Search Results (19)

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is the second most significant species within the Allium genus worldwide, widely used in cooking and both traditional and modern medicine due to its beneficial biological and therapeutic properties. In Italy, diverse pedo-climatic conditions and historical–cultural fragmentation have led to the development of various garlic landraces, prized for their unique organoleptic qualities and cultural importance. This study aimed to assess the intra-varietal diversity and uniqueness of two red garlic landraces from the Lazio region in central Italy, “Aglio Rosso di Castelliri” and “Aglio Rosso di Proceno”, using SSR and ISSR molecular markers, along with evaluations of bulb morphological traits, total phenolic content, and antioxidant properties. The molecular analysis included 11 accessions of “Aglio Rosso di Castelliri”, nine of “Aglio Rosso di Proceno”, and 15 control accessions, comprising eight Italian red-type garlic landraces, four Spanish red garlic commercial varieties, two white garlic accessions, and an accession of A. ampeloprasum var. holmense used as an outgroup. SSR and ISSR markers revealed moderate genetic diversity within the collection, with mean PIC values of 0.41 and 0.17, respectively. The molecular data identified four distinct genetic clusters, with the two Lazio landraces forming separate groups, indicating their genetic distinctiveness. The results from the STRUCTURE analysis support the hypothesis that these landraces may have originated from the widely cultivated “Aglio Rosso di Sulmona” or a common ancestral population once prevalent in central Italy. The study also revealed significant intra-population genetic diversity within the two garlic landraces, underscoring the need for in situ conservation and clonal selection. Phenotypic evaluations confirmed the distinctiveness of the two landraces, with “Aglio Rosso di Castelliri” characterized by smaller bulbs and cloves with higher dry matter content and distinct color profiles. Additionally, significant variation in total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was observed by analyzing 13 selected accessions from the two landraces (six from “Aglio Rosso di Proceno” and seven from “Aglio Rosso di Castelliri”) and five red garlic control accessions, with the two Lazio landraces exhibiting higher levels than the control group. This study highlights the importance of integrating molecular, phenotypic, and chemical analyses to understand garlic landrace diversity, with significant implications for their conservation and protection of local agro-food products. Full article

Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia L. Willd.) is an ancient Mediterranean legume, well adapted to dry climates, that has recently gained attention for its potential in organic farming and as a suitable source of bioactive compounds. This study analyzed the agrobiological variability of 12 bitter vetch accessions from the IPGR-Sadovo genebank in two-year field trials. Yield-related traits were recorded, and grains were assessed for protein, sugar, starch, free amino acids, phenols, and antitrypsin content. Statistical analyses included variance, correlation, cluster, principal component, and path-coefficient methods. Significant variation was observed in plant branching, pod and grain numbers, and grain weight per plant. Grain yield correlated strongly with pod number (r = 0.910**), grains per pod (r = 0.867**) and per plant (r = 0.965**), and pod size. Positive direct effects on grain yield had the traits germination−50% flowering, number of seeds per plant, height to first pod, and harvest index. An indirect impact was found for the number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, and seed starch content. Accessions formed four main clusters. BGR6207, B9E0168, and C3000003 showed high yield potential. C3000001, C3000003, C3000007, and C3000006 exhibited early maturity. C3E0118, C3000007, and C3000003 seeds had lower amounts of phenols. BGR13526 presented lower protein and antitrypsin but higher carbohydrate and phenol levels. Tolerance to moderate osmotic stress (150 mM NaCl or 10% Polyethylene glycol 6000) varied. BGR3052, BGR13526, and A3BM0178 were found to be resistant to both stressors, while accessions C3000001 and C3000007 were identified as sensitive to both adversities. C3000006 was determined as sensitive to salinity but resistant to drought, and BGR3051and C3000003 were relatively sensitive to drought but resistant to salinity. Root elongation and thinning were observed in half of the accessions as adaptive responses to stress. These findings highlight some of the advantages of the evaluated bitter vetch accessions for breeding and reintroduction into sustainable agricultural practices. Full article

