The essentiality of selenium (Se) and iodine (I) for the human organism and the relationship between these two trace elements in mammal metabolism highlight the importance of the joint Se–I biofortification to vegetable crops in the frame of sustainable farming management. A research study was carried out in southern Italy to determine the effects of the combined inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biofortification with Se and I on plant growth, seed yield, quality, and antioxidant and elemental status, as well as residual biomass chemical composition of chickpea grown in two different planting times (14 January and 28 February). The AMF application improved the intensity of I and Se accumulation both in single and joint supply of these elements, resulting in higher seed yield and number as well as dry weight, and was also beneficial for increasing the content of antioxidants, protein, and macro- and microelements. Earlier planting time resulted in higher values of seed yield, as well as Se, I, N, P, Ca, protein, and antioxidant levels. Se and I showed a synergistic effect, stimulating the accumulation of each other in chickpea seeds. The AMF inoculation elicited a higher protein and cellulose synthesis, as well as glucose production in the residual biomass, compared to the single iodine application and the untreated control. From the present research, it can be inferred that the plant biostimulation through the soil inoculation with AMF and the biofortification with Se and I, applied singly or jointly, proved to be effective sustainable farming tools for improving the chickpea seed yield and/or quality, as well as the residual biomass chemical composition for energy production or beneficial metabolite extraction.

The honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) has been used in several studies for monitoring the environmental health status in terms of pollution, due to its wide-ranging foraging flights. Based on this consideration, this study aimed to analyze heavy metal pollution in Molise Region (Italy), by investigating five sites characterized by different levels of contamination. Furthermore, the authors carried out a sampling activity for a long period, in order to obtain a complete dataset. In this way, detailed information about the status of the environments was able to be obtained. The main purpose of this work was to assess the health status of Molise Region and to confirm the suitability of honeybees as environmental bioindicators of heavy metal pollution, by analyzing their variability over time and space. Furthermore, the study compared the health status associated with contamination in terms of heavy metals with that in two different areas of Italy, using hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis, to evaluate the correlation existing among the three different areas of Italy. Following the findings, the authors suggest the use of honeybees as a bioindicator for heavy metal pollution in air quality studies.

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The strawberry is a low-growing, herbaceous perennial plant, sensitive to iron deficiency. The iron deficiency represents a nutritional disorder, leading to a decreased content of photosynthetic pigments, which determines the yellow color characteristic of chlorotic leaves. Therefore, in calcareous soils, the use of synthetic iron chelate is often mandatory in strawberry cultivation. The employment of novel microorganism-based formulations as alternatives to the use of iron chelates, was evaluated during strawberry cultivation by monitoring the morpho-biometric parameters, chlorophylls, the iron content in leaves and roots, and the Fe chelate reductase activity involved in absorption of iron during the chlorosis event in plants using the strategy I. The experimental design envisaged growing strawberry seedlings on an inert substrate (pumice), irrigated with Hoagland solution iron-free, with a 12 h photoperiod. After 42 days, at the first appearance of chlorosis symptoms, plants were transplanted into a calcareous soil, and after seven days, they were treated, by a single application, with a microorganism-based formulations (MBF), an inoculum (In) of Trichoderma spp. and Streptomyces spp., or Sequestrene (Sq). Strawberry plants were sampled and analyzed at 5, 10, 15, and 20 days from the treatments. The results showed that microorganism-based formulations positively affected the strawberry seedlings, by reducing the chlorosis symptoms, producing comparable effects to the Sequestrene treatment.