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…

Evaluation of Oil Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) Cultivar in Two Sowing Times and Two Locations of Southern Italy.

Fine-scale spatial variability of soil organic carbon and related environmental variables in a protected area of Sicily, Italy

The institution of Natural Reserves has promoted, in Italy, the conservation and the environmental improvement of several areas and their physical and biological factors. Agriculture, forestry and every human activity are regulated to preserve their high ecological and naturalistic value. Land use, in particular, must follow careful rules to preserve the soil fertility and to limit the factors of landscape degradation. Maps of soil organic carbon (SOC) or soil organic matter (SOM) are of interest for agricultural management, resulting a very important soil fertility parameter, as well as in environmental policy related to the terrestrial sequestration of atmospheric carbon. Thus, a better u…

Performance of selected grass pea lines in Sicily (Italy).