Search Results (6)

The faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. major) is a pulse that is garnering attention for its chemical composition, which makes it suitable for a healthy diet. The Apulian germplasm is rich in local accessions at risk of genetic erosion, which need evaluating and promoting. Thirteen Vicia faba local Landraces have been analyzed in relation to their productivity and their chemical and biochemical characteristics: their protein, total phenol, total flavonoid, condensate tannin and L-DOPA levels. The results showed great variability—above all in the thousand-seeds weight and in their content of proteins and L-DOPA. Among the accessions evaluated, the two collected from the most southern area of the region (FV12-FV10) were particularly promising—both for their good biochemical traits and, especially, for the higher L-DOPA content (0.46 and 0.49 g 100 g⁻¹ d.m., respectively), even when expressed in terms of yield per plant (116.3 and 153.0 mg plant⁻¹ d.m., respectively). Full article

Nano-fertilizers are a new tool that can be used to address plant production challenges, and it addresses such nutrient deficiencies through smart agriculture approaches. Iron (Fe) is a vital element for several metabolic and physiological processes; however, Fe deficiency is common in poorly fertile soils (sand soil) and in arid areas. Therefore, additional research is required to select the most efficient form of iron absorbance. This research was implemented on broad bean plants (Vicia faba L. var. major Harz) to examine the impact of three iron sources: nano-iron (FeNPs, T1), iron sulfate (T2), and chelated iron (T3) as a foliar spray on the morphological properties, physiological attributes, and nutritional status of these plants compared to the untreated plants (control). The obtained results showed that foliar spraying with FeNPs, chelated iron and sulphate iron fertilizers increased plant height by 35.01%, 26.2, and 20.4%; leaf area by 38.8%, 18.3%, and 8.1%; the fresh weight of the plant by 47%, 32.8%, and 7.3%; the dry weight of the plant by 52.9%, 37.3%, and 11.2%; and the number of branches by 47%, 31.3%, and 25.6 %, respectively, compared to the control treatment (CT). Furthermore, the application of FeNPs, chelated iron, and sulphate iron fertilizers improved the number of pods by 47.9%, 24.8%, and 6.1%; the number of seeds by 32.8%, 7.9%, and 2.8%; and seed weight by 20.8%, 9.1%, and 5.4%, compared to control treatment (CT). Additionally, foliar application of FeNPs showed the highest values of photosynthesis rate (Pn), water-use efficiency (WUE), total chlorophyll, and phytohormones (IAA, GA3) compared to all the other treatments. The anatomical structure revealed an enhancement of leaf size and thickness (epidermis cells and mesophyll tissue) affected by FeNPs treatment compared to other treatments. Foliar application of FeNPs also improved the total content of carbohydrates, crude protein, element content (N, P, K, Ca, Na, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu), and some amino acids such as lysine, arginine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, and tyrosine in the seeds of broad beans. Based on the above results, the maximum values of all tested measurements were observed when FeNPs were used as the foliar spraying followed by chelated and sulphate iron fertilizers. Therefore, these findings suggest that using FeNPs, as a foliar treatment, could be a promising strategy for reducing the Fe deficiency in sandy soil and enhancing plant growth, pod yield, and pod quality of broad bean plants in addition to being environmentally favored in arid areas. Full article

Resistance to herbicides and the lack of new herbicide options have led researchers to explore alternate methods to manage weed populations in large-scale cropping systems. Crop competition is an effective weed management approach that can reduce the pressure on herbicides. Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important winter legume crop in Australia. Crop traits such as, height, biomass, growth rate, tillering capacity, leaf area, and root growth have been suggested as indicators of the competitive ability of crops against weeds. Based on pot studies at Narrabri and Toowoomba, we assessed the growth traits (biomass, height, leaf area, relative growth rate, and branch number) of six faba bean cultivars and ranked them for their potential ability to compete with weeds. PBA Marne and PBA Zahra were identified as highly competitive faba bean cultivars based on their higher overall ranking score achieved at both locations. PBA Nasma and PBA Samira were ranked highly and moderately competitive at Narrabri and Toowoomba sites, respectively. At Narrabri, PBA Nanu was ranked poorly competitive based on its lower biomass, height, and leaf area than the other cultivars. The weed suppressive ability of these cultivars needs to be assessed in the presence of weeds under field conditions. Full article

