Production, Leaf Quality and Antioxidants of Perennial Wall Rocket as Affected by Crop Cycle and Mulching Type

Abstract

The plastic mulch has raised a disposal issue, which has been diverting the research focus on biodegradable film as an alternative. Research was carried out in southern Italy in 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 in order to assess the effects of three crop cycles (autumn-winter, winter, spring) in factorial combination with three soil mulching types (a MaterBi biodegradable black film; a brown photoselective low density polyethylene (LDPE) film; a black-standard LDPE film) and a non-mulched control, on leaves yield, quality and antioxidants of greenhouse grown Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) D.C. The spring cycle was the shortest and best enhanced plant growth and yield. The non-mulched control caused an 11% yield reduction compared to the mulching treatments average (12.4 t ha−1). The soil temperature was highest under photoselective and standard LDPE films. The Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) index was 17.4% higher in the leaves grown in mulched soil. Winter season and biodegradable mulch led to higher leaf dry residue and organic acids. Leaf nitrate content was highest in winter and under mulching. The spring cycle, the biodegradable and photoselective LDPE film resulted in the highest antioxidant compound content and activity. The biodegradable polymer improved leaf quality, showing suitable features for sustainable production.

Yield and Nutritional Quality of Vesuvian Piennolo Tomato PDO as Affected by Farming System and Biostimulant Application

“…The detailed aminogram of the product along with the phenolics, flavonoids and elemental composition were reported by Rouphael et al [31] and Paul et al [25]. The PE biostimulant obtained by fermentation of tropical plants contains 54% of free amino acids and peptide, 17% carbohydrate, 23% mineral nutrients, 6% vitamins and 0.22% phytohormones as reported in detail by Rouphael et al [33] and Caruso et al [32].…”

“…In addition, PH treatment may boost crop performances, by eliciting auxin-and gibberellin-like activities through bioactive peptides [17,28,29]. PE and PHs also exert indirect effects on plants, as they modify the architecture of roots and increase their hair surface expansion, thus enhancing macro-and microelement uptake [26,28,[30][31][32]. However, limited scientific literature are available with regard to the effect of foliar applications of PH or PE in interaction with either conventional or organic farming on agronomical and fruit quality responses of tomato landraces, in particular the long shelf-life cherry tomato landrace 'Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio' (PPV), a typical niche product of Campania (Italy) horticultural sector.…”

Effect of Vegetal- and Seaweed Extract-Based Biostimulants on Agronomical and Leaf Quality Traits of Plastic Tunnel-Grown Baby Lettuce under Four Regimes of Nitrogen Fertilization

“…The detailed aminogram was reported by Paul et al [33,34]. The TPE biostimulant obtained by fermentation of tropical plants contained 54% of free amino acids and peptide, 17% carbohydrate, 23% mineral nutrients, 6% vitamins and 0.22% phytohormones as reported in detail by Caruso et al [23,24]. Baby lettuce leaf plants were sprayed with a biostimulant solution containing 3 mL•L −1 of SwE and LDPH and 2•mL L −1 for TPE-based biostimulant, or with water (non-treated control), five times during the growing season at 7-day intervals, starting three weeks after sowing.…”

“…Recent studies carried out on vegetable crops including leafy greens have demonstrated that foliar and/or root applications of plant or seaweed-based biostimulants elicit several physiological and molecular processes, thus resulting in improvements in growth, productivity, nutritional quality and nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and tolerance to abiotic stressors such as drought, soil and water salinity, nutrient deprivation and extreme temperatures [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. The beneficial effects of vegetal-and seaweed-based biostimulants have been attributed to direct and indirect stimulation mechanisms [9].…”

Effect of Agronomic Practices on Yield and Quality of Borage at Harvest and During Storage as Minimally-Processed Produce

“…Borage plants benefited of mulching in terms of higher vigor, earliness, fresh biomass production and water retention. Similar effects of plastic mulching have been reported for other leafy vegetables [20,21,[61][62][63][64] and can be ascribed to increased soil moisture and temperature, improved soil structure and microbial activity, and to reduced water evaporation and fertilizer leaching [63,65,66]. z Each value is the mean of three replicated plots of 10 m 2 each.…”