Hydroseeding application on degraded slopes in the southern Mediterranean area (Sicily)

Abstract. Hydroseeding is a technique increasingly used to establish vegetation on degraded areas in order to provide environmental protection. The objective of this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of four different hydroseeding methods (bonded fiber matrix hydroseeding, thick hydroseeding, reinforced hydroseeding plus water retention, and reinforced hydroseeding) on a degraded artificial slope in the southern Mediterranean area determining total vegetation cover, hydroseeding vegetation cover, hydroseeding success index (HSI), natural and hydroseeded vegetation height. The test area does not allow the use of any operating machinery for soil and vegetation management, and the only…

Effect of different soil management in sloping vineyards on soil penetration resistance.

In environments characterized by steep slopes or arranged in terraces, among the shallow tillage systems, rototilling is extensively used. However, the effect of the repeated use of rototilling has a considerable influence on soil characteristics; it appears finely powdered, soft and without structure. In order to limit these inconveniences, an innovative self-propelled machine equipped with working tools as a spade, to be used in steep slopes or arranged in terraces areas, was designed by the Mechanics Section of the SAF (Scienze Agrarie e Forestali) Department of the University of Palermo in cooperation with Agrotec company, Padua, Italy. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of…

Analysis of the main critical points in protected crops on risk prevention in Sicily

TIPOLOGIA E CARATTERISTICHE DEI FRANTOI SICILIANI

Potatura meccanica per il Guyot è possibile

In Sicilia, negli ultimi decenni, si è assistito a rapidissime variazioni in merito ai sistemi di gestione della vite da vino. Si è passati dalla forma di allevamento ad alberello degli anni 60’, all’allevamento a spalliera bassa e tendone degli anni 80’- 90’ al sistema a controspalliera medio-alta di oggi. Tutto ciò per un duplice motivo: la richiesta di vini di qualità da parte del consumatore e la meccanizzazione delle principali operazioni colturali al fine di ridurre i costi di gestione. Per quanto riguarda il sistema di potatura, il più diffuso è sempre stato il Guyot. Scopo del presente lavoro è stato quello di valutare l’impiego della potatrice meccanica, comunemente impiegata in vi…

Analisi delle modalità di gestione dei suoli di Pantelleria al fine di preservarne la fertilità

Controlling the atmosphere in the malaxation machine headspace in order to improve the quality of Sicilian extra virgin olive oils

During the mechanical extraction process of Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) some important physical phenomena and enzymatic transformations occur influencing the final product quality. The control of process parameters is crucial to ensure the quality of VOO, therefore process monitoring and control is a fundamental requirement in the modern VOO processing industry. The present work proposes a research performed in order to develop a system for the oxygen continuous monitoring inside the malaxation machine to enhance the Sicilian extra virgin olive oil typicality and to establish a correlation with the quality of the final product. The results showed that the use of oxygen during malaxation, allowed…

Funzionalità dell’irroratrice ed efficienza dei trattamenti in vigneto

Nel campo dei trattamenti fitosanitari, parecchi sono i fattori che possono avere conseguenze sull’ambiente e sull’uomo. La taratura e la regolazione delle macchine irroratrici sono fattori essenziali per eseguire una corretta pratica fitosanitaria nel rispetto dell’ambiente, della salute degli operatori e dei consumatori, tenendo conto delle problematiche economiche connesse. In quest’ottica, gli autori hanno voluto provare come alcuni accorgimenti adottati possano influenzare l’efficienza di una macchina irroratrice impiegata su vigneto. Le prove di trattamento sono state eseguite presso un’azienda ad indirizzo viticolo. Le prove eseguite confermano che riducendo il volume distribuito, do…

Analysis of the filtration efficiency of white wines using different filter aids

The global wine market, having recently entered into full crisis, is suffering some changes in its production and marketing. The reasons for these changes are mainly due to new trends in consumer demand for wine safety and quality standards at low cost. Social cellars, in order to be included in this new trend, should focus on the rationalization of the production techniques to reduce the costs and improve the quality of wine. In the case of winemaking for the production of a wine stored in a bag-in-box, filtration is a very important technique because it gives the finished product clearness and stability. The experimentation was based on the application of a low cost filtration technique o…

Mechanical harvest of grapes and quality of wine

Vendemmia meccanica e qualità del vino

A modern system to control the ambient parameters inside the greenhouse

ANALISI DEI COSTI ENERGETICI DI REFRIGERAZIONE NELLA PRODUZIONE DEI VINI BIANCHI

A system for the oxygen continuous monitoring inside the malaxation machine to enhance the Sicilian extra virgin olive oil typicality

Introduzione di moderne macchine e tecniche per il mantenimento ed il recupero della viticoltura di Pantelleria

A novel device for assessing the health risk caused by hand-arm vibrations in olives harvesting