Considerable losses are inflicted by plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) due to their obligate parasitism; serious damage occurs in many susceptible crops, and the parasites have a broad distribution worldwide. As most PPNs have a subterranean nature, the complexity of soils in the plant rhizosphere and the structures and functions of the soil food webs necessitate a grasp of the relevant biotic/abiotic factors in order to ensure their effective control. Such factors frequently lead to the inconsistent performance and untapped activity of applied bionematicides, hindering efforts to develop reliable ones. Research efforts that take these factors into account to back the usage of these bionematicides by combining the disease-suppressive activities of two or more agricultural inputs are highlighted herein. These combinations should be designed to boost useful colonization in the rhizosphere, persistent expression of desirable traits under a wide range of soil settings, and/or antagonism to a larger number of plant pests/pathogens relative to individual applications. Relevant ecological/biological bases with specific settings for effective PPN management are exemplified. Determining the relative sensitivity or incompatibility of some biologicals entails studying their combinations and reactions. Such studies, as suggested herein, should be conducted on a case-by-case basis to avoid unsatisfactory outputs. These studies will enable us to accurately define certain outputs, namely, the synergistic, additive, neutral, and antagonistic interactions among the inputs. In optimizing the efficiencies of these inputs, researchers should consider their multi-functionality and metabolic complementarity. Despite previous research, the market currently lacks these types of safe and effective products. Hence, further explorations of novel integrated pest management plans that boost synergy and coverage to control multiple pathogens/pests on a single crop are required. Also, setting economic incentives and utilizing a standardized regulation that examines the authentic risks of biopesticides are still called for in order to ease cost-effective formulation, registration, farmer awareness, and usage worldwide. On the other hand, tank mixing that ensures legality and avoids physical and chemical agro-input-based incompatibilities can also provide superior merits. The end in view is the unraveling of the complexities of interactions engaged with in applying multiple inputs to develop soundly formulated, safe, and effective pesticides. Sophisticated techniques should be incorporated to overcome such complexities/limitations. These techniques would engage microencapsulation, nanopesticides, volatile organic compounds as signals for soil inhabitants, bioinformatics, and RNA-Seq in pesticide development. Full article

It is essential to hunt for new technologies that promote sustainable practices for agroecosystems; thus, the bioprospecting of beneficial microorganisms complementing with mutation induction techniques to improve their genomic, metabolic, and functional traits is a promising strategy for the development of sustainable microbial inoculants. Bacillus cabrialesii subsp. cabrialesii strain TE3^T, a previously recognized plant growth-promoting and biological control agent, was subjected to UV mutation induction to improve these agro-biotechnological traits. Dilutions were made which were spread on Petri dishes and placed under a 20 W UV lamp at 10-min intervals for 60 min. After the UV-induced mutation of this strain, 27 bacterial colonies showed morphological differences compared to the wild-type strain; however, only a strain named TE3^T-UV25 showed an improvement in 53.6% of the biocontrol against Bipolaris sorokiniana vs. the wild-type strain, by competition of nutrient and space (only detected in the mutant strain), as well as diffusible metabolites. Furthermore, the ability to promote wheat growth was evaluated by carrying out experiments under specific greenhouse conditions, considering un-inoculated, strain TE3^T, and strain TE3^T-UV25 treatments. Thus, after 120 days, biometric traits in seedlings were quantified and statistical analyses were performed, which showed that strain TE3^T-UV25 maintained its ability to promote wheat growth in comparison with the wild-type strain. On the other hand, using bioinformatics tools such as ANI, GGDC, and TYGS, the Overall Genome Relatedness Index (OGRI) and phylogenomic relationship of mutant strain TE3^T-UV25 were performed, confirming that it changed its taxonomic affiliation from B. cabrialesii subsp. cabrialesii to Bacillus subtilis. In addition, genome analysis showed that the mutant, wild-type, and B. subtilis strains shared 3654 orthologous genes; however, a higher number of shared genes (3954) was found between the TE3^T-UV25 mutant strain and B. subtilis 168, while the mutant strain shared 3703 genes with the wild-type strain. Genome mining was carried out using the AntiSMASH v7.0 web server and showed that mutant and wild-type strains shared six biosynthetic gene clusters associated with biocontrol but additionally, pulcherriminic acid cluster only was detected in the genome of the mutant strain and Rhizocticin A was exclusively detected in the genome of the wild-type strain. Finally, using the PlaBase tool, differences in the number of genes (17) associated with beneficial functions in agroecosystems were detected in the genome of the mutant vs. wild-type strain, such as biofertilization, bioremediation, colonizing plant system, competitive exclusion, phytohormone, plant immune response stimulation, putative functions, stress control, and biocontrol. Thus, the UV-induced mutation was a successful strategy to improve the bioactivity of B. cabrialesii subsp. cabrialesii TE3^T related to the agro-biotecnology applications. The obtained mutant strain, B. subtilis TE3^T-UV25, is a promising strain to be further studied as an active ingredient for the bioformulation of bacterial inoculants to migrate sustainable agriculture. Full article

