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Abstract: Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) is a serious weed capable of piercing polyethylene (PE) plastic mulch used in horticulture. A biodegradable plastic, PE and four different papers were tested for 2 years in fields highly-infested with C. rotundus in Zaragoza (Spain). All four papers were able to withstand all weed species. C. rotundus plants penetrated the biodegradable plastic mulch most, possibly because this material had least resistance to slow perforation. Differences in weed biomass between mulching materials were lower because of small size and weight of C. rotundus. Therefore all mulching treatments had a similar impact on weed biomass reduction 63 days after transplanting; biodegradable plastic had most biomass and papers the least, the differences being significant some years, only. Tomato yield was very similar for all mulching treatments and significantly higher than in the non-mulched plots. No effect of treatment was observed on fruit quality parameters. Commercial paper used as mulch without special additives can satisfactory control C. rotundus in processing tomato provided that climate is appropriate to maintain the paper dry during most of the time. Also the crop needs to cover the soil fast enough before the buried part of the mulch degrades allowing wind to lift and tear the mulch. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Due to the fascinating his of the Muslim’s contribution to the present day regarding science and technology is the exploration and the missing account of the glorious past of the Muslims. Islam opened a new epoch for the history among the Arabs. Muslims became the ruler of Arabian Peninsula to Spain in west and China in the east. During their advancement they emphasized on scientific knowledge. With the creation of the universe, the evolution of humanity began and from time immemorial, the pursuit of livelihood led man to various incentives for employment, as a result of which man became active for his own well-being. An important aspect of human endeavor is agriculture, trees, plants, fruits and vegetables. While irrigation is also very important component of crops and gardens. If we look to this field, it is clear that Muslims also paid special attention to this area of life. This paper primarily deals the contribution of Muslims in the field of agriculture and related productions not only but also informed the land reforms, well and canal system. But there is a common perception that Muslims had no role in this discipline and they were illiterate and non-agrarian. Usually it is thought in colonial regime that Muslims were behind the other nations in this field especially the western researchers and their thoughts are totally different against the Muslims contribution which they had been playing from the early days to their climax. They did not only confine to their religious studies but they incorporated their contribution in agriculture. They are recognized as the founder of agriculture, horticulture and different crops. Like other branches of science, Muslim scientists played a vital role in botany and horticulture and promoted irrigation systems along with agriculture in agriculture. This research paper illustrates the role of Muslims and highlights the contribution of Muslims in this field not only but its impact on the western nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, current food consumption and trade are placing unprecedented demand on agricultural systems and increasing pressure on natural resources, requiring tradeoffs between food security and environmental impacts especially given the tension between market-driven agriculture and agro-ecological goals. In order to illustrate the wicked social, economic and environmental challenges and processes to find transformative solutions, we focus on the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world located in the semi-arid coastal plain of South-east Spain. Almería family farming, predominantly cooperative, greenhouse intensive production, commenced after the 1960s and has resulted in very significant social and economic benefits for the region, while also having important negative environmental and biodiversity impacts, as well as creating new social challenges. The system currently finds itself in a crisis of diminishing economic benefits and increasing environmental and social dilemmas. Here, we present the outcomes of multi-actor, transdisciplinary research to review and provide collective insights for solutions-oriented research on the sustainability of Almeria's agricultural sector. The multi-actor, transdisciplinary process implemented collectively, and supported by scientific literature, identified six fundamental challenges to transitioning to an agricultural model that aims to ameliorate risks and avoid a systemic collapse, whilst balancing a concern for profitability with sustainability: (1) Governance based on a culture of shared responsibility for sustainability, (2) Sustainable and efficient use of water, (3) Biodiversity conservation, (4) Implementing a circular economy plan, (5) Technology and knowledge transfer, and (6) Image and identity. We conclude that the multi-actor transdisciplinary approach successfully facilitated the creation of a culture of shared responsibility among public, private, academic, and civil society actors. Notwithstanding plural values, challenges and solutions identified by consensus point to a nascent acknowledgement of the strategic necessity to locate agricultural economic activity within social and environmental spheres.This paper demonstrates the need to establish transdisciplinary multi-actor work-schemes to continue collaboration and research for the transition to an agro-ecological model as a means to remain competitive and to create value.