The mechanization of olive harvesting is very important both to reduce the costs of production and to assure the oil quality because the manual harvest does not allow to operate at the right time and also need a long period to be completed. The use of portable shakers, that are spreading more than others typologies, can give a solution to the problem. However, the use of such equipment may involve risk of exposure to hand-transmitted vibration. The aim of this study was to assess the level of exposure to hand-arm vibration of the operators using portable shakers (reference standards UNI EN ISO 5349-1:2004, Italian Low Decree 81/2008). The research presented here concerns the definition of a…

Prime prove di lavorazione del terreno impiegando un prototipo di motovangatrice per preservare la fertilità del suolo

Primi risultati sull’impiego della tecnica dell’idrosemina in ambiente mediterraneo

Analisi tecnica di cantieri meccanizzati nelle operazioni di utilizzazioni forestali in Sicilia

The authors describe the results of a research performed in a wood of the Western Sicily, covered with Pinus halepensis Mill. and Cupressus sempervirens L. Felling, delimbing, cross-cutting and extraction of the logs were carried out. The wood obtained was used as firewood. Two different methods of logs extraction were carried out: with transporters and with polyethylene timber chutes. The working time and the labour productivity recorded during each operations are reported. The results show that in the forest utilization performed in Sicily the mean labour productivity per operator is 2.4 t of firewood per day. This value fits well the mean value recorded in Italy (2-3 t of firewood per da…

Confronto fra due cantieri di raccolta delle olive in Sicilia

Vengono analizzati diversi cantieri per la raccolta delle olive. I risultati valutano i consumi energetici e le capacità di lavoro.

Noise risk assessment in a bottling line of a modern Sicilian winery

In wine industry, bottling is a phase of the production cycle characterized by high levels of noise mostly due to repeated collisions between the bottles. In Italy the Law Decree 81/2008 defined the requirements for assessing and managing noise risk, identifying a number of procedures to be adopted at different noise levels to limit workers exposure. This study aims at evaluating the equivalent and peak noise level inside the bottling plant area of a modern Sicilian winery. In particular, the influence of the working capacity (number of bottles produced per hour) on noise levels was evaluated. We considered three test conditions: T1 with working capacity of 4,000 bottles per hour, T2 with w…

First results on the use of an innovative machine for soil tillage in terraces or steep sloped areas

Applicazione di tecniche innovative per la produzione di olio di Alta Gamma di Pantelleria

The Preservation of Sicilian Forests with Poorly Mechanized Logging Processes

Abstract In the province of Agrigento (Sicily), owing to lack of funds, machinery and permanently employed workers, it is necessary to forecast costs and time required for thinning out about 1500 ha of artificial forest using only chain saws and temporarily employed manpower. This study was made to find out how costs and labour productivity vary with tree species, age, size, forest density, land orography and ground uneveness, in order to decide in which areas the change from artificial to natural forest, by gradually thinning out the non-autochthonous trees, could be done at the least cost. Logging processes have been monitored at nine different test sites of about 1 ha each. The results s…

Productive Efficiency of Decanters with Short and Variable Dynamic Pressure Cones

Abstract This paper presents the results of experimental trials carried out on third-generation, variable dynamic pressure cone decanters to assess machine performance and adjust the process parameters for optimum extraction yield. The results obtained led to the following conclusions: the regulation of the differential velocity screw/bowl allows a better performance of the decanter at low dilutions of the olive paste; it is possible to obtain high efficiency at a low dilution of the olive paste achieving a higher minor compounds content and the more advanced system of regulation leads to better results according to the variations of the ratio between liquid and solid phases, thus optimisin…

Analysis of the leaf deposit in chemical distribution on vineyard in different wind conditions

Indagine sulla sicurezza ambientale, alimentare e del lavoro nel settore delle colture protette in Sicilia

Pantelleria, in vigna operazioni più efficienti con le macchine

Analisi qualitativa della distribuzione di fitofarmaci con irroratrici su vigneto a controspalliera

Today a very effective crop protection is necessary to improve the production of good quality wine and to limit the environmental pollution. Field tests were carried out in a Sicilian vineyard using two different sprayers, in tree periods, each corresponding to a different canopy distribution. The objective of this research was to determinate the best operative solution in order to obtain an effective vineyard protection. The quality of distribution was evaluated through the coverage index of the canopy, the number of impacts per square centimetre and the mean diameter of the drop prints on artificial targets opportunely placed into the canopy, as the canopy volume varies. The sprayers were…

Meccanizzazione di vigneti in territori a forte declività: soluzioni a ridotto impatto ambientale per l’isola di Pantelleria

Greenhouse climate control using wireless sensors

Meccanizzazione di vigneti a forte pendenza dell’isola di Pantelleria

La filiera vitivinicola: ottimizzazione delle fasi di produzione e trasformazione

Estrazione dell’olio di Pantelleria: un esempio di tutela paesaggistica a salvaguardia di un patrimonio storico e culturale

Studio dell’indice di ammostamento nella vendemmia meccanica in funzione dei parametri ambientali e delle caratteristiche meccaniche dell’acino

Assessment of the pedicel detaching and crashing forces of grape berries to determine the right mechanical harvesting period

