Search results for "forestry"
showing 10 items of 1998 documents
Evolutionary Considerations in Potato Pest Management
2013
Incorporating our knowledge of fundamental evolutionary processes into pest control practices is essential for maximizing their efficiency. The insect pest complex of potato is characterized by a high degree of plasticity and adaptability. In particular, the Colorado potato beetle quickly expanded its host range to include cultivated potato, and has shown a remarkable ability to evolve resistance to a wide variety of chemicals. Another major pest of potatoes, the green peach aphid, is also very adaptable to insecticides. Both of these insects can also develop resistance to non-chemical methods of their suppression, such as biological control and crop rotation. In addition, understanding ins…
Sustainable Weed, Disease and Pest Management in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
2015
As for all other crops, in MAPs as well, weeds, diseases and pests are important yield-reducing factors, which may severely curtain biomass production and, that is maybe more important, may affect several qualitative aspects of production. Research about this topic is generally lacking, for two main reasons: the first is that MAPs are generally grown on rather limited areas, and the incidence of specific pests and diseases rarely takes a relevance outside rather narrow boundaries. The second reason is that the economical importance of MAPs is much lower than that ascribed to the “major” crops, which the bigger efforts of research are addressed to. In the changing scenario of latter years, h…
Invasive Aliens in Italy: Enumeration, History, Biology and Their Impact
2021
Italy includes two large islands, Sardinia and Sicily, and a peninsula separated from the European continent by the Alpine Arch. At national level ISPRA (Instituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Higher Institute for Environmental protection and research) is the instrument of the Ministry of Environment and for the Protection of the Territory and the Sea to carry out its mission, including the study, monitoring, and control of invasive alien species. Universities, Scientific Societies, and ONGs play a vital role in basic research. The interest in the study of alien plants is of a theoretical nature, as regards the migrations of living beings and interactions with native…
Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae): a decade of research towards a sustainable integrated pest management program
2021
Abstract Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) also known as spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), is a pest native to Southeast Asia. In the last few decades, the pest has expanded its range to affect all major European and American fruit production regions. SWD is a highly adaptive insect that is able to disperse, survive, and flourish under a range of environmental conditions. Infestation by SWD generates both direct and indirect economic impacts through yield losses, shorter shelf life of infested fruit, and increased production costs. Fresh markets, frozen berries, and fruit export programs have been impacted by the pest due to zero tolerance for fruit infestation. As SWD co…
Assessing human health risks from pesticide use in conventional and innovative cropping systems with the BROWSE model
2017
Background: Reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and on the environment is one of the objectives of the European Commission Directive 2009/128/EC in the quest for a sustainable use of pesticides. This Directive, developed through European national plans such as Ecophyto plan in France, promotes the introduction of innovative cropping systems relying, for example, on integrated pest management. Risk assessment for human health of the overall pesticide use in these innovative systems is required before the introduction of those systems to avoid that an innovation becomes a new problem. Objectives: The objectives of this work were to assess and to compare (1) the hum…
Methodological approaches to the valuation of forest ecosystem services: An overview of recent international research trends
2021
Forests represent the most important source of ecosystem services (ES) on a global level both for the production of goods and for the provision of services and externalities, nevertheless scientific research in the economic field is lacking. Currently the number of documents relating to ES is 16 673, of which only 1 379 concern the forestry sector. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of scientific research trends in the field of economic evaluation of forest ecosystem services (FES). To this end, an on-line bibliographic survey was carried out on the main scientific search engines, which made it possible to quantify the works and at the same time to detect the main evaluation me…
Effect of biochar on the physical and structural properties of a sandy soil
2019
Abstract Biochar application to soil can be considered as a means to improve soil quality, thereby optimizing irrigation management and reducing irrigation needs, especially in dryland regions. This paper is aimed at investigating the effect of biochar (BC) on a desert sandy soil (Al Foah, United Arab Emirates) in terms of bulk density, porosity, water retention, plant available water (AWmax), aggregate stability (AS) and specific surface area (BET-SSA). BC was produced from forest biomass (Italy). Soil water retention was measured by the High Energy Moisture Characteristic (HEMC) and by pressure plate measurements, by using BC fractions equal to 0 (soil only), 0.014, 0.091, 0.23, 0.33 and …
Hydraulic Design of the Center-Pivot Irrigation System for Gradually Decreasing Sprinkler Spacing
2021
Design strategies that enhance modern irrigation practices, reduce energy consumption, and improve water use efficiency and crop yields are fundamental for sustainability. Although microirrigation is currently a widely applied method, center-pivot irrigation systems have become very popular on large farms, thanks to their automation, wide-coverage, and reliability. Different design procedures have been proposed, even though some aspects have not been solved yet. This paper presents a simple design procedure for center-pivot systems using a gradually decreasing sprinkler spacing along with a pivot lateral, which makes it possible to set favorable and uniformly distributed water application r…
Updated single and dual crop coefficients for tree and vine fruit crops
2021
Abstract The present study reviews the research on the FAO56 crop coefficients of fruit trees and vines performed over the past twenty years. The main objective was to update information and extend tabulated single (K c ) and basal (K cb ) standard crop coefficients. The selection and analysis of the literature for this review have been done to consider only studies that adhere to FAO56 method, computing the reference ET with the FAO Penman–Monteith ET o equation and field measuring crop ET with proved accuracy. The crops considered refer to vine fruit crops, berries and hops, temperate climate evergreen fruit trees, temperate climate deciduous fruit trees and, tropical and subtropical fru…
Using field measurements and FAO-56 model to assess the eco-physiological response of citrus orchards under regulated deficit irrigation
2017
[EN] Micro-irrigation is considered one of the most efficient water distribution systems and allows increasing water use efficiency if coupled with effective water-saving irrigation management strategies as regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) or partial root-zone drying (PRD) techniques. However, application of these strategies makes it crucial the real-time monitoring of soil and crop water status, in order to identify appropriate irrigation scheduling parameters (irrigation timing and doses) and to prevent irreversible damage of plant system and/or crop yield reductions. Even if midday stem water potential (MSWP) is considered one of the most affordable indicator for direct determinations …