless sensor network for real-time sensing of substrate water status, combined with precise information on the effects of water availability levels on plants, is an effective tool for precision irrigation management of greenhouse soilless basil.

In molte aree litoranee dell'Italia meridionale è presente il problema della elevata salinità dell'acqua di falda, il cui utilizzo per l'irrigazione determina la salinizzazione dei terreni, con effetti negativi sulle produzioni. Per limitare il rischio dei danni da salinità sulle colture è necessario adottare strategie agronomiche appropriate la cui efficacia dipende anche dalla risposta delle diverse specie alla salinità. In letteratura sono noti i parametri di tolleranza alla salinità delle principali specie coltivate, ma sono mancanti per molte specie minori come la ruchetta selvatica, la cui coltivazione nelle aree interessate dalla salinità è in crescita. Pertanto, è stata svolta una ricerca per individuare i parametri di tolleranza alla salinità di due genotipi di ruchetta: Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC e D. muralis (L.) DC.La ricerca è stata eseguita nel periodo primaverile del 2007 e 2008 a Policoro (MT) in tunnel in PVC. La ruchetta è stata seminata in vasi di plastica contenenti 50 dm3 di una miscela (9:1) di terreno limoso argilloso e torba bruna e, dopo l'emergenza, è stato effettuato il diradamento lasciando 5 piante di ruchetta per ogni vaso. Per ogni genotipo sono stati confrontati sei livelli di conducibilità elettrica dell'estratto di pasta satura del terreno (ECe pari a 1 - 2,1 - 3,4 - 5,3 - 8,5 e 12,3 dS m-1), ottenuti miscelando al terreno, prima della semina, quantità opportune di NaCl e CaCl2 1:1. I vasi sono stati disposti secondo il piano sperimentale a split plot con quattro ripetizioni.L'irrigazione è stata eseguita con acqua di falda avente la conducibilità elettrica di 0,5 dS m-1. In ogni anno sono state eseguite 3 raccolte e sono stati rilevati i principali parametri produttivi e biometrici (produzione commerciabile, numero di foglie per pianta, peso medio e contenuto di sostanza secca delle foglie, superficie fogliare.La D. tenuifolia ha fornito la produzione del 47,3% più elevata rispetto alla D. muralis (in media 42,8 contro 29,1 g pianta-1). All'aumentare della salinità è stata registrata una progressiva riduzione della produzione commerciabile e dei parametri biometrici delle foglie, mentre il contenuto di sostanza secca è aumentato. In particolare, tra il livello più basso di salinità a quello più elevato, la produzione è passata da 57,2 e 42,4 g pianta-1 a 17 e 8,8 g pianta-1, rispettivamente per D. tenuifolia e D. muralis. Entrambe i genotipi si collocano tra le specie mediamente sensibili la salinità, secondo il modello di tolleranza alla salinità di Maas e Hoffman (1977). Tuttavia, D. tenuifolia risulta più tollerante della D. muralis, presentando rispettivamente una soglia critica pari a 1,7 e 1,3 dS m-1 e una pendenza pari a 6,4 e 7,2% m dS-1. La riduzione di produzione conseguente all'aumento di salinità si è manifestata per la diminuzione in maggior misura della dimensione delle foglie e, in secondo luogo, del loro numero.

The increasing availability of low-cost and reliable substrate moisture sensors offers interesting perspectives for rational and automatic rrigation management of soilless greenhouse crops and for research on plant water relations. The knowledge of the effects of different substrate volumetric water content (VWC) levels on plant growth is crucial for the determination of proper irrigation set-points. An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of different VWC levels on soilless tomato growth and water relations. Tomato plants were grown in a greenhouse in perlite bags. An automatic irrigation system used substrate moisture sensors to control irrigation solenoid valves, in order to keep growing media at four different VWC levels (0.15, 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 m3?m-3). The system was able to get the substrate VWC at the desired different set-points. Substrate water potential was monitored during the experiment using tensiometers. The four VWC levels resulted, respectively, in a mean substrate water potential of -130, -101, -42 and -34 hPa. Plant growth was similar for plants grown at 0.30 and 0.25 m3?m-3 in terms of leaf area, fresh and dry weight, with higher values than plants grown at 0.20 and 0.15 m3?m-3. Plant water status was affected by the VWC level in the substrate, with higher and similar values of total leaf water potential for plants grown at the two highest VWC levels thanthose grown at lower VWC. The most severe effects of water stress were observed on plants grown at 0.15 m3?m-3 which showed the lowest leaf relative water content (respectively 64.4% vs 84.8% at higher VWC levels) and membrane stability index (respectively 68.6% vs 83.9% at higher VWC levels). The water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity analysis performed on the perlite substrate used in this experiment revealed little or no available water below a VWC of about 0.15 m3?m-3. However, plants grown at 0.15 m3?m-3, were able to uptake water from the growing media and thus to survive, although showing reduced growth and symptoms of water stress. Results seem to confirm that soilless growing media generally hold easily available water in a matric potential range from 0 to -100 hPa, with the majority of free available water present between matric potentials of 0 to -50 hPa.