Soil CO₂ efflux is a pivotal component of agro-ecosystem C budgets. It is considered a proxy indicator of biological activity and a descriptor of soil quality that is strongly linked to agricultural soil management. We investigated the effects of soil fertilization practices (organo-mineral (OMN) versus chemical (C)) on soil under-vine CO₂ efflux (TSR) in an Italian rainfed vineyard (cv Chardonnay). The TSR was measured using the chamber technique as follows: a close multi-chamber system (prototype) was placed under a vine. Data (CO₂, temperature, and moisture) were acquired hourly during two consecutive years (2021 and 2022) from flowering to berry ripening. Physical–hydrological soil parameters were determined, and the seasonal trends of the TSR, soil temperature, and soil moisture were assessed. The TSR measurements fluctuated for the 2021 season, ranging from 1.03 to 1.97 µmol CO₂∙m⁻²∙s⁻¹ for the C treatment, while for the OMN treatment, the TSR measurements ranged from 1.24 to 1.71 µmol CO₂∙m⁻²∙s⁻¹. Extreme weather conditions (2022) highlighted the differences between the two agronomical practices, and a decoupling was found between the TSR and the soil water content, with the TSR being controlled primarily by the soil temperature. At the daily scale, the findings showed that the TSR reached its minimum in the early morning hours (5:00–8:00). The results promote organic–mineral nutrition as an improved practice for soil carbon storage (restoration of the organic fraction) by reducing the TSR, permitting the preservation of soil quality and stabilizing the hydrological traits by preserving the biotic activities. Full article

The by-products of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) in the winemaking process present a diverse phytochemical profile of (poly)phenols, essentially represented by phenolic acids, flavonoids, and stilbenes, which have health benefits. In winemaking, solid (grape stems and pomace) and semisolid (wine lees) by-products are generated, negatively impacting the sustainability of the agro-food activity and the local environment. Although information on the phytochemical profile of grape stems and pomace has been reported, especially information concerning (poly)phenols, research on wine lees is necessary to take advantage of the compositional traits of this residue. So, in the present work, an updated, in-depth comparison of the (poly)phenolic profiles of these three resulting matrices in the agro-food industry has been carried out to provide new knowledge and interesting data on the action of yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) metabolism in the diversification of phenolic composition; additionally, we extract complementarities for the possible joint application of the three residues. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts was carried out using HPLC-PDA-ESI-MSn. The (poly)phenolic profiles of the residues showed significant discrepancies. The results obtained showed that the greatest diversity of (poly)phenols was found in the stems of the grapes, followed closely by the lees. Through technological insights, it has been suggested that yeasts and LAB, responsible for the fermentation of must, might play a key role in the transformation of phenolic compounds. This would provide new molecules with specific bioavailability and bioactivity features, which might interact with different molecular targets and, consequently, improve the biological potential of these underexploited residues. Full article