Purpose: There is a growing concern about the resilience and sustainability of horticultural production in the United Kingdom (UK) as a result of high energy costs and insufficient local labour, causing over-reliance on imports. In this study, we present an integrated environmental and economic assessment of organic peri-urban horticulture using primary data from a farm in Sheffield. Methods: This study includes a farm-to-gate hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) using the ReCIPE (H) approach for the functional unit of 1-kg tomatoes produced in an unheated polytunnel without supplementary lighting, and 1 kg of field-grown courgettes. All analyses were conducted in SimaPro software using environmental data from the ecoinvent database. Results were compared with those from a systematic literature review of similar studies. Results: We found that the production of organic tomatoes and courgettes resulted in a global warming potential (GWP) of 0.61 kg CO2-eq and 0.11 kg CO2-eq respectively using a process-based LCA approach. Using a hybrid LCA approach, however, yielded a GWP of 3.53 kg CO2-eq and 1.70 kg CO2-eq for the production of organic tomatoes and courgettes respectively. An additional scenario included farmgate-to-warehouse transportation for both domestic and imported produce from Spain, but found that the GWP of tomatoes in the case study was 1.87 times higher than those from Spain. Economic analysis showed that the marginal increase in the prices of tomatoes and courgettes from the case study farm was 4.6 and 5.15 times less than the market prices. Conclusion: We conclude that the studied production system is both economically and environmentally sustainable as compared to the existing scenario. Other potential benefits of peri-urban organic horticulture include employment, mental health, community cohesion, which remain to be explored in a future qualitative study. The present study is novel as it appears to be the first application of hybrid LCA to UK horticulture. The findings are highly topical given the recent horticultural supply constraints in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the recently published literature in Europe on rural development tends to focus on de-agrarianization and multifunctionality in rural livelihoods as a way to generate employment and incomes. This paper analyses the case of Almería (Spain), an exception to this general rule. Almería, once one of the poorest Spanish provinces, has become the most affluent province in Andalusia and ranks now about average in Spain. This fast growth rate was achieved thanks to the development of intensive horticulture and its processes of change from the 1970s to the present day, due to the factors reviewed in the present study. This success story is a counterpoint to current European rural development strategies that consider the promotion of agriculture a mistake and advocate instead the economic diversification of farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the possibility of increasing shipping of fruit and vegetables from Almeria (southeast of Spain) to Port Vendres-Perpignan (southeast of France). Almeria is one of the areas of vegetables production largest in the world and Perpignan is one of the most important customers of Almeria. After analysing the potential volume of shipping, we estimate a mode choice model which allows us to study the sensitivity of final clients (horticultural operators) to future change in the variables which condition the choice between transport by sea or by land. This will also help us to calculate the market share of each system as a function of foreseeable change in the variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-efficiency is currently receiving ever increasing interest as an indicator of sustainability, as it links environmental and economic performances in productive activities. In agriculture these indicators and their determinants prove relevant due to the close ties in this activity between the use of often limited natural resources and the provision of basic goods for society. The present paper analyzes eco-efficiency at micro-level, focusing on small-scale family farms as the principal decision-making units (DMUs) of horticulture in southeast Spain, which represents over 30% of fresh vegetables produced in the country. To this end, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework is applied, computing several combinations of environmental pressures (water usage, phytosanitary contamination, waste management, etc.) and economic value added. In a second stage we analyze the influence of family farms' socio-economic and environmental features on eco-efficiency indicators, as endogenous variables, by using truncated regression and bootstrapping techniques. The results show major inefficiency in aspects such as waste management, among others, while there is relatively minor inefficiency in water usage and nitrogen balance. On the other hand, features such as product specialization, adoption of quality certifications, and belonging to a cooperative all have a positive influence on eco-efficiency. These results are deemed to be of interest to agri-food systems structured on small-scale producers, and they may prove useful to policy-makers as regards managing public environmental programs in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of intensive plasticulture farming has resulted in an increased yield of horticulture crops during the last few decades in the world, particularly in China, Spain, and Italy. Proper monitoring of plastic‐covered greenhouse (PCG) farming areas and plastic‐mulched farmlands (PMF) is necessary for the sustainable development of horticulture, including high‐quality agricultural production in limited areas with cost‐effectiveness, and reduced pollution. The development of sophisticated image processing algorithms, such as pixel‐based, object‐based, and machine learning approaches, for mapping landscape and land use changes have revolutionized monitoring plasticulture areas in recent decades. Even though a complex task, remote sensing offers cost‐effective, large‐scale monitoring of plasticulture areas. Advancements in UAV technology are expected to improve the mapping and monitoring accuracy of PCGs and PMFs in the future in addition to high resolution optical data combined with digital surface models (DSM) with high vertical accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almería horticulture in SE Spain hosts the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world and faces important environmental sustainability challenges. Microalgae-derived applications