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Fragalà F, Salvagno E, La Bella E, Saccone R, Padoan E, Montoneri E, Miccichè J, Ferrarello D, Baglieri A, Puglisi I. Enhancing Lettuce Yield through Innovative Foliar Spray of Biopolymers Derived from Municipal Biowastes. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1664. [PMID: 38931096 PMCID: PMC11207279 DOI: 10.3390/plants13121664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Municipal waste biomass could be valorized as an alternative feedstock to produce compounds beneficial for agricultural applications. The foliar spray application of biostimulants emerges as a promising and innovative technique due to its environmental safety and ability to enhance crop yields. In recent years, the exploitation of biopolymers obtained through alkaline hydrolysis of the solid anaerobic digestate from municipal biowastes has attracted researchers' interest. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects on lettuce growth of a product obtained through alkaline hydrolysis from municipal biowaste, Biopolymers (BPs), and of a derivate subjected to a further oxidation process, Biopolymers Oxidate (BPs OX). The effects of the treatments at various concentrations were evaluated by monitoring plant growth and observing the trends in the activities of the main enzymes involved in the nitrogen metabolic pathway of lettuce. Results suggest that the best treatments in terms of fresh weight were achieved by using BPs at 10 mg/L and BPs OX at 100 mg/L, increasing yield by around 28% and 34%, respectively. The innovative aspect of this work was to make easier for farmers the biopolymers application by testing a foliar spray methodology for BPs and BPs OX, which has never been tested before in any crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferdinando Fragalà
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Erika Salvagno
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Emanuele La Bella
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Rossella Saccone
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Elio Padoan
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Università di Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy; (E.P.); (E.M.)
| | - Enzo Montoneri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Università di Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy; (E.P.); (E.M.)
| | - Jennifer Miccichè
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Daniela Ferrarello
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Andrea Baglieri
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
| | - Ivana Puglisi
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.F.); (E.S.); (E.L.B.); (R.S.); (J.M.); (D.F.); (I.P.)
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Ma L, Janz B, Kiese R, Mwanake R, Wangari E, Butterbach-Bahl K. Effect of vole bioturbation on N 2O, NO, NH 3, CH 4 and CO 2 fluxes of slurry fertilized and non-fertilized montane grassland soils in Southern Germany. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 800:149597. [PMID: 34426336 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Populations of rodents such as common vole (Microtus arvalis) can develop impressive soil bioturbation activities in grasslands. These burrowing and nesting activities highly impact soil physicochemical properties as well as vegetation coverage and diversity. Managed grasslands in livestock production regions receive significant amounts of slurry, commonly at high loads at the beginning of the vegetation period. However, nothing is known how the combination of vole bioturbation and slurry application may affect the fluxes of C and N trace gases from grasslands. Here we report on an in-situ experiment and supporting laboratory incubations carried out during the period March to May 2020 comparing C (CH4, CO2) and N (N2O, NO, NH3) trace gas fluxes from Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens dominated montane grasslands with and without vole bioturbation and with and without slurry application, whereby, with regard to the latter, we further differentiated between acidified and non-acidified slurry. Vole bioturbation significantly (p < 0.05) increased soil NO and NH3 emissions, while N2O fluxes were only significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced in vole affected grassland patches following slurry application (+17%). Effects of vole bioturbation on CH4 fluxes were non-significant, while slurry application significantly reduced CH4 uptake. Compared to applications of non-acidified slurry, application of acidified slurry significantly (p < 0.05) reduced NH3 volatilization by approx. 38% and 50%, for vole and non-vole affected grassland patches, respectively. A significant effect of acidified slurry application on soil NO emissions was only observed for vole affected grassland patches. Significant (p < 0.05) reductions in aboveground net primary productivity and reduced plant N uptake are likely the main mechanisms explaining the stimulation of gaseous N losses following slurry application. Long-term measurements are needed to better understand effects of vole bioturbation on grassland soil C and N cycling and ecosystem GHG balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Ma
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany; College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tian-shui South Road, Cheng-guan District, Lanzhou 730000, PR China
| | - Baldur Janz
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany
| | - Ralf Kiese
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany
| | - Ricky Mwanake
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany
| | - Elizabeth Wangari
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany
| | - Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany.
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Scaglia B, Pognani M, Adani F. The anaerobic digestion process capability to produce biostimulant: the case study of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) vs. auxin-like property. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 589:36-45. [PMID: 28259834 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Revised: 02/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Biostimulants improve plant growth by stimulating nutrient uptake and efficiency, improving tolerance to abiotic stress and raising crop quality. Biostimulants are currently only recognised in five categories. However, the recent interest in this sector has led to the identification of some new ones. The aim of this work was to study the auxin-like activity of digestate dissolved organic matter (DOM) obtained from full scale anaerobic digester plants. All DOMs had biostimulant capacity comparable with humic acid and amino acids. The auxin-like activities depended mainly on the hydrophobic DOM fractions for the presence of auxin-active and other auxin-like molecules. Significant correlations were found for the auxin-effect in relation to auxin-active molecules and fatty acids responsible for most of the auxin-like effects (67% of the total importance in giving auxin-like activity) while a minor or null contribution was attributable to the carboxylic acids and aminoacid categories. Therefore, the anaerobic digestion process seems to be a useful biotechnology to produce biostimulants. Basing on these first results, the expanding anaerobic digestion sector could become important for the production of new biostimulant classes to meet the agricultural sector's new requirements and saving on raw materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Scaglia
- Gruppo Ricicla Labs - DiSAA - Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, Milano, Italy.
