Role of rotation and nitrogen fertilization on the productive and qualitative response of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.)

Correct soil management can improve and/or sometimes restore the fertility of agricultural land. Crop rotations are important to maintain adequate soil organic matter content and to reduce chemical nutritional intake. Qualitative and productive durum wheat response is strongly influenced by soil nutrient availability, necessary for plant growth and development. Nitrogen availability, mainly during the first stage of growth, determines the uptake rate and total nitrogen uptake; later is also responsible of nitrogen translocation from vegetative to reproductive organs, determining yield and grain qualitative characteristics. The aim of the trial was to evaluate cropping system effects and nit…

Application of the Wood model to lactation curves of Comisana sheep

Abstract Ninety-two ewes of the Comisana breed were used in a study to verify the forecasting capacity of the mathematical model proposed by Wood for fitting sheep data, and to evaluate the effect of the environmental factors affecting the parameters of the lactation curve. The Wood model underestimated the total lactation milk production with an error margin of 12.2 ± 7.8 kg of milk corresponding to 10.9 ± 6.6%. There was a strong influence of order of lambing × lambing season interaction on the lactation parameters. The curves for the winter lambing ewes demonstrated a higher peak production than autumn lambing ewes (1728.4 vs. 1082.6 g, P ≤ 0.05 for the second lambing ewes and 1772.8 vs.…

Evaluation of vetch (Vicia sativa L) genotypes in semi-arid environment of Italy