In literature, the parameters of salinity tolerance of the main cultivated species are known, but are missingfor many minor species such as wild rocket, whose cultivation in many areas of southern Italy affectedby salinity is growing. Therefore, a research has been carried out i) to evaluate the response to salinityin water use, water use efficiency, yield characteristics and morfological features, and ii) identify thesalinity tolerance parameters of two genotypes of wild rocket: Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC and D. muralis(L.) DC. The study was carried out in the spring of 2007 and 2008 in Policoro (MT), southern Italy, underunheated plastic greenhouse conditions. Wild rocket was sown in plastic pots containing 20 dm3 of soil.For each genotype, six soil salinity levels were compared, obtained by accurately mixing before sowingthe soil with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.5 and 5.5 g dm-3 of NaCl + CaCl2 1:1 (on a weight basis). Irrigation wasperformed with fresh water having electrical conductivity of 0.5 dS m-1. In each year, 3 harvests wereperformed; water use and the main production and plant growth parameters were recorded. D. tenuifoliaprovided a yield 47.3% higher than D. muralis. By rising salinity, progressive decline in marketable yieldand growth of the leaves was recorded, while the dry matter content increased. The increase in salinityhas led to the progressive reduction of water use in both genotypes. From moderate salinity values (about5.5 dS m-1), the reduction in yield water use efficiency as a result of increased salinity has been observed.In addition, salinity reduced specific leaf area and increased leaf succulence. Both genotypes rank amongmoderately salt sensitive species, according to Maas and Hoffman's model (1977). However, D. tenuifolia,with a critical threshold of 1.98 dS m-1 and a slope of 6.61% m dS-1, showed a slightly higher tolerancethan D. muralis (threshold 1.34 dS m-1 and slope 7.25% m dS-1). Reduction in yield due to salinity occurredmainly for the decrease in leaf size and, secondly, number of leaves.

A ratio of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) to reference evapotranspiration (ETo)determines a crop coefficient (Kc) value, which is related to vegetation growth andspecific crop phenological development. The determination of Kc is important forpredicting crop irrigation needs using meteorological data from weather stations. Theobjective of the research was to determine growth-stage-specific Kc and crop water usefor celery and fennel using the experimental data from C.D.S. 'E. Pantanelli' ofUniversity Aldo Moro of Bari, located in the countryside of Policoro (MT), southern Italy.Two weighing lysimeters, consisted of undisturbed 4 m2 area of 1.5 m depth of soilmonoliths, were utilized to measure crop water use. The lysimeters were located in thecenter of a 0.5 ha field of square form. Water use was measured on a daily basis. Inaddition, daily reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was computed by the Penman-Monteith equation, utilizing the weather data collected at the agro-meteorologicalstation near the experimental field. Watering was provided with drip method andscheduled to keep soil water content in the root zone under optimal growing conditions(irrigating at 20% of available water depletion and restoring 100% of the ETc measureddaily by lysimeters). The length of crop cycle was 110 and 117 days for celery, and 93and 135 days for fennel, in the 1st and 2nd year, respectively. For celery, the total ETcamounted to 231.5 and 313.3 mm in the 1st and 2nd year, respectively, and daily Kcranged between 0.4 and 1.4. For two cultivars of fennel, whose growing cycle tookplace at different times of the year (August-November 'Conero', and September-February 'Trevi'), the total ETc was equal to 311.7 mm for 'Conero' and 249.8 mm for'Trevi'. The daily Kc varied between 0.4 and 1.9 for 'Conero' and between 0.5 and 1.7for 'Trevi'. Specific Kc values across the growing season were determined based on theKc curves that represent the distribution of Kc over time throughout the season. Hence,it can be highlighted that the values of Kc corresponding to the three typicalphenological stages (initial, mid-growth, final) of celery were about 10% higher thanthose reported in FAO 56 Irrigation and Drainage Paper.The Kc was modelled as a function of days after planting and growing degree days.The later could be more useful for practical applications since reduces the necessity offrequent field observations of phenological phases. The development of regionallybased and growth-stage specific Kc curves helps in irrigation management andprovides a tool for a better water use in arid and semi-arid areas of the Mediterraneanregion.

