The aim of the present work was to propose a rapid, non-invasive, and quantitative image analysis method based on elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) and on carpological measurements to discriminate between 18 cultivars and shape groups of almond kernels and in-shell fruit. The shape groups were identified using two clustering techniques: a non-hierarchic method (k-means) and a hierarchical one (Ward's method). Both methods found the same numbers of groups for in-shell fruit and kernels. The obtained results indicate that such differences can be used to discriminate among shape groups. This method was not efficient in discriminating single cultivars. In order to classify fruit into shape groups, a partial least squares discriminant analysis was applied. This analysis applied on the 18 cultivar groups showed low percentages of correct classification for both in-shell (38.58%) and kernels (31.36%). The same analysis computed on shape groups shows percentages of correct classification higher than 89%. Merging EFA, clustering methods, and modeling techniques set the basis for the implementation of an automated online fruit sorting. A Matlab script was developed to determine the right number of clusters in kmeans clustering.

Reducing tillage intensity improved the CP content and CPD of triticale grain. The application of 50 kg N ha(-1) resulted in good grain quality parameters and grain and protein yields.

A two-year field experiment (during 1998 and 1999) was carried out in a Mediterranean environment to study the effects of different nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates on N uptake, N remobilization, N use efficiency, and yield performance of sunflowers grown in Southern Italy. Two sunflower genotypes (one commercial standard line and one selected genotype) and three N fertilization levels (0, 50, and 100 kg ha −1 as ammonium nitrate) were compared in this experiment. N uptake (N content × biomass dry weight) of the leaves and stems, hand-held chlorophyll meter (SPAD readings), and leaf area index (LAI) were measured at flowering time; yield and its components, percentage of oil content, and plant N uptake were determined at physiological maturity. Nitrogen use efficiency parameters and N remobilization were also calculated. The results indicated a significant difference in yield, percentage of oil content, total N uptake, and N use efficiency parameters between the years, indicating greater limits imposed by the environment on sunflower potential. In the year with irregular rainfall (1998), higher N uptake at the flowering stage was found, thus determining higher N translocated, whereas in the year with normal rainfall distribution (1999), a higher total N uptake at the maturity phase was recorded. The intermediate N fertilization treatment (50 kg N ha −1 ) showed a better utilization of applied N, reducing the possibility of pollution. In fact, in both years, yield, LAI, total N uptake, and N use efficiency were statistically unaffected by the two N fertilization treatments. The differences between sunflower genotypes in yield performance and N use efficiency were observed during 1999, when the climate did not limit sunflower growth. In contrast, during 1998 N fertilization rates showed a significant response to the N fertilizer treatments in yield and in most measured parameters. Finally, the significant correlation between N uptake and N use efficiency parameters with yield indicate the importance of N nutrition in sunflowers grown in Mediterranean 336 Montemurro and De Giorgioconditions, whereas the negative correlation between yield and oil content confirms that higher seed production is associated with lower oil content.

This paper reports a survey on the weed flora and seed bank in an almond orchard sited in Apulia region (Southern Italy), where the following soil management practices have been compared for over 30 yrs: no-tillage, keeping the soil totally weed-free throughout the year by using pre-emergence herbicides to prevent plant emergence or post-emergence herbicides in case of weeds already emerged; no-tillage, with post-emergence herbicides; no-tillage, with mowing of natural weed flora in spring; cover cropping, with faba bean sown in November and green manured in springtime; conventional soil tillage. The different management techniques influenced significantly the weed flora in experimental plots, both in terms of quantity and quality. The seed bank was clearly impoverished after the long-term applications of pre-emergence herbicides, both in terms of richness and of diversity. During the fall period, the plots of conventional tillage or pre-emergence herbicides had less natural ground-flora than the others. During springtime, prior to the sward control practices, the plots treated by foliar herbicides or mowing had the highest total weed cover. We conclude that post-emergence weed control by mowing or using chemical herbicides or the green manure of the cover crop may be proposed to reduce impact to the soil and to promote the growth of abundant and sufficiently diversified and balanced flora. If appropriately managed, this flora can provide potential ecological services, without competing with the orchard, as suggested by the literature. During the autumn, natural flora can uptake soil nitrogen thus preventing leaching in the rainy season. In springtime, after the sward has been destroyed, natural flora can supply a substantial amount of biomass to the soil. Indicator species analysis was also used to find the species characterizing each treatment and some of their combinations. Weeds belonging to the Poaceae botanical family were significantly associated with post-emergence herbicides and mowing treatments. These species produce a substantial amount of biomass and have bunched roots; consequently, they supply beneficial effects by improving porosity and structure of the soil and reducing erosion hazard

In an area of the Apulian Tavoliere (southern Italy), the effects of three levels of nitrogen fertilization (0, 50 and 100 kg N ha–1) on root development, growth analysis and yield parameters of durum wheat were evaluated. The research was conducted over a four-year period (1994-97). The non-destructive mini-rhizotron method was used to study the root system at stem extension and at the beginning of heading and ripening stages. At the end of tillering and at boot and flowering stages, samples of wheat biomass were taken and subjected to growth analysis. Yield data and the main biometric parameters were collected at harvest time. The doses of nitrogen (N) fertilizer 50 and 100 kg N ha–1 had a greater effect on root development in the 20-30 cm soil layer and on epigeal biomass than the control test (N0) without nitrogen fertilization. In the test (N0) the growth of root and epigeal biomass was slower during the first vegetative phases, however, afterwards both of them recovered and the root system was mainly developed in the 30-40 cm soil layer. A better development of root system in deeper soil layers, without nitrogen supply, has allowed the plant to overcome more easily the water-deficit and thermal stresses during the ripening stage. The results of this research have shown that the production of grain with 50 kg ha–1 of N is similar to those of 100 kg ha–1 of N doses and higher than the test without nitrogen fertilization. In this kind of environment can be recommended a nitrogen dose of 50 kg ha–1 for obtaining an increase in grain production with low costs and reduced agricultural sources of pollution