Genetic diversity of cultivated cardoon to select high biomass producing genotypes

Assessing the Impact of Water Salinization Stress on Biomass Yield of Cardoon Bio-Energetic Crops through Remote Sensing Techniques

“…Three domesticated cardoon genotypes, whose seeds have been provided by ENEA germplasm collection, were grown in hydroponics boxes located in a greenhouse of the ENEA's Casaccia research center [25], until the first growth stages of BBCH scale [26], shown in Figure 1. Three clones of C. cardunculus were previously selected for the morphological characterization on three plants/genotype and subsequently plant selections were performed [26].…”

“…In particular, due to continuous and repetitive monitoring capability coupled with recent advances in sensors and platform, the satellite remote sensing applications currently provide a broad spectrum of effective and tailored solutions for terrestrial and marine vegetation assessment also linked to related environmental impacts and water quality parameters [20][21][22][23][24]. In this context, the present study has aimed at investigating whether the spectral reflectance responses of three different genotypes of cardoon, subjected to different salinity levels during their first growth stages of Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt, CHemischeIndustrie (BBCH) scale [25,26], could be used to suitably estimate the effects on different plant biophysical parameters (i.e., Leaf Area Index (LAI) and leaf biomass density). The reflectance spectroscopy exploiting the solar spectrum in the Uv-Vis-NIR-SWIR ranges was tested as a rapid screening method for monitoring differentiation of cardoon genotypes responses to salt stress.…”