Potato grown for early or off-season production plays a crucial role in theeconomy of several areas in the Mediterranean countries. Irrigation is important fordetermining yield and earliness, thus a better investigation of plant response undervarious pedo-climatic conditions can help to improve resource use efficiency andfarmer income. A two-year field research (2009-2010) was carried out in Apuliaregion, southern Italy, on cv Spunta grown under three irrigation regimes: fullirrigation (I100), 50% of full irrigation (I50) and rainfed (I0). Treatments werearranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Plant waterstatus, plant growth and, at harvesting, water use efficiency, yield and qualityparameters were quantified. Water stress significantly affected yield response: asan average of the two years, a marketable yield decrement of 25.9 and 63.6% wasobserved in I50 and rainfed compared with I100 treatment, respectively. On thecontrary, tuber dry matter and specific gravity increased moving from irrigatedtreatments to the rainfed one and varied also as a function of experimental year.The results confirmed that irrigation is required for early potato cultivation becauserainfall is not sufficient to meet crop water needs. In addition, the study indicatedthat the irrigation regime reduced by 50% of crop water requirements was able tofurnish satisfactory yield, with tuber quality characteristics similar or even betterthan those obtained under full irrigation.

This study aims at understanding the best management practices to improve water useefficiency of durum wheat, a strategic crop for the Mediterranean region. A field workwas carried out at the experimental fields of Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari(IAMB) in Valenzano (Southern Italy), to investigate the performances of two cultivars(Vendetta and Pietrafitta) of durum wheat when grown under the combined effects oftwo sowing dates (December and February, reported respectively as winter and springcultivation) and three different water regimes (full irrigation, deficit irrigation with 50% offull irrigation supply, and rainfed). The responses in terms of growth, yield and yieldquality and water use efficiency have been studied.The results demonstrated that both sowing practices gave very good yield, in terms ofquantity and quality, especially when full irrigation was applied. The winter wheatcultivation resulted in greater yield water use efficiency (WUEy) than the spring wheatcultivation. 'Vendetta' was more productive than 'Pietrafitta', the latter was less adaptedto spring cultivation and water stress.Full irrigated wheat provided the highest yield, but lower WUEy in respect to deficiirrigated wheat. Favorable climatic conditions during the winter season supported areasonable level of yield and high WUEy for rainfed crops sown in winter. Springcultivation of wheat requires irrigation. Deficit irrigated wheat had the highest WUEy,showing that the use of non-optimal (supplemental) irrigation is a good strategy toimprove yields of durum wheat in semi-arid areas and save water.

Salinity causes yield reductions if threshold levels are exceeded, while it can cause the deterioration of some qualitative parameters and/or the improvement of others. Two years (2000-2001, 2006-2007) research was carried out to evaluate the effect of water quality on yield and quality of fennel, a vegetable very common in Apulia region. We compared two types of soil and two sodium absorption ratio of irrigation water obtained by dissolving in distilled water NaCl + CaCl2 (1:1) or only NaCl, and four electrical conductivity of water of 0.7 (control), 4, 8 and 12 dS m(-1). The soil type does not show any noticeable effect on the tested parameters. The salt type influenced the plant development and the total soluble solids contained in the bulbs. The plant height, the leaf and the bulb weight were, respectively, 6, 11 and 21% higher in NaCl + CaCl2 treatment as compared to NaCl one. The plant height, the leaf and the bulb weight dropped, respectively, by 33, 49 and 71%, shifting from 0.7 to 12 dS m(-1) salinity treatments. The dry matter content and total soluble solids increased with rising salinity. In fact, shifting from the control to the more saline treatment, the leaves and the bulbs dry matter increased, respectively, by 15 and 13%, and total soluble solids increased by 17%. Moreover, the increase in salinity favoured the production of flattened bulbs. The application of the Maas and Hoffman model to salinity response confirms the ranking of this species among moderately salt sensitive species, even though the critical threshold was the same for NaCl and NaCl + CaCl2 treatments (1.26 dS m(-1)), while the slope was higher in NaCl treatment (14.24% m dS(-1)) than NaCl + CaCl2 (10.39% m dS(-1)).