Orchard cultural practices, i.e., irrigation, fertilizer, and fruit thinning, are crucially encompassed to enhance fruit yield and quality. Appropriate irrigation and fertilizer inputs improve plant growth and fruit quality, but their overuse leads to the degradation of the ecosystem and water quality, and other biological concerns. Potassium fertilizer improves fruit sugar and flavor and accelerates fruit ripening. Bunch thinning also significantly reduces the crop burden and improves the physicochemical characteristics of the fruit. Therefore, the present study aims to appraise the combined impact of irrigation, sulfate of potash (SOP) fertilizer, and fruit bunch thinning practices on fruit yield and quality of date palm cv. Sukary under the agro-climatic condition of the Al-Qassim (Buraydah) region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To achieve these objectives, four irrigation levels (80, 100, 120, and 140% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), three SOP fertilizer doses (2.5, 5, and 7.5 kg palm⁻¹), and three fruit bunch thinning levels (8, 10, and 12 bunches palm⁻¹) were applied. The effects of these factors were determined on fruit bunch traits, physicochemical fruit characteristics, fruit texture profile, fruit color parameters, fruit skin separation disorder, fruit grading, and yield attributes. The findings of the present study showed that the lowest (80% ETc) and highest (140% ETc) irrigation water levels, lowest SOP fertilizer dose (2.5 kg palm⁻¹), and retaining the highest number of fruit bunch per tree (12 bunches) had a negative effect on most yield and quality attributes of date palm cv. Sukary. However, maintaining the date palm water requirement at 100 and 120% ETc, applying SOP fertilizer doses at 5 and 7.5 kg palm⁻¹, and retaining 8–10 fruit bunches per palm had significantly positive effects on the fruit yield and quality characteristics. Therefore, it is concluded that applying 100% ETc irrigation water combined with a 5 kg palm⁻¹ SOP fertilizer dose and maintaining 8–10 fruit bunches per palm is more equitable than other treatment combinations. Full article

Alfalfa exhibits high adaptability to a range of environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agro-biological traits of alfalfa and select its most promising cultivars under different contrasting vegetation seasons. The field experiment was carried out at the Institute of Agriculture of Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. In 2016 and 2018, eleven alfalfa cultivars of different origin were established in the Endocalcari Epigleyic Cambisol. In the seasons of 2017–2018 and 2019–2020, the agro-biological traits of alfalfa cultivars were evaluated during winter; at the height of spring regrowth; before flowering at the three cuts; and during the fresh and dry matter yields; we also examined the development of diseases at the three cuts. The cultivar Birutė from Lithuania was distinguished by its wintering, its plant height at spring regrowth, its height before flowering, and its fresh and dry matter yields. The cultivar Timbale from France was distinguished by its wintering, spring regrowth, and its height before flowering. The cultivar Magnat from Romania was distinguished by its height before flowering and the fact that it was less damaged by downy mildew. The cultivars Jõgeva 118, Juurlu, and Karlu from Estonia were distinguished by their wintering and the fact that they were less damaged by diseases. The cultivar Eugenia from Italy was distinguished by the fresh and dry matter yields and the height before flowering. Full article

To evaluate the agro-biological traits and select the promising populations of alfalfa under pedoclimatic conditions, field experiments were carried out in two locations of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (western Lithuania 55°70′ N, 21°49′ E and central Lithuania 55°23′ N, 23°51′ E). Eleven populations were established in acidic soil with a pH of 4.0 (experimental site I) and neutral soil with a pH of 7.0 (experimental site II). The productivity and agro-biological traits: fresh matter yield, dry matter yield, seed yield, stem thickness, and stem, leaf, and inflorescence weight of alfalfa populations were evaluated from 2019 to 2021. In the acidic soil, the populations 3056, 3132, 3130, and 3058 yielded more fresh and dry matter compared to the standard cultivar Birutė in the period from 2019 to 2021. In the acidic soil, populations 3131 and 3057 had a higher seed yield compared to the cultivar Birutė in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The 3086 population significantly differed in leaf weight compared to the cultivar Birutė. The cultivar Birutė and population 3132 were similar in stem thickness and fresh matter yield. In the neutral soil, population 3056 yielded more fresh matter compared to the cultivar Birutė. Full article

