Assessing Yield and Quality of Melon ( L.) Improved by Biodegradable Mulching Film.

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic mulching films have an important function, but at the end of their lifetime pose an economic and environmental problem in terms of their removal and disposal. Biodegradable mulching films represent an alternative to LDPE with the potential to avoid these environmental issues. In this preliminary study, we employed a biodegradable film based on Mater-Bi (MB) in comparison with low-density polyethylene to assess their effect on the yield and particular quality traits (organoleptic and nutraceutical composition of the fruits) of muskmelon (cv Pregiato) grown on soils with different textures (clay-loam-CL and sandy loam-SL) in two private farms in South Italy.

New Mater-Bi, Biodegradable Mulching Film for Strawberry ( × Duch.): Effects on Film Duration, Crop Yields, Qualitative, and Nutraceutical Traits of Fruits.

In the main strawberry areas of Southern Italy, cultivation is carried out by transplanting plants on raised beds (30-40 cm from ground level), mulched with black polyethylene (PE). This technique has becoming increasingly expensive due to the growing prices of plastic mulches, the cost to remove them at the end of crop cycle, and the difficulty to dispose of black, dirty plastic films. The main objective of this research was the replacement of PE mulch with a new biodegradable mulching film Mater-Bi-based (Novamont), characterized by an increased permanence in the field designed for long crop life.

Nutrient and toxic element soil concentrations during repeated mineral and compost fertilization treatments in a Mediterranean agricultural soil.

Agricultural soils of semi-arid Mediterranean areas are often subjected to depletion of their chemical, physical, and biological properties. In this context, organic fertilization, in addition to providing nutrients for a longer time in respect to mineral fertilization, improves many other characteristics related to soil fertility. Moreover, the combined use of organic and mineral fertilizers may promote a more sustainable crop production.

Cadmium accumulation in leaves of leafy vegetables.

Leafy vegetables have a relatively high potential for Cd uptake and translocation, and are thus considered Cd accumulators. For this reason, leaves and roots of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and endive (Cichorium endivia L.

Compost Amendment Enhances Natural Revegetation of a Mediterranean Degraded Agricultural Soil.

A vegetation analysis was carried out on a degraded agricultural soil of the Mediterranean area (Campania region, southern Italy) in order to study the effects of different fertilization practices (quality compost, mineral fertilizers, mixed fertilization, and no fertilization) on the whole spontaneous vegetation community. The study was performed for two consecutive years at three different scales (species level, community structure, and community properties), using three different units of abundance (number of individuals, biomass, and cover of each species). The observations were carried out in spring, after 5 and 6 years of soil treatments, on a total area of 4 m(2) for each soil treatment and in each year.

Detection of parathion and patulin by quartz-crystal microbalance functionalized by the photonics immobilization technique.

Oriented antibodies are tethered on the gold surface of a quartz crystal microbalance through the photonics immobilization technique so that limit of detection as low as 50 nM and 140 nM are achieved for parathion and patulin, respectively. To make these small analytes detectable by the microbalance, they have been weighed down through a "sandwich protocol" with a second antibody. The specificity against the parathion has been tested by checking the immunosensor response to a mixture of compounds similar to parathion, whereas the specificity against the patulin has been tested with a real sample from apple puree.

Total and available soil trace element concentrations in two Mediterranean agricultural systems treated with municipal waste compost or conventional mineral fertilizers.

The temporal dynamics of some trace elements in two different types of Mediterranean soils were studied in order to evaluate the possible long-term contamination following compost amendments. Total and available (DTPA-extractable) concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were determined. The study was carried out on two agricultural soils in Campania region (southern Italy), a Sandy Loam Calcaric Cambisol (SG) and a Clay Gleyc Luvisol (CO), during 3 years of organic amendment with compost.