Vegetables represent pillars of good nutrition since they provide important phytochemicals such as fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, as well as minerals. Biofortification proposes a promising strategy to increase the content of specific compounds. As minerals have important functionalities in the human metabolism, the possibility of enriching fresh consumed products, such as many vegetables, adopting specific agronomic approaches, has been considered. This review discusses the most recent findings on agronomic biofortification of vegetables, aimed at increasing in the edible portions the content of important minerals, such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iodine (I), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and silicon (Si). The focus was on selenium and iodine biofortification thus far, while for the other mineral elements, aspects related to vegetable typology, genotypes, chemical form, and application protocols are far from being well defined. Even if agronomic fortification is considered an easy to apply technique, the approach is complex considering several interactions occurring at crop level, as well as the bioavailability of different minerals for the consumer. Considering the latter, only few studies examined in a broad approach both the definition of biofortification protocols and the quantification of bioavailable fraction of the element.

The present experiment addressed the effects of different iron (Fe) concentrations in the nutrient solution supplied as Fe-HBED, i.e., 0.02 (Fe0, control), 1.02 (Fe1), and 2.02 mmol L−1 (Fe2) on lettuce (‘Nauplus’ and ‘Romana’) yield and compositional traits. This experiment was carried out in a greenhouse using an open soilless cultivation system, at the experimental farm of the University of Catania (Sicily, Italy: 37°24′31.5″ N, 15°03′32.8″ E, 6 m a.s.l.). The addition of Fe-HBED reduced the plants’ aboveground biomass (−18%, averaged over Fe1 and Fe2), but promoted their dry matter content (+16% in Fe2). The concentration of chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins, and antioxidants peaked at Fe2, along with the antioxidant capacity and concentration of stress indicators in leaves. The Fe content in leaves was promoted in the Fe-treated plants (+187% averaged over Fe1 and Fe2). ‘Romana’ showed the highest Fe accumulation (reaching 29.8 mg kg−1 FW in Fe1), but ‘Nauplus’ proved a higher tolerance to the Fe-derived oxidative stress. The Fe2 treatment maximized leaf N, P, K, S, and Zn contents, while those of Ca, Mg, Mn, and B peaked at Fe1. Overall, our study revealed the effectiveness of Fe-HBED in increasing the Fe content and improving the nutritional quality of lettuce grown in soilless cultivation systems.

A new species of Philodendron from the Atlantic Forest in Paraná, Brazil, is described and illustrated. Philodendron meridionale belongs to subgenus Philodendron, section Macrobelium. It is similar to P. loefgrenii, from which it differs by the cordate base and larger number of locules, and is also similar to P. roseopetiolatum, from which it can be distinguished by smaller leaves and obscure primary lateral veins.

ResumoO objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar, em condições laboratoriais, a interferência alelopática do extrato aquoso de folhas de cártamo (Carthamus tinctorius L.) na germinação e crescimento inicial de plântulas de girassol e canola. Estes testes preliminares indicarão a necessidade de maiores estudos, para inserção das espécies em sistemas de plantio direto. Os ensaios foram realizados sobre sementes condicionadas em placas de Petri umedecidos com concentrações de extrato aquoso de cártamo a 20, 40, 60, 80 e 100%, além da testemunha somente com água destilada. As placas foram armazenadas em câmara de germinação, do tipo BOD, com temperatura e fotoperíodo controlados. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado e os parâmetros avaliados foram: percentagem de germinação, tempo e velocidade média de germinação, assim como comprimento médio de raiz. Os parâmetros foram submetidos ao Teste F, sendo as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. Foi verificado efeito alelopático do extrato aquoso de cártamo sobre canola, sendo este prejudicial à emergência e crescimento inicial das plântulas.Palavras chave: Alelopatia; Canola; Carthamus tinctorius (L.); Girassol; Plantio direto AbstractAllelopathic interference of safflower leaves with oilseed species. The objective of this study was to evaluate, under laboratory conditions, the allelopathic interference of an aqueous extract of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) leaves with seed germination and early growth of seedlings of sunflower and canola. These preliminary tests indicate the need for further studies for inclusion of this species in no-till systems.

Iron (Fe) biofortification is a strategy to increase the amount of iron in food crops. The goal of this work was to assess the possibility of maximizing the Fe content in cherry tomatoes grown in a soilless system. The cultivar Creativo was grown with three concentrations of Fe (as Fe-HBED) in the nutrient solution (0.022, 1, and 2 mmol L−1), and received further foliar applications of the element (as Fe-DTPA) at 0, 250, and 500 µmol L−1. The addition of 2 mmol Fe L−1 to the nutrient solution, together with foliar sprays at 500 µmol Fe L−1, induced the highest increase in fruit Fe concentration in clusters 1 and 2 (by 163% and 190%, respectively). The Fe added to the nutrient solution increased the fruit dry matter (up to +10.21%) but decreased the fruit’s fresh weight (up to −11.06%). The higher Fe concentrations provided to the crop synergistically increased the contents of other minerals (i.e., K, Mg, Na, and Zn), along with the fruit’s titratable acidity and soluble solids content, improving multiple functional and quality traits of the cherry tomatoes. These results show that Fe biofortification of cherry tomatoes can be effective to address Fe deficiency while obtaining high-quality products.