| | - Michele Pognani
- Gruppo Ricicla Labs - DiSAA - Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, Milano, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Adani
- Gruppo Ricicla Labs - DiSAA - Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, Milano, Italy
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Chemical and Biochemical Properties of Soils Developed from Different Lithologies in Northwestern Spain (Galicia). FORESTS 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/f8040135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Ertani A, Pizzeghello D, Francioso O, Tinti A, Nardi S. Biological Activity of Vegetal Extracts Containing Phenols on Plant Metabolism. Molecules 2016; 21:E205. [PMID: 26867189 PMCID: PMC6273273 DOI: 10.3390/molecules21020205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 02/02/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The influence of vegetal extracts derived from red grape, blueberry fruits and hawthorn leaves on Zea mays L. plant growth and the activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), a key enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway, was investigated in laboratory experiments. The extracts were characterized using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies in order to obtain a pattern of the main functional groups. In addition, phenols content was determined by HPLC, whereas the content of indoleacetic acid and isopentenyladenosine hormones was determined by ELISA test and the auxin and gibberellin-like activities by plant-bioassays. The treated maize revealed increased root and leaf biomass, chlorophyll and sugars content with respect to untreated plants. Hawthorn, red grape skin and blueberry at 1.0 mL/L induced high p-coumaric content values, whilst hawthorn also showed high amounts of gallic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids. PAL activity induced by hawthorn at 1.0 mL/L had the highest values (11.1-fold UNT) and was strongly and linearly related with the sum of leaf phenols. Our results suggest that these vegetal extracts contain more than one group of plant-promoting substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ertani
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE), Università di Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (Padova), Italy.
| | - Diego Pizzeghello
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE), Università di Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (Padova), Italy.
| | - Ornella Francioso
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Università di Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
| | - Anna Tinti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie, Università di Bologna, Via Belmeloro 8/2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
| | - Serenella Nardi
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE), Università di Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (Padova), Italy.
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Pizzeghello D, Cocco S, Francioso O, Ferrari E, Cardinali A, Nardi S, Agnelli A, Corti G. Snow vole (Chionomys nivalis Martins) affects the redistribution of soil organic matter and hormone-like activity in the alpine ecosystem: ecological implications. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:4542-54. [PMID: 26668721 PMCID: PMC4670049 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Revised: 08/26/2015] [Accepted: 08/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
In alpine environments, colonies of snow vole (Chionomys nivalis Martins) cause strong pedoturbation, which may affect humification process and soil organic matter (SOM) cycling, with repercussions on the hormone-like activity of organics. We investigated the effect of snow vole pedoturbation on the chemical and spectroscopic features of soil organic fractions, and the potential hormone-like activity of humic and fulvic acids (HA, FA). The study site was located on the high-mountain environment of the Majella massif (central Italy). Pedoturbated and regular soils were morphologically described and characterized for pH and content of total organic carbon, total extractable carbon, HA, and FA. Both HA and FA were extracted and investigated using attenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared (ATR/FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance with high-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS-NMR), and (1)H-(13)C heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC). HA and FA were also tested for their auxin-like and gibberellin-like activities. Results provide evidences that bioturbated and regular soils contain a poorly decomposed SOM, but HA and FA with a well-defined molecular structure. The HA and FA from both bioturbated and regular soils show a hormone-like activity with a different allocation along the soil profile. In the regular soil, the highest auxin-like activity was shown by HA and FA from Oe1 horizon, while gibberellin-like activity was expressed by FA from Oe2 horizon. Burrowing activity determines a redistribution of organics throughout the profile with a relatively high auxin-like activity in the FA from straw tunnel wall (STW) and gibberellin-like activity in the HA from vole feces (VF). The relative high presence of carboxylic acids, amides, proteins, and amino acids in the FA from STW and the aromatic moieties in the HA from VF put evidences for their different behavior. The fact that snow vole activity has modified the chemical and biological properties of SOM in these soils otherwise considered governed only by low temperature has important ecological implications such as the preservation of soil fertility and vegetal biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Pizzeghello
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, AlimentiRisorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE)Università di PadovaLegnaroPadovaItaly
| | - Stefania Cocco
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e AmbientaliUniversità Politecnica delle MarcheAnconaItaly
| | | | - Erika Ferrari
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e GeologicheUniversità di Modena e Reggio EmiliaModenaItaly
| | - Alessandra Cardinali
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, AlimentiRisorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE)Università di PadovaLegnaroPadovaItaly
| | - Serenella Nardi
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, AlimentiRisorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE)Università di PadovaLegnaroPadovaItaly
| | - Alberto Agnelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed AmbientaliUniversità di PerugiaPerugiaItaly
| | - Giuseppe Corti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e AmbientaliUniversità Politecnica delle MarcheAnconaItaly
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