Commemorating the 800th Anniversary of the University of Padua through the Intellect of Its Scholars in Agricultural Sciences

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 18771

Special Issue Editors


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Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals & Environment, Università di Padova, Legnaro, PD, Italy
Interests: wine science and technology; wine stabilization; analytical chemistry; wine proteins; sensory analysis
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Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals & Environment, Università di Padova, Legnaro, PD, Italy
Interests: livestock farming systems; ecological footprint; ecosystem services; agroecology
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Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Interests: seed biology; seed germination; seed dormancy; soil seedbank; seed persistence; seedling emergence and early growth; plant phenology
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Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals & Environment, Università di Padova, Legnaro, PD, Italy
Interests: animal breeding; quantitative genetics; selection response; evolutionary biology; animal behaviour; functional traits; genetic diversity; horse; cattle; small populations
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Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Interests: integrated pest management and biocontrol tactics; ecotoxicology in agro-ecosystems; ecology and conservation of biocontrol agents in perennial cropping systems
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In 2022, the University of Padova will celebrate its 800th anniversary, a milestone that very few of the world’s universities have reached. To celebrate this important anniversary, the university has chosen to carry out "projects to pass on to future generations". These projects are inspired by its core values of liberty of research and openness toward the world. This Special Issue of Agriculture focuses on Paduan scholars and academics who have carried out research in the frame of 'Agricultural Sciences' in past centuries. Their research contributions will be reviewed in light of modern scientific knowledge.

Prof. Dr. Matteo Marangon
Prof. Dr. Enrico Sturaro
Prof. Dr. Roberta Masin
Dr. Cristina Sartori
Dr. Alberto Pozzebon
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • history of agricultural sciences
  • Paduan scholars and academics
  • evolution of research in agricultural sciences