are efficient nature-based solutions as they are used for wastewater regeneration or as biostimulants and biopesticides in agriculture. However, farmers' knowledge and acceptance of microalgae-derived applications remain unknown, which is a major barrier to its commercialization. This study explores current farmers' knowledge and acceptance of microalgae in Almería horticulture. Results revealed that there exists a significant lack of knowledge regarding the use of microalgae agricultural-based applications. Over sixty percent of farmers indicated that microalgae can have beneficial uses in agriculture, such as biostimulants or biofertilizers. However, although seventy percent of farmers expressed their willingness to use them, results also showed that only 32% of farmers using microalgae-derived applications have obtained satisfactory results. We call the urgent need for new communication strategies based on transdisciplinary approaches that increase farmers' knowledge around the multiple microalgae-derived products and applications in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In recent years many applications have been proposed for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). One of these is precision agriculture, where WSN can play an important part in the handling and management of water resources for irrigation, in understanding the changes in the crops to assess the optimum point for harvesting, in estimating fertilizer requirements and to predict crop performance more accurately. This paper describes our experience during the introduction and deployment of an experimental sensor network at an ecological horticultural enterprise in the semiarid region of Murcia. It presents the topology of the deployed network using four types of nodes (Soil Mote, Environmental Mote, Water Mote and Gateway Mote), some of them connected to different sensors distributed in the field. These sensors can measure various soil characteristics such us temperature, volumetric moisture content and salinity. For each node, the overall architecture, hardware and software components are described. The system also includes a real-time monitoring application operating from a computer placed in the central offices of the farm. The testing of the system was done in two phases: the first in the laboratory, to validate the functional requirements of the developed devices, the networking solution and the mote''s power management; the second on the farm, to asses the functional performance of the devices, such as range, robustness and flexibility. The system was successfully implemented on a crop of ecological cabbage (Brassica oleracea). The result was a low cost, highly reliable and simple infrastructure for the collection of agronomical data over a distributed area in horticultural environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) has become a limiting factor for cucumber production in greenhouses in southeast Spain. Current protection measures rely on control of the vector, the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, and the use of resistant cultivars. Reverse transcription followed by real-time PCR assays based on TaqMan® chemistry have been developed for the detection and quantification of CVYV in cucumber. The assays designed were used to compare the evolution of virus in inoculated commercial resistant cultivars during two consecutive crop seasons. Observed resistance did not always match resistance labels supplied by seed companies. A significant seasonal effect was also found on CVYV concentrations in cucumber. The present paper provides a method that can be introduced into cucumber breeding programs as an improved resistance screening procedure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The objective of this paper is to estimate technical efficiency in the horticultural production sector in Navarra (Spain). Tomato and asparagus production are analysed separately. Both a non-parametric and a parametric approach to a frontier production function are used and the differences in the results are discussed. In a second stage we examine the degree to which the calculated efficiency correlates with a set of explanatory variables representing different features of farms such as size, factorial returns and economic performance. The results indicated that both tomato and asparagus production are relatively inefficient, with potential in both cases for reducing input or increasing output. These results hold regardless of whether the frontier was parametric or non-parametric. The estimated measures of technical efficiency were positively related with the partial productivity indices and negatively related with the cultivation costs per hectare. No conclusive results were obtained for the relation between size and efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cultivated exotic plants are often introduced for their aesthetic value and today comprise a substantial fraction of the flora of urban domestic gardens. Yet, their relative contribution to the functional diversity of domestic gardens and how it changes across different climate zones is insufficiently understood. Here, we investigated whether the effects of cultivated exotics on functional diversity of three plant traits related to plant aesthetics (that is, plant showiness, plant height, and leaf area) varied in suburban domestic gardens in three regions (Minnesota, USA; Alt Empordà, Spain; and central South Africa) that differ in aridity. For each garden, we calculated the mean and variance of each plant trait considering all co-occurring species and also splitting them into co-occurring cultivated exotics and natives. Our results revealed that mean plant showiness increased linearly with the proportion of cultivated exotics both across and within studied regions. Moreover, co-occurring cultivated exotics were, on average, showier than natives in all regions, but differences in their trait variances were context-dependent. The interaction between cultivated exotics and aridity explained variation in mean plant height and leaf area better than either predictor alone, with the effect of cultivated exotics being stronger in more arid regions. Accordingly, co-occurring cultivated exotics were taller and had