During the mechanical harvesting the shakers cause the detachment of the grape berries from the grape stalk but also the breaking of the grape berries peel with the consequent production of must that influences the quality of the harvested grapes. This one is higher in the varieties having grape berries more resistant to the crushing and, at the same time, an easier detachment of the pedicel. The aim of this work is to evaluate, for three different varieties of grape (Chardonnay, Catarratto comune and Nero d’Avola), the crushing strength of the berry, that represents the cause of the production of must during the mechanical harvesting, and the resistance of the berry-pedicel system that inf…

Definizione di una filiera corta per la produzione di olio di Alta Gamma di Pantelleria

An oxygen monitoring and control system inside a malaxation machine to improve extra virgin olive oil quality

In recent years, oxygen content regulation during malaxation has been noted as a process parameter. The aim of this study was to identify the optimal time during the malaxation process of the olives of the Sicilian cultivar Nocellara del Belice when the presence of oxygen in the machine headspace activates the enzyme complex in favour of the volatile compounds, without compromising the phenolic composition. During the malaxation process, the atmosphere inside the malaxation machine was modified by blowing pure oxygen from cylinders at specific stages of the process (i.e., 5, 15, 25, and 35 min after the start of malaxation), using a system that allows the automatic and continuous maintenanc…

Soil management effect on soil penetration resistance in the vineyard

In environments characterized by steep slopes or arranged in terraces, among the shallow tillage systems, rototilling is extensively used. However, the effect of the repeated use of rototilling has a considerable influence on soil characteristics; it appears finely powdered, soft and without structure. In order to limit these inconveniences, an innovative self-propelled machine equipped with working tools as a spade, to be used in steep slopes or arranged in terraces areas, was designed by the Mechanics Section of the SAF (Scienze Agrarie e Forestali) Department of the University of Palermo in cooperation with Agrotec company, Padua, Italy. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of…

Facilitated harvest tests in the vineyards of the island of Pantelleria

Agricoltura nelle isole minori: un progetto di meccanizzazione

COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO TYPES OF WINEMAKING TANKS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF QUALITY WINES CV. NERO D’AVOLA

The aim of this work is to compare two types of winemaking tanks, horizontal and vertical, using Nero d’Avola grapes, in order to assess the capacity of extraction of phenolic compounds that determine the quality of red wines. The study shows that in wine made by horizontal winemaking tanks, both anthocyanins and polyphenols have a higher decrease in time compared to wine made by the vertical type. The higher values of polyphenols found in the horizontal type appear to show that wines produced by this type of winemaking tank have a better quality in terms of health for antimicrobial, antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties of these molecules.

VINI DI QUALITÀ. L'IMPIEGO DEL FREDDO PER LA PRODUZIONE DEL MOSTO. INDAGINE SPERIMENTALE SU TRE AZIENDE LEADER DELLA SICILIA OCCIDENTALE

TIPOLOGIA E CARATTERISTICHE DEI FRANTOI DI ALCUNE REGIONI ITALIANE

Un sistema per il monitoraggio continuo dell'ossigeno all'interno della gramola per esaltare la tipicità degli oli extravergini di oliva di Pantelleria

VINIFICAZIONE IN BIANCO

Analysis of the main factors influencing the quality of wine from mechanically harvested grapes

The wine sector is going today through a period of severe crisis mainly due to the process of globalization in which all the countries producing wine have entered into fierce competition with each other. As a consequence, the achievement of the product on the market exclusively depends on a good value for money. One of the main factors that affect the cost of running the vineyard and, therefore, the final price of the wine is certainly the grape harvest. For the reasons given above this technique, used to be performed manually, is today impossible to support except that there would be the use of the harvesting machine. It’s well known that the use of the harvesting machine has the limit of …

LA RACCOLTA MECCANICA DELLE OLIVE:INNOVAZIONI TECNOLOGICHE

Influenza delle condizioni climatiche sulla qualità dei trattamenti fitosanitari su vigneto

Sistema de monitorización en continuo a tiempo real de la concentración de oxígeno durante el batido para la producción de aceite de oliva virgen

During the mechanical extraction process of Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) some important physical phenomena and enzymatic transformations occur which influence the quality of the final product. The control of process parameters is crucial to ensure the quality of VOO, therefore process monitoring and control is a fundamental requirement in the modern VOO processing industry. The present work proposes an innovative Real-Time Monitoring System (RTMS) aimed at continuously measuring the oxygen concentration during the malaxation process in order to establish a correlation with the quality of the final product obtained. This monitoring system is based on an oxygen concentration sensor directly connect…

Harvest of Olives with Portable Shakers

Soil physical-mechanical properties evaluation in different tillage systems

In environments characterized by steep slopes or arranged in terraces, among the shallow tillage systems, rototilling is extensively used. However, the effect of the repeated use of ro-totilling has a considerable influence on soil characteristics; it appears finely powdered, soft and without structure. In order to limit these inconveniences, an innovative self-propelled machine equipped with working tools as a spade, to be used in steep slopes or arranged in terraces areas, was designed by the Mechanics Section of the Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, in cooperation with Agrotec company, Padua, Italy. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of t…