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Review

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16 pages, 1744 KiB  
Review
Sunflower: From Cortuso’s Description (1585) to Current Agronomy, Uses and Perspectives
by Vittoria Giannini, Carmelo Maucieri, Teofilo Vamerali, Giuseppe Zanin, Stefano Schiavon, Davide Matteo Pettenella, Stefano Bona and Maurizio Borin
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 1978; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12121978 - 22 Nov 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4237
Abstract
The sunflower was introduced in Europe (in Spain) in the 15th century, and later in Italy in the second half of the 16th century by Giacomo Antonio Cortuso who was the head of the Botanical Garden in Padua. He and Andrea Mattioli published [...] Read more.
The sunflower was introduced in Europe (in Spain) in the 15th century, and later in Italy in the second half of the 16th century by Giacomo Antonio Cortuso who was the head of the Botanical Garden in Padua. He and Andrea Mattioli published a detailed description of the species. The sunflower was mainly used for ornamental and medicinal purposes in the following two centuries. In the early 1800s, its cultivation area expanded as a consequence of two new, divergent uses and breeding programs: oilseed production and seed consumption. Nowadays, sunflower is cropped for many uses, mainly food, feed, and biodiesel. Beyond the global interest in this crop, it is extremely difficult to predict its cultivation and productivity in the short/medium term because of the current geopolitical and climate change scenarios. In this last perspective, sunflower cropping should foresee the integration of (i) crop breeding for improving quali-quantitative traits and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance; (ii) agronomic practices to increase the resilience of this crop through anticipated sowing dates and scheduled irrigation according to its phenological phases; and (iii) exploration of new cultivation areas towards higher latitudes. Full article
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24 pages, 4526 KiB  
Review
The History of the School of Animal Science at the University of Padova (Padua) and the Evolution of Animal Science in Italy
by Giovanni Bittante, Lucia Bailoni, Alessio Cecchinato, Luigi Gallo, Roberto Mantovani, Maurizio Ramanzin, Fabio Zampieri, Stefano Schiavon and Enrico Sturaro
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12070902 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3143
Abstract
In its 800-year history, the University of Padova (Padua, Italy) has come to play an important role in the development of animal science in Italy and Europe. Having founded the oldest university botanical garden (1545; UNESCO World Heritage Site) and anatomical theatre (1595), [...] Read more.
In its 800-year history, the University of Padova (Padua, Italy) has come to play an important role in the development of animal science in Italy and Europe. Having founded the oldest university botanical garden (1545; UNESCO World Heritage Site) and anatomical theatre (1595), and awarded the first university degree to a woman (Elena-Lucrezia Cornaro-Piscopia, 1678), the University instituted the Public School of Agriculture (Orto Agrario) in 1765 and the Collegium Zooiatricum in 1773. Between 1986 and 1995, under the leadership of Professor Mario Bonsembiante, animal scientist and rector, the scientific-technological center of Agripolis was established, including the Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (with the experimental farm and veterinary hospital), the Istituto Zooprofilattico delle Venezie, and Veneto Agricoltura. Agripolis rapidly became the most innovative center in Italy for teaching, research, and extension services in the fields of agricultural, animal, veterinary, food and environmental sciences. In the last 35 years, the number of Italian animal scientists has remained almost constant, but they have moved on to more innovative research topics closer to society’s demand and concerns, and significantly enhanced their international standing, reaching the first position in Europe and the fourth in the world in terms of citations. Full article
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12 pages, 2782 KiB  
Opinion
Wine and Health: From the Perspective of Alvise Cornaro to the Latest Scientific Opinions
by Anna Lante, Matteo Marangon, Simone Vincenzi, Giovanna Lomolino, Antonella Crapisi, Gabriella Pasini, Stefania Malavasi and Andrea Curioni
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020415 - 10 Feb 2023
Viewed by 2542
Abstract
In this opinion article we explore the link between regular wine consumption and human health, starting from the teachings that Alvise Cornaro, a Scholar at the University of Padova, left us, especially on his “La Vita Sobria”, a treatise published in Padova in [...] Read more.
In this opinion article we explore the link between regular wine consumption and human health, starting from the teachings that Alvise Cornaro, a Scholar at the University of Padova, left us, especially on his “La Vita Sobria”, a treatise published in Padova in 1558. A key role in his suggested diet is reserved for wine, an alcoholic beverage that, he advocated, should be consumed regularly, a concept that fits well with the central role that wine played in the Middle age society. Indeed, at that time, wine was consumed in large quantities, and it was generally mixed with water to make the latter safer for consumption. Monks and doctors also used wine as a medicine, as this was regularly administered to sick people of all ages to cure their illnesses. Wine maintained a similar role until the middle of the 20th Century, shifting from a source of energy to a pleasure, even if moderate wine consumption has been reported by epidemiological studies as having health benefits, particularly in relation to cardiovascular diseases. Conversely, any level of alcohol intake has recently been recognized as harmful, an occurrence that the modern wine industry is tackling by increasing the production of wines with reduced alcohol content. Nevertheless, nowadays, wine continues to be consumed for the pleasure it can provide and for its role as a social catalyzer. Full article
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8 pages, 236 KiB  
Opinion
Agricultural, Food and Environmental Microbiology at the University of Padova: An Evolutionary Journey from Lag Phase to Exponentiality
by Lorenzo Favaro, Marina Basaglia, Viviana Corich, Alessio Giacomini, Sergio Casella and Andrea Squartini
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1426; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091426 - 9 Sep 2022
Viewed by 2204
Abstract
This paper is a microbiological voyage throughout the main discoveries and research activities of scholars who studied or taught in this field at Padova University during its 800-year history. The ancient practice of variolization, the so-called miracle of Legnaro and the pellagra debate, [...] Read more.
This paper is a microbiological voyage throughout the main discoveries and research activities of scholars who studied or taught in this field at Padova University during its 800-year history. The ancient practice of variolization, the so-called miracle of Legnaro and the pellagra debate, whose observations and investigations were driven at Padova even before microbiology was established as a scientific discipline, along with the modern era research activities in the field of agricultural, environmental and food microbiology, undoubtedly suggest the hallmark and everyday role played by microbes in overwhelmingly global, but profoundly human, adventures. Full article
10 pages, 1290 KiB  
Opinion
Dioecy in Flowering Plants: From the First Observations of Prospero Alpini in the XVI Century to the Most Recent Advances in the Genomics Era
by Alessandro Vannozzi, Fabio Palumbo, Margherita Lucchin and Gianni Barcaccia
Agriculture 2022, 12(3), 364; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12030364 - 3 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4856
Abstract
Prospero Alpini was an Italian physician, botanist and scientist. Born in Marostica, in the Republic of Venice, in his youth he served in the Milanese army, but in 1574 he decided to study medicine at the University of Padova, where he graduated in [...] Read more.
Prospero Alpini was an Italian physician, botanist and scientist. Born in Marostica, in the Republic of Venice, in his youth he served in the Milanese army, but in 1574 he decided to study medicine at the University of Padova, where he graduated in 1578. After a short period as a doctor in Camposampiero (Padova, Italy), he became the personal doctor of Giorgio Emo, the appointed consul in Cairo in Egypt. In this way, he was able to devote himself to the study of botany. In this country, from the cultivation practices of the date palm, he described for the first time the sexual dimorphism in plants, later adopted as the basis of Linnaeus’ scientific classification system. Since then, this behavior, termed dioecy, has been described in other plant species, and many advances have been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, especially with the advent of genomics. Starting from a brief description of Prospero’s life and his pioneering scientific contribution, we illustrated the two main models explaining dioecism. This was achieved by taking a cue from two plant species, grapevine and poplar, in which genomics and single molecule sequencing technologies played a pivotal role in scientific advance in this field. Full article
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