Search results for "Crops"

Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizae on biomass production and nitrogen fixation of berseem clover plants subjected to water stress.

2014

Several studies, performed mainly in pots, have shown that arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis can mitigate the negative effects of water stress on plant growth. No information is available about the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis on berseem clover growth and nitrogen (N) fixation under conditions of water shortage. A field experiment was conducted in a hilly area of inner Sicily, Italy, to determine whether symbiosis with AM fungi can mitigate the detrimental effects of drought stress (which in the Mediterranean often occurs during the late period of the growing season) on forage yield and symbiotic N2 fixation of berseem clover. Soil was either left under water stress (i.e., rai…

Oilseed treatment by ultrasounds and microwaves to improve oil yield and quality: An overview.

2016

International audience; Efficiency is a key point to ensure the profitability in the production of vegetable oils from oilseeds. To maximize the recovery yields of seed oils, the traditional process involves mechanical expression followed by subsequent chemical extraction using organic solvents (e.g. hexane). Besides health, environmental, and economic related issues to the use of organic solvents, thermal treatment of seeds during conventional oil extraction process inevitably leads to chemical changes (e.g. changes in macronutrients such as protein denaturation/degradation in the meal, oil oxidation, and changes in minor constituents such as fatty acids, sterols, phenolic compounds and to…

Impact of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) transgenic line H228.2A on substrate and rhizosphere microorganisms and the possibility of horizontal gene tran…

2013

Numerous investigations have been carried out to determine the impact of genetically modified plants, such as potato, maize, alfalfa and tobacco, on soil microorganisms and the results are contradictory. We applied classical microbiology methods to study quantitative changes of bacterial and fungal abundance in substrate and rhizosphere from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) transgenic line H228.2A containing Rpg1 and bar genes, and its parent nontransgenic variety ‘Golden Promise’. In addition, molecular biology methods were used to determine, if horizontal gene transfer from barley transgenic line to soil bacteria has occurred under experimental conditions by screening bacterial genomes for the…

CHEMICAL AND BOTANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS L. BIOTYPE FROM SICILY

2006

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is widely cultivated all over the world as ornamental and aromatic plant. Today, the interest towards its cultivation is strongly arising, due to the many biological activities exerted by the essential oil extracted from its leaves and flowers. Which compounds confer to Rosemary's essential oil its properties is still unclear, but it seems likely that these effects must be attributed to a mixture of different principles, acting contemporarily and synergically. The diverse composition of the essential oils of Rosemary's ecotypes coming from different geographical areas could be the reason of their various level of activity. With the aim of obtaining furth…

Assessing the agro hydrological SWAP model to simulate soil water balance in typical Mediterranean crops

2007

Environmental distribution and diversity of Bacillus thuringiensis in Spain.

1998

Bacillus thuringiensis was isolated from 301 out of 1,005 samples collected in Spain from agricultural and non-cultivated soils, dust from stored products, and dead insects. Based on the production of parasporal crystals, 1,401 isolates were identified as B. thuringiensis after examining 11,982 B. thuringiensis-like colonies. We found a greater presence of B. thuringiensis in dust from grain storages than in other habitats. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the spore-crystal mixtures revealed diverse populations of B. thuringiensis which were differentiated in at least 92 distinct protein profiles. Serological identification also showed great diversity among the S…

Exploring the use of displaced beam scintillometer for daytime measurement of surface energy fluxes over a Mediterranean Olive Orchard

2014

Studies have shown that the footprint of a single eddy covariance (EC) system may not yield representative measurements of the turbulent fluxes at the field scale for sparse vegetated surfaces, whereas scintillometry, due to its larger footprint, may be more suitable for this purpose. However, the latter approach strongly relies on the Monin-Obukov similarity theory (MOST) that strictly applies in the inertial sub-layer only. This work aims at experimentally confirm the reliability of displaced-beam laser scintillometers (DBLS) measurements over an olive orchard against two EC systems during summer and autumn months of 2007 through 2009. It was found that the DBLS underestimated both the mo…

Use of irradiated pollen to induce Parthenogenesis and haploid production in fruit crops.

2012

Micrometeorological and sap flow measurement of energy and mass exchanges of woody crops in a Mediterranean environment

2011

INVESTIGATION ON THE GENETIC BASIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS IN FRUIT TREE CROPS

2021

Plant stress can be divided into two major categories: abiotic stress and biotic stress. Abiotic stress happens when plants are exposed to the environment either physically or chemically. There is an emergency in developing crop varieties that are tolerant to abiotic stresses to ensure food security and safety in the coming years. Multiple abiotic stress like drought, heat, frost at flowering and nutrient deficiency can cause an erratic fruiting behavior or following extreme events, the death of the plants. Plants require an optimal level of nutrients and essential minerals for their growth and development that are mainly acquired from soil by their roots. Nutrient deficiency is an environm…