Soybean cultivation holds great potential for a sustainable agriculture in Europe, but adaptation remains a central issue. In this large mega-environment (MEV) study, 75 European cultivars from five early maturity groups (MGs 000-II) were evaluated for maturity-related traits at 22 locations in 10 countries across Europe. Clustering of the locations based on phenotypic similarity revealed six MEVs in latitudinal direction and suggested several more. Analysis of maturity identified several groups of cultivars with phenotypic similarity that are optimally adapted to the different growing regions in Europe. We identified several haplotypes for the allelic variants at the E1, E2, E3 and E4 genes, with each E haplotype comprising cultivars from different MGs. Cultivars with the same E haplotype can exhibit different flowering and maturity characteristics, suggesting that the genetic control of these traits is more complex and that adaptation involves additional genetic pathways, for example temperature requirement. Taken together, our study allowed the first unified assessment of soybean-growing regions in Europe and illustrates the strong effect of photoperiod on soybean adaptation and MEV classification, as well as the effects of the E maturity loci for soybean adaptation in Europe.

A recent non‐destructive technique allows estimation of leaf chlorophyll content using the portable SPAD‐502 chlorophyll meter. Measurements were taken on four species (winter wheat, maize, soyabean and tobacco) subjected to different nitrogen regimes or senescence status and the: non‐destructive readings were compared with analytical results obtained by solvent extraction. In general, the relationship between the SPAD measurement and the analytical result was not linear and species was a factor in three out of four crops. Linear, quadratic and exponential curve fitting are presented; only die interpolation with a polynomial exponential function adequately descries the whole data set. The presence of statistically non‐significant differences between the estimated values of wheat and maize on the one hand and significant: points of difference between those of tobacco and soyabean on the other suggests distinct behaviour patterns far monocots and cicots. This type of response maybe explained by differences, in the optical properties of pigments with differing sparial distributions (sieve effect) and therefore by in vivo and in vitro different procedures and the structural diversity of leaves belonging to the two subclasses.

Efforts to determine the mechanistic relationships between fruit and canopy development are complicated by difficulties in designing nondestructive treatments that modify plant-sink development. Pod growth was physically restricted by placing plastic straws, referred to as plastic pod-restriction devices, over 0,50, or 100% of the soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) pods in greenhouse experiments. The objective was to determine how decreases in pod growth influenced whole-plant growth and development. Both the rate and final accumulation of seed dry matter were decreased by restricting pod growth. Conversely, restricting pod growth increased seed number due to increased production and decreased abscission of fruits. Plant dry matter and N accumulations during the linear seed-fill period were not affected by restricting pod growth. This resulted from proportional increases in partitioning of assimilates into stems and leaves. Thus, decreases in reproductive growth apparently did not cause feedback inhibition of photosynthesis. Although leaf abscission was delayed by restricting pod growth, dry matter and N accumulation late in development were affected only slightly. In general, restricting pod growth influenced plant development and assimilate allocation in a similar manner as physical removal of fruits. The inverse relationship between the rate of dry matter accumulation in seed and pod and seed number per plant indicated that assimilate availability (united seed number. The delay in leaf yellowing and abscission induced by physically restricting pod growth suggested that the completion of monocarpic senescence was directly affected by changes in the rate of seed dry matter accumulation per plant.

Water stress increased mono-saccharides and decreased di-saccharides concentration in four field grown genotypes, regardless of their different drought susceptibility. Sandy, a USA genotype known for giving satisfying yields in droughty environments, outstood the other cultivars in terms of betaine and proline concentration in leaf tissues; these aminoacids are therefore considered responsible for the most negative ^s perceived in this cultivar.PV-curve technique revealed for Tullio, the drought susceptible Italian genotype, an osmotic adjustment of -0.63 MPa, four times greater than in Pandas, though this drought resistant cultivar showed a similar content in osmotically active substances; the authors therefore hypothesize an alternative mechanism in the response to water shortage in Tullio. K ey words: Triticum aestivum, osmotic adjustment, sugars, aminoacids.

The implications of metal nanoparticles (MeNPs) are still unknown for many food crops. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of cerium oxide (nCeO2) and titanium oxide (nTiO2) nanoparticles in soil at 0, 500 and 1000 mg·kg−1 on the nutritional parameters of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) kernels. Mineral nutrients, amylose, β-glucans, amino acid and crude protein (CP) concentrations were measured in kernels. Whole flour samples were analyzed by ICP-AES/MS, HPLC and Elemental CHNS Analyzer. Results showed that Ce and Ti accumulation under MeNPs treatments did not differ from the control treatment. However, nCeO2 and nTiO2 had an impact on composition and nutritional quality of barley kernels in contrasting ways. Both MeNPs left β-glucans unaffected but reduced amylose content by approximately 21%. Most amino acids and CP increased. Among amino acids, lysine followed by proline saw the largest increase (51% and 37%, respectively). Potassium and S were both negatively impacted by MeNPs, while B was only affected by 500 mg nCeO2·kg−1. On the contrary Zn and Mn concentrations were improved by 500 mg nTiO2·kg−1, and Ca by both nTiO2 treatments. Generally, our findings demonstrated that kernels are negatively affected by nCeO2 while nTiO2 can potentially have beneficial effects. However, both MeNPs have the potential to negatively impact malt and feed production.

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Assessing diversity across and within crop varieties is relevant to improve the description of collections in genebanks and in on-farm conservation. The differences among and within several common bena (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces, collected from and maintained ex situ in NE Italy, were initially studied using a set of 15phenotypic descriptors. From a subgroups of five bean accessions, microsatellite genotyping was performed after the extraction of DNA from each of 38-40 individuals. One of the 15 phenotypical descriptors (plant architecture) was of no use. Only ten out of the 23 molecular markers did work, however sufficient to discriminate the accessions. The phenotypic descriptors identified a portion of the within-population variability. A few discrepancies were obtained when observations of phenotype descriptors were run independently in two alpine locations in NE Italy. The genetic approach carried out separately on DNA of about 40 individuals clarified the structure of the five accessions

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