Search results for "lcsh:Agriculture"
showing 10 items of 222 documents
Evaluation of quality attributes and consumer preference of fresh or imported mangoes in Italy
2018
Mango is a climacteric fruit with a very short shelf-life due to its rapid ripeness after harvest. Generally, fruit from tropical countries and directed to longer transportation (EU markets), are in general harvested firm, before complete ripening (mature-green stage). This harvest practice usefully for mango fruit storability and transportability, generally causes fruits quality and taste decrease. The present study was conducted to evaluate quality attributes and consumer preference of fresh or imported mangoes in Italy. Mango fruit imported from abroad (cv Keitt, Kent and Osteen) were collected from 2 different large-scale organized distribution markets (LD). Mango fruits (cv Keitt, Kent…
The agricultural heritage of Lampedusa (Pelagie Archipelago, South Italy) and its key role for cultivar and wildlife conservation
2011
As occurred on many other little Mediterranean islands, agricultural activity at Lampedusa (Strait of Sicily) underwent a very strong decline in terms of surface area during the second half of the last century. In particular, cereal crops have ceased and horticulture is disappearing, while vineyards still occupy a reduced area but are quickly vanishing and currently survive thanks to a small number of old farmers. Here are presented the results of a research carried out by interviewing seven farmers in order to study not only the techniques and the germplasm used in local viticulture, but also the final use of grapes and an evaluation on the connection between traditional farming and agro-e…
Soil quality indicators as affected by a long term barley-maize and maize cropping systems
2011
Most soil studies aim a better characterization of the system through indicators. In the present study nematofauna and soil structure were chosen as indicators to be assess soil health as related to agricultural practices. The field research was carried out on the two fodder cropping systems continuous maize (CM, Zea mays L.) and a 3-year rotation of silage-maize – silage-barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with Italian ryegrass (R3) and grain-maize maintained in these conditions for 18 years. Each crop system was submitted to two management options: 1) the high input level (H), done as a conventional tillage, 2) the low input level (L), where the tillage was replaced by harrowing and the…
Establishing soil loss tolerance: an overview
2016
Soil loss tolerance is a criterion for establishing if a soil is potentially subjected to erosion risk, productivity loss and if a river presents downstream over-sedimentation or other off-site effects are present at basin scale. At first this paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil loss and summarises the available definitions and the knowledge on the recommended values and evaluating criteria. Then a threshold soil loss value, at the annual temporal scale, established for limiting riling was used for defining the classical soil loss tolerance. Finally, some research needs on tolerable soil loss are listed.
FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER – RELATIONS BETWEEN PRICES OF SELECTED PRODUCTS ON THE AGRI-FOOD MARKET
2019
The food supply chain is characterized by a large diversity of entities comprising it, combining actions taken by individual links, starting with the producer on the consumer. The primary goal of the smooth functioning of the food supply chain is to ensure satisfaction of buyers, while profiting by companies participating in the flow of products. The primary aim of the efficient functioning of the food supply chain is to ensure satisfaction of buyers, while profiting by companies participating in the flow of products. Changes occurring in agricultural production, often cyclical, are transferred to individual links in the supply chain. This phenomenon is visible in changes in the level of pr…
Exploring Innovation Adoption Behavior for Sustainable Development: The Case of Hungarian Food Sector
2020
Innovation plays a key role in the success and sustainable development of businesses. The innovation process derives from the combination of personal skills and company resources that influence food company managers in their choices on innovation (the decision-making process). This study is an attempt to try to understand which psychological constructs affect innovation decision-making in the Hungarian food sector, using the empirical data from a 2017 survey conducted in Hungary among the largest food processing companies. Planned behavior theory (TPB) was applied to the study of factors affecting innovation decision-making. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The…
Airborne birch pollen in Poland and Latvia in the light of data obtained from aerobiological monitoring and tauber traps in relation to mean air temp…
2012
Birch pollen contains allergens belonging to those with the strongest allergenic properties. In order to trace pollen season patterns of this taxon and pollen annual sums at a wider regional scale, cooperation was established with the University of Latvia in Riga (Latvia). A comparison of the results obtained in the years 2003-2008 in Lublin and in Riga, using volumetric samplers, shows that there was a similar trend in the abundance of birch pollen. The highest sums were noted at both sites in 2003. In all the study years, more birch pollen grains were recorded in Lublin than in Riga, on the average by 7110. The birch pollen seasons started earlier in Lublin than in Riga, on the average by…
Evaluation of different mechanical fruit harvesting systems and oil quality in very large size olive trees
2014
In 2006 and 2009, trials were carried out in the Apulia region in Southern Italy to evalu-ate the possibility of mechanizing olive harvesting in groves of old and very large trees. The trees belonged to the cultivars ‘Cellina di Nardò’ and ‘Ogliarola Salentina’. They were 60-100 years old and 7-9 m tall with a canopy volume of 140-360 m3. In the first half of November 2006, with a mechanical beater mounted on a tractor plus hand-held pneumatic combs, the harvesting yield was close to 90% of the total olives present in the canopy, and the harvesting working productivity was around 60 kg of harvested olives h-1 worker-1. With a self-propelled shaker attached to the main branches the harvestin…
Whole body vibrations during field operations in the vineyard
2013
Human exposure to mechanical vibration can be a significant risk factor for exposed workers and this also occurs in the agricultural sector, in particular with reference to the driver of the tractor during field operations. The aim of this paper is the evaluation of Whole Body Vibrations for the operator driving tractors during the field operations in the vineyard. The experimental tests were performed using a wheeled and a track-laying tractor. They were coupled to four different machines: rototilling (RT), chisel plough (CP), flail mowers (FM) and vibro farmer (VF). Two homogeneous plots of vineyard, about 200 m long, were identified different only for slope: 0% and 30%. The tests were pe…
Noise levels of a track-laying tractor during field operations in the vineyard
2013
Noise in agriculture is one of the risk factors to be taken into account in the assessment of the health and safety of workers; in particular, it is known that the tractor is a source of high noise. The Italian Low Decree 81/2008 defined the requirements for assessing and managing noise risk identifying a number of procedures to be adopted at different noise levels to limit workers exposure. This paper concerns the analysis of the noise risk arising from the use of a tracklaying tractor during field operations carried out in the vineyard. The objective of this study was to evaluate the noise level that comes close to the ear of the operator driving the tractor measuring the values of equiva…