Harvest date is a critical parameter for producers and consumers regarding agro-industrial performance. It involves a pleiotropic effect controlling the development of other fruit quality traits through finely controlling regulatory mechanisms. Fruit ripening is a process in which various signals and biological events co-occur and are regulated by hormone signaling that produces the accumulation/degradation of multiple compounds. However, the regulatory mechanisms that control the hormone signaling involved in fruit development and ripening are still unclear. To investigate the issue, we used individuals with early, middle and late harvest dates from a peach segregating population to identify regulatory candidate genes controlling fruit quality traits at the harvest stage and validate them in contrasting peach varieties for this trait. We identified 467 and 654 differentially expressed genes for early and late harvest through a transcriptomic approach. In addition, using the Arabidopsis DAP-seq database and network analysis, six transcription factors were selected. Our results suggest significant hormonal balance and cell wall composition/structure differences between early and late harvest samples. Thus, we propose that higher expression levels of the transcription factors HB7, ERF017 and WRKY70 in early harvest individuals would induce the expression of genes associated with the jasmonic acid pathway, photosynthesis and gibberellins inhibition. While on the other hand, the high expression levels of LHY, CDF3 and NAC083 in late harvest individuals would promote the induction of genes associated with abscisic acid biosynthesis, auxins and cell wall remodeling. Full article

Grape by-products could be used in monogastric animals′ nutrition to reduce feeding costs with conventional crops (e.g., maize and soybean meal) and to improve meat quality. The main grape by-products with the largest expression worldwide, particularly in the Mediterranean region, are grape pomace, grape seed, grape seed oil and grape skins. These by-products are rich sources of bioactive polyphenols, dietary fiber and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), more specifically, the beneficial n-3 PUFA, that could be transferred to pork and poultry meat. The potential biological activities, mainly associated with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, make them putative candidates as feed supplements and/or ingredients capable of enhancing meat quality traits, such as color, lipid oxidation and shelf life. However, grape by-products face several limitations, namely, the high level of lignified cell wall and tannin content, both antinutritional compounds that limit nutrients absorption. Therefore, it is imperative to improve grape by-products’ bioavailability, taking advantage of enzyme supplementation or pretreatment processes, to use them as feed alternatives contributing to boost a circular agricultural economy. The present review summarizes the current applications and challenges of using grape by-products from the agro-industrial sector in pig and poultry diets aiming at improving meat quality and nutritional value. Full article

Wheat is the leading staple food in the world, particularly in developing countries, which lacks a mechanism of zinc absorption; when compared to pulses, more attention is consequently important to be given to the wheat crop. Micronutrient deficiencies and especially zinc deficiency influences one-third of the world population. In addition to this, it is also essential for the growth and development of plants and animals. A pot and field experiment was conducted to check the effect of foliar application of zinc sulphate on three different wheat varieties at the same time. Treatment consisted of three zinc levels (control, 4%, 6%) in the form of zinc sulphate (21% Zn) applications were applied on various wheat varieties (Zincol, Fakher-e-Bhakkar, Faisalabad-2008) at different growth stages (tillering, booting and heading). Different zinc levels showed different results on wheat varieties in both experiments. Results revealed that var. Fakher-e-Bhakkar was best at 6% zinc application for more plant height, the number of spikelets, spike length, 100-grain weight, biological and grain yield per plant as compared to other varieties and treatments. Antioxidants and nutritional quality (protein, gluten, starch and zinc contents) showed variable behavior both on wheat varieties and zinc application. It is concluded that Fakher-e-Bhakkar was found to be the most responsive cultivar at 6% zinc application for improvement in growth, yield-related traits and nutritional quality. So it is recommended for achieving maximum yield and yield components and grain zinc contents of wheat under agro-climatic conditions of Layyah, Punjab-Pakistan. Full article

Guar gum, a polysaccharide derived from guar seeds, is widely used in a variety of industrial applications, including oil and gas production. Although guar is mostly propagated in India, interest in guar as a new industrial legume crop is increasing worldwide, demanding the development of effective tools for marker-assisted selection. In this paper, we report a wide-ranging set of 4907 common SNPs and 327 InDels generated from RADseq genotyping data of 166 guar plants of different geographical origin. A custom guar reference genome was assembled and used for variant calling. A consensus set of variants was built using three bioinformatic pipelines for short variant discovery. The developed molecular markers were used for genome-wide association study, resulting in the discovery of six markers linked to the variation of an important agronomic trait—percentage of pods matured to the harvest date under long light day conditions. One of the associated variants was found inside the putative transcript sequence homologous to an ABC transporter in Arabidopsis, which has been shown to play an important role in D-myo-inositol phosphates metabolism. Earlier, we suggested that genes involved in myo-inositol phosphate metabolism have significant impact on the early flowering of guar plants. Hence, we believe that the developed SNP set allows for the identification of confident molecular markers of important agrobiological traits. Full article

