0000000000670647
AUTHOR
G Gugliuzza
Confronto tra differenti metodologie di valutazione della qualità fisica del suolo in un’area a pascolo e bosco della Sicilia
Il concetto di qualità fisica del suolo (SPQ, Soil Physical Quality) viene ormai largamente utilizzato, soprattutto in ambito agricolo. Un suolo agricolo di buona qualità fisica possiede caratteristiche strutturali favorevoli sia all’ancoraggio della coltura sia allo sviluppo dell’apparato radicale della pianta nonché un’adeguata ripartizione tra pori di diverse dimensioni, in modo da favorire simultaneamente l’areazione e la ritenzione idrica nel mezzo poroso. Per la valutazione della SPQ sono determinanti le misure di ritenzione idrica del suolo, che possono essere analizzate con diverse metodologie. Alcune indagini recenti segnalano tuttavia che la scelta della metodologia di analisi del…
Attacks of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus on natural specimens of dwarf fan palm Chamaerops humilis in Sicily.
The red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus was recently introduced into Europe where it has destroyed many Phoenix canariensis palms. This weevil attacks different species of palms in different countries, mainly cultivated date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) in Egypt and cultivated Canary palms (Phoenix canariensis) in Europe. In Europe, sporadic attacks of the weevil to native dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) have been reported. The current paper reports attacks of R. ferrugineus on dwarf fan palms in natural environments of Sicily. This insect represents an important threat to dwarf palms and to the complex ecosystem where they live.
Use of seeds from local loquat ecotypes for rootstock production
In Italy loquat (Eriobotrya japonica, Lindl) seedlings are commonly produced in nurseries as rootstocks for commercial loquat orchards. Seedling production is characterized by low germination percentage and a slow plant growth.The aim of this study was to evaluate local ecotypes seeds of loquat for seedlings production. Some ecotypes (Bianco dolce, BRT20, Claudia, Fiore, La Mantia and Marcenò) and international cultivars (Algerie, Golden Nugget, Magdal, Peluche and Tanaka) were compared. Loquat seeds of 11 different genotypes were collected from mature fruits in commercial orchards. Seeds were extracted and washed after separating from flesh. A pretreatment of 24 hr of seed soaking in a sol…