Faba bean hulls are a by-product, generated from the processing of beans and usually disposed of as waste, utilized in some recipes of Italian traditional cuisine. In this research, a quality evaluation of faba hulls in six genotypes (four local varieties—‘Cegliese’, ‘Iambola’, ‘San Francesco’ and ‘FV5′—and two commercial ones—‘Aguadulce supersimonia’ and ‘Extra-early purple’) of faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. major Harz) for fresh consumption grown with two plant densities (4.16 and 2.08 plants m⁻²) was carried out. For all the measured parameters, the statistical analysis reveals that the interaction between plant density and genotype was not significant. On the other hand, independently of the genotype, the higher the plant’s density the higher was the pods’ yield per unit area, while the average percentage of hulls was of 75% with little differences between genotypes. All genotypes showed a low content of vicine (12.4 mg 100 g⁻¹ FW), a well know favism-inducing factor, and a very high phenols content (between 443 and 646 mg 100 g⁻¹ FW) and levo-dihydroxy phenylalanine (L-dopa—on average 170 mg 100 g⁻¹ FW), used for the treatment of patients affected by Parkinson’s disease. In conclusion, this study highlights the good potential of faba hulls as unconventional vegetable, suggesting its use as a new functional food in the daily diet and also for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Full article

Legumes crops play significant roles both in human diets and agriculture, and contribute to sustainable farming. In this study, we evaluated both some quality traits and yield of four landraces (Cegliese, Iambola, San Francesco, and FV5) of faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. major Harz) for fresh consumption in order to assess and distinguish the landraces also in comparison with two commercial varieties (Aguadulce supersimonia and Extra-early purple) by using a crop system without irrigation. Independently of the genotype, we obtained the same pods yield (1794 g m⁻²) without affecting the seed size. All genotypes can be considered a good source of vitamin C, although Extra-early purple and San Francesco reveal the highest content (703 and 646 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight—FW, respectively). Cegliese showed the highest L-dopa content (10.14 mg 100 g⁻¹ FW), suggesting its use as a natural rich source of L-dopa (dopamine precursor used for Parkinson’s disease treatment) instead of using synthesized L-dopa. In conclusion, this study highlight interesting quality traits of faba bean when consumed as fresh vegetables, suggesting its positive role on human health and the possibility of its production by using local horticultural systems that are skilled in optimizing resource utilization. Full article

Crop domestication and breeding efforts during the last half-century in developed countries has significantly reduced the genetic diversity in all major vegetable crops grown throughout the world. This includes developing countries such as Morocco, in which more than 90% of all farms are less than 10 ha in size, which are generally maintained by subsistence farmers who try to maximize crop and animal productivity on a limited land area. Near Agadir, in the remote Anti-Atlas mountain areas of the Souss-Massa region, many small landowner vegetable growers are known to still utilize crop populations (landraces). Thus, an assessment of the current status of vegetable landraces was made in this mountainous region of Southwestern Morocco during 2014. This assessment indicated that a significant loss of vegetable crop landraces has occurred in the last 30 years in this region of Morocco. Although many vegetable crops are still maintained as landrace populations by small subsistence farmers in remote areas in the Souss-Massa region, only 31% of these farmers cultivated landraces and saved seed in the villages assessed, with the average farmer age cultivating landraces being 52 years old. Moreover, the approximated loss of vegetable crop landraces over the last 30 years was an astounding 80 to 90%. Vegetable crops notably lost during this time period included carrot (Daucus carota), fava beans (Vicia faba), melon (Cucumis melo), pea (Pisum sativum), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicon). The most significant loss was tomato as no landraces of this crop were found in this region. The vegetable crop landraces that are still widely grown included carrot, melon, onion (Allium cepa), turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapa), and watermelon, while limited amounts of eggplant (Solanum melongea), fava bean, pea, pepper (Capsicum annuum), and pumpkin (Cucurbita moshata and C. maxima) were found. This recent genetic deterioration will have a profound influence on future Moroccan agricultural productivity, as the genetic diversity within these landraces may be the only resource available to allow these smaller subsistence farmers to cope with changing environmental conditions for the optimization of crop production in their harsh climate. Full article