Crop production is a constant battle with weeds, in which weeds, generally, are victorious. Therefore, rather than channeling our efforts into the development of a “silver bullet” to control weeds, the focus should be on sustainable weed management in both natural- and agro-ecosystems. However, sustainable weed management can be a challenge in the context of global climate change. Over the past few decades, global climate change, mostly indicated by phenomena such as increased atmospheric temperature and elevated CO₂ levels, is evident due to human activities and natural events. These phenomena also affect regional/local climate, resulting in significant influences on the agricultural systems of a particular region. Rising CO₂ levels may give comparative advantages to C₃ plants through increased photosynthesis, biomass production and yield, compared to C₄ plants. Plants with C₄ photosynthetic pathways, on the other hand, are likely to benefit more from rising global temperatures than C₃ plants. Thus, the differential responses of C₃ and C₄ plants to climate change may alter crop–weed interactions and competition outcomes, most likely at the expense of the crop. Climate change will likely cause shifts in weed community compositions, their population dynamics, life cycle, phenology, and infestation pressure. Some weed species may go extinct, while some others may become more aggressive invaders. Weeds are, generally, colonizers and have some unique biological traits and ecological amplitudes that enable them to successfully dominate crops in a habitat with changed environmental conditions. Moreover, climate shifts, especially erratic rainfall and drought, may affect herbicide selectivity and efficacy or the success of bio-control agents resulting in an establishment of a mixed and complex population of C₃ and C₄ weed species adding to the complexity of weed management. Although elevated CO₂ levels will stimulate the productivity of major C₃ crops, most troublesome agricultural weeds will likely be more responsive to a rise in CO₂ than crops, and thus may dominate the agro-ecosystem. It is predicted that, as temperature rises, the majority of the C₄ weeds will flourish and will pose serious crop yield losses. Understanding and assessment of the impact of simultaneous changes in multiple climate factors and their complex interactions on crops and weeds are therefore necessary to formulate an adaptive weed management approach and build resilience. Moreover, strategic policies and strong actions need to be taken to reduce the root causes of CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions to minimize the impact of climate change on weed biology and management. Full article

The Crimean autochthonous grape varieties are unique by their origin and serve as a valuable source for breeding new cultivars with increased salt and frost resistance, as well as high-quality berries. However, they suffer from fungal pathogens, as the dry and hot summer months contribute to the epiphytotic course of diseases. An increase in the resistance of Crimean grape varieties is currently achieved through interspecific hybridization. In this study, we describe the genetic and agrobiological diversity of three hybrid populations obtained using the Vitis interspecific hybrid ‘Magarach 31-77-10′ as a female parent and Muscadinia rotundifolia × Vitis vinifera BC5 hybrid plants as male parents. The hybrid nature of the populations was assessed using RADseq high-throughput genotyping. We discovered 12,734 SNPs, which were common to all three hybrid populations. We also proved with the SSR markers that the strong powdery and downy mildew resistance of the paternal genotypes is determined by the dominant Run1/Rpv1 locus inherited from M. rotundifolia. As a result, the disease development score (R, %) for both mildew diseases in the female parent ‘Magarach 31-77-10’ was three times higher than in male parents 2000-305-143 and 2000-305-163 over two years of phytopathological assessment. The highest values of yield-contributing traits (average bunch weight ~197 g and 1.3 kg as yield per plant) were detected in the population 4-11 (♀M. No. 31-77-10 × 2000-305-163). Despite the epiphytotic development of PM, the spread of oidium to the vegetative organs of hybrids 4-11 did not exceed 20%. Some hybrid genotypes with high productivity and resistance to pathogens were selected for further assessment as promising candidates for new varieties. Full article