Carbon footprint and energetic analysis of tomato production in the organic vs the conventional cropping systems in Southern Italy

Ronga, Domenico; Gallingani, Tommaso; Zaccardelli, Massimo; Perrone, D.; Francia, Enrico; Milc, Justyna Anna; Pecchioni, Nicola

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.111

Cited by 54 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This yield gap is mainly ascribed to the different fertilisers and crop protection products that are allowed in the two cropping systems. In fact, synthetic and organic products can be used in the conventional and in the organic cropping systems, respectively [27][28][29][30][31][32]. In this context, the use of biostimulants and biofertilisers is attracting interest by growers [33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microalgal Biostimulants and Biofertilisers in Crop Productions

Ronga¹,

Biazzi²,

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microalgae are attracting the interest of agrochemical industries and farmers, due to their biostimulant and biofertiliser properties. Microalgal biostimulants (MBS) and biofertilisers (MBF) might be used in crop production to increase agricultural sustainability. Biostimulants are products derived from organic material that, applied in small quantities, are able to stimulate the growth and development of several crops under both optimal and stressful conditions. Biofertilisers are products containing living microorganisms or natural substances that are able to improve chemical and biological soil properties, stimulating plant growth, and restoring soil fertility. This review is aimed at reporting developments in the processing of MBS and MBF, summarising the biologically-active compounds, and examining the researches supporting the use of MBS and MBF for managing productivity and abiotic stresses in crop productions. Microalgae are used in agriculture in different applications, such as amendment, foliar application, and seed priming. MBS and MBF might be applied as an alternative technique, or used in conjunction with synthetic fertilisers, crop protection products and plant growth regulators, generating multiple benefits, such as enhanced rooting, higher crop yields and quality and tolerance to drought and salt. Worldwide, MBS and MBF remain largely unexploited, such that this study highlights some of the current researches and future development priorities.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microalgal Biostimulants and Biofertilisers in Crop Productions

Ronga¹,

Biazzi²,

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, when crop production depends only on green manure crops, the crop yield might be further reduced [12]. Among vegetables processing tomato when cultivated in the OFS showed marketable yield reduction of~50% compared to conventional systems [13][14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Digestate and Biochar as Fertilizers to Improve Processing Tomato Production Sustainability

Ronga

Caradonia

Parisi³

et al. 2020

Agronomy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The principal goal of the organic farming system (OFS) is to develop enterprises that are sustainable and harmonious with the environment. Unfortunately, the OFS yields fewer products per land than the non-organic farming system in many agricultural products. The objective of our study was to assess the effects of digestate and biochar fertilizers on yield and fruit quality of processing tomato produced under the OFS. The experiment was carried out in Po Valley, during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. Liquid digestate (LD), LD + biochar (LD + BC) and pelleted digestate (PD) were evaluated and compared to biochar (BC) application and unfertilized control. The results showed that plants fertilized with LD + BC recorded the maximum marketable yield (72 t ha−1), followed by BC (67 t ha−1), PD (64 t ha−1) and LD (59 t ha−1); while the lowest production (47 t ha−1) was recorded in unfertilized plants. Over the two cropping seasons, LD + BC, BC, PD, and LD, increased fruit number per plant (+15%), fruit weight (+24%), Brix t ha−1 (+41%) and reduced Bostwick index (−16%), if compared to the untreated control. Considering the overall agronomic performances, digestate and biochar can be useful options for increasing yield and quality of processing tomato production in the OFS. Hence, these fertilizers can be assessed in future research both on other crops and farming systems.

show abstract

“…Processing tomato is one of the most economically important and widespread horticultural crops in the world [6,7], and in 2018, its production was~34 million tons [8]. In addition, processing tomato is extremely dependent on irrigation water, the average water requirement ranging from~400 to 600 mm during the growing season based on the climatic conditions of the area [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of Tomato Genotypes and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi under Reduced Irrigation

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change is increasing drought events and decreasing water availability. Tomato is commonly transplanted to an open field after seedling production in a nursery, requiring large volumes of water. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi help plants cope with drought stress; however, their effects depend on plant genotype and environmental conditions. In this study, we assessed the interactions among different tomato seedling genotypes and two AM fungi, Funneliformis mosseae and Rhizophagus intraradices, under two water regimes, full and reduced. Our results showed that F. mosseae was more effective than R. intraradices in the mitigation of drought stress both in old and modern genotypes. However, seedlings inoculated with R. intraradices recorded the highest values of leaf area. ‘Pearson’ and ‘Everton’ genotypes inoculated with F. mosseae recorded the highest values of root, leaf, and total dry weights under reduced and full irrigation regimes, respectively. In addition, ‘Pearson’ and ‘H3402’ genotypes inoculated with F. mosseae under a reduced irrigation regime displayed high values of water use efficiency. Our results highlight the importance of using AM fungi to mitigate drought stress in nursery production of tomato seedlings. However, the development of ad hoc AM fungal formulations, which consider genotype x AM fungi interactions, is fundamental for achieving the best agronomic performances.

show abstract

Carbon footprint and energetic analysis of tomato production in the organic vs the conventional cropping systems in Southern Italy

Cited by 54 publications

References 62 publications

Microalgal Biostimulants and Biofertilisers in Crop Productions

Microalgal Biostimulants and Biofertilisers in Crop Productions

Using Digestate and Biochar as Fertilizers to Improve Processing Tomato Production Sustainability

Interaction of Tomato Genotypes and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi under Reduced Irrigation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About