0000000000338356
AUTHOR
Raffaele La Torre
Effect of Sowing Time on Coriander Performance in a Semiarid Mediterranean Environment
In semiarid environments, time of sowing is one of the most important factors influencing seed yields. For coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), the most commonly recommended cropping technique is spring sowing (March–April), since the optimum soil temperature for seed germination ranges between 20 and 23 °C, and the crop shows a remarkable sensitivity to frost and cold. In many semiarid areas of southern Italy, however, the occurrence of prolonged dry periods in summer and spring does not allow for the scheduling of summer crops without irrigation. However, the generally mild winter temperatures and the typical rainfall distribution, which is mostly concentrated over the winter months, could …
Sustainable production of fennel and dill by intercropping
Intercropping is claimed to be one of the most significant cropping techniques in sustainable agriculture, and much research and many reviews attribute to its utilization a number of environmental benefits, from promoting land biodiversity to diversifying agricultural outcome. In this sense, intercropping is thought to be a useful means of minimizing the risks of agricultural production in many environments, including those typical of under-developed or marginal areas. In order to validate this hypothesis in a representative area of the semiarid Mediterranean environment, we evaluated the possibility of growing dill and fennel, both belonging to the family Apiaceae, in temporary intercroppi…
Statistical analyses on the essential oil of italian coriander (coriandrum sativum L.) fruits of different ages and origins
Thirty-one samples of Coriandrum sativum L. fruits, of different origin, year of cultivation (harvest) and crop management systems were subjected to volatile component analysis by combining Head Space Solid Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME) with GC/MS. In order to determine the importance of the major sources of volatile variability, some statistical analyses, including Cluster Analysis (CA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), were performed on the obtained data. The compounds, which gave the main contribution to the partition and classification of the original data, were α-pinene, p-cymene, γ-terpinene and linalool. The age of the fruits, which ranged from 1–16 years, seemed to generate …
Variations in the Volatile Compounds of a Fennel (Foeniculum VulgareMill.) Variety Grown in a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Environment
Abstract Fennel is an industrial source of anethole but, recently, further interest has came from the suggested possibility of many industrial uses of this plant.The volatile substances from the seeds of Fennel grown in Sparacia (Cammarata – AG – Sicily; 37° 38’ N; 13° 46’ E) have been investigated and compared on a statistical base with previously reported data. The variety grown in Sparacia fall into the “high fenchone” chemovariety. The substances α-toluene, α-terpinene, β-phellandrene+limonene and camphene appear the components most sensitive to environment and grow condition modifications.