larger leaves than natives in warmer and drier regions, while the opposite was true in cooler and wetter regions. Our study highlights the need to consider the combined effects of exotic species and climate in future studies of urban ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Protected crops have expanded significantly in the Mediterranean area over the last few decades as a successful means to provide abundant and high-quality produce. Although resources are generally used efficiently, greenhouse areas cause major environmental impacts. The aim of this work was to study, from an environmental point of view, the improvement capacity of greenhouse areas in the Mediterranean region and to assess several alternative agricultural practices to decrease their contribution to the environmental impacts in this system. Materials and methods: The methodology used was life cycle assessment (LCA) based on a tomato crop grown in a multi-tunnel greenhouse in Almeria, on the southeast coast of Spain. The functional unit chosen was 1 ton of loose classic tomatoes. Five midpoint impact categories and one energy flow indicator were selected for their relevance. The agricultural practice alternatives evaluated were reduction of volume of substrate and fertilizers, extension of substrate and greenhouse life span and increase in renewable energy for electricity production. Results and discussion: The results indicated that the main contributors to impact categories in the tomato production were structure, auxiliary equipment and fertilizers. Structure accounted for between 30 and 48 % of the contributions, depending on the impact category. The principal burdens in the auxiliary equipment stage were substrate and consumption of electricity. Fertilizers environmental impacts were due to emissions during their manufacture and application to the crop. In a best-case option, taking into account the best alternatives, contributions to the impact categories were reduced by between 17 and 30 %. The LCA methodology proved to be a useful tool to evaluate the environmental damage of this agricultural activity. The importance of including farm infrastructure in the assessment was demonstrated as it was a major contributor. The risk of eutrophication could be reduced by adjustment of the fertilizers-water balance and implementation of a closed-loop irrigation system. Future technological improvements should be developed to increase yields and thereby directly reduce the environmental burdens per unit produce. Conclusions: The present study served to assess the environmental impacts of a tomato crop in a multi-tunnel greenhouse on the coast of Almeria. The assessment was used to evaluate alternatives for improvement of cleaner production in greenhouse areas. Further research should focus on assuring the feasibility of the suggested options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs and its consequences on the impact and prevalence in the work force are subject of many investigations in almost all the production fields. However, the exposure to this kind of risk factor on urban gardeners has not been well studied so far. The kind of plant varieties used in the parks, the tools that they use, as much as the necessary actions for the maintenance of the park, have an impact on the biomechanical overload of the upper limbs. Additionally, the analysis of the exposure to the biomechanical overload on upper limbs in gardening work is a complex task, mainly because it is an activity highly variable and of annual cycle. For this reason an analytical model for risk exposure evaluation is necessary. During this research the work activity of 29 gardeners in 3 urban parks of Barcelona has been analyzed. Each park has a specific acting plan, in relation with the quantity and the typology of vegetal species, its classification and the season of the year. Work and observation and video recording sessions on-site were conducted. The video-graphic registration was done on workers without any prior musculoskeletal disorder and with a minimum labour experience of 5 years. Moreover, the analysis of saturation time, considered as the relation of the repetitive working hours in reference with the hours of effective work was done. Using the registered tasks on video, the biomechanical overload on upper limbs applying the OCRA Checklist method was analyzed. Results: A methodological procedure to analyze the risk exposure in annual working cycle has been proposed. The results that we got allow us to get information that can help in the assignment of the tasks and in the training of staff, as well as in the recommendations of the urban landscape's design. All these aspects have the goal to decrease the risk to develop work-related musculoskeletal disorders [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, P. variotii, an endophytic fungus isolated from plant roots from the Cabo de Gata Natural Park (Parque Nacional Cabo de Gata—Spain), was tested to determine the effect on the growth promotion of tomato and pepper seeds and seedlings. For these purposes, germination trials in a laboratory and two experiments in a commercial nursery and greenhouse conditions were performed. The P. variotii isolate has shown a high ability to produce siderophores and IAA, but low ability to solubilize P. High values for germination percentage, seedling vigor, root and shoot length were obtained by P. variotii on tomato and pepper against control. P. variotii applications resulted in improved most of the growth parameters evaluated, for both horticultural crops, with the best results in the development of pepper seedlings. The application of a higher dose of P. variotii improved most of the morphological parameters and the Dickson quality index (DQI) value in tomato in seedlings and plants. The establishment of the endophytic fungus at the root enabled its biostimulant effects to persist after transplantation without any additional application. Few studies have analyzed this species as a biostimulant. The positive results from the tests showed its high potential. The application of this isolate can be of enormous benefit to horticultural crops for its high reproductive and establishment capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]