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Environmental stress can affect development and yield of tomato plants. This study was undertaken to investigate the underlying mechanism asserted by kaolin on tomato physiology by evaluating its effect on leaf, canopy and inner fruit temperatures, gas exchange at the leaf and canopy scales, above ground biomass, yield and fruit quality. The study was carried out under field conditions in Southern Italy. Treatments were plants treated with kaolin-based particle film (Surround® WP) suspension and untreated plants (control). Kaolin application slightly increased leaf and canopy scale temperatures by 1.0 and 0.4 °C, respectively, transpiration rate decreased at both scales. On calm days (wind speed

Sixteen processing tomato cultivars (fourteen high lycopene, one common commercial and one local Apulian landrace) were compared in a field trial in Southern Italy to evaluate yield parameters and some qualitative characteristics. The cultivars showed different production characteristics. Marketable yield ranged from 34.8 Mg ha(-1) for cv. PSR 0067 to 74.1 Mg ha(-1) for 'Syntesy'. Cv. PSR 0419 and 'Mandurese' showed the highest soluble solids content (5 degrees Brix), and 'PSR 0067' the highest dry matter content (9.6 g 100 g(-1) f.w.). The lycopene content of fruits ranged from 53.6 mg kg(-1) f.w. of cv. Lycos 29595 to 191.3 mg kg(-1) f.w. of 'HLY 14'; this parameter exceeded 100 mg kg-1 f.w. in six cultivars. The mean lycopene content for all cultivars was about 100 mg kg(-1) f.w., lower than values observed in cooler areas of Northern Italy. The cause of this lower lycopene content could be the high temperatures that occurred during the ripening period. The lycopene yield ranged from 2.4 kg ha(-1) for 'PSR 0067' to 10.9 kg ha(-1) for 'HLV 14'. The best cultivars in terms of lycopene yield were 'HLY 141, IHLY 159, 'Dracula', 'HLY 13" 'HLY 02' and 'PS 1617', whose values of lycopene yield exceeded 6.8 kg ha(-1).

Sixteen processing tomato cultivars (fourteen high lycopene, one common commercial and one local Apulian landrace) were compared in a field trial in Southern Italy to evaluate yield parameters and some qualitative characteristics. The cultivars showed different production characteristics. Marketable yield ranged from 34.8 Mg ha(-1) for cv. PSR 0067 to 74.1 Mg ha(-1) for 'Syntesy'. Cv. PSR 0419 and 'Mandurese' showed the highest soluble solids content (5 degrees Brix), and 'PSR 0067' the highest dry matter content (9.6 g 100 g(-1) f.w.). The lycopene content of fruits ranged from 53.6 mg kg(-1) f.w. of cv. Lycos 29595 to 191.3 mg kg(-1) f.w. of 'HLY 14'; this parameter exceeded 100 mg kg-1 f.w. in six cultivars. The mean lycopene content for all cultivars was about 100 mg kg(-1) f.w., lower than values observed in cooler areas of Northern Italy. The cause of this lower lycopene content could be the high temperatures that occurred during the ripening period. The lycopene yield ranged from 2.4 kg ha(-1) for 'PSR 0067' to 10.9 kg ha(-1) for 'HLV 14'. The best cultivars in terms of lycopene yield were 'HLY 141, IHLY 159, 'Dracula', 'HLY 13" 'HLY 02' and 'PS 1617', whose values of lycopene yield exceeded 6.8 kg ha(-1).

The electrical performance of Nafion was investigated from -155 to 155°C in the frequency range from 10 mHz to 10 MHz and for two different hydration conditions. The electrical responses are mainly due to conductivity, electrode polarization and relaxation phenomena. These features were correlated to the molecular and nano-scale structure of the material and to the transition/relaxation phenomena observed in both DSC and DMA studies.

Several scientific researches indicate 32 degrees C as a limit of temperature to inhibit lycopene synthesis and the occurrence of a decay of some qualitative parameters of tomato fruits. In Southern Italy, during 2005, an experimental trial to study the effects of kaolin (Surround(R) WP) treatments on two high lycopene tomato cultivars ('HLY 18' and 'Tiziano'), had been realized. After kaolin applications, that form a white powdery film on vegetations and fruits, the inner temperature of fruits was measured. The main results show that the fruits temperature treated with kaolin were about 3.5 degrees C lower than the control, at midday of the hottest days. Marketable yield of treated crops was 26.0% higher than untreated, probably for a reduction of rotten fruits. Kaolin treatments increased trans-lycopene fruit content on average of 14.0% in respect to the control, while no influence on other qualitative parameters was observed. Finally, kaolin contributed to reduce the pests damages in both cultivars.

This report describes the preparation of two new hybrid inorganic–organic polymer materials to use as electro-active layers in micro-electronic devices. By reacting poly(3-butylthiophene) (PBT) with titanium tetrachloride in a nitrogen atmosphere the hybrid inorganic–organic [(Bu-Th) 2 TiCl 2 ] n ( A ) complex (Bu-Th = 3-butylthiophene) was prepared. {[(Bu-Th) 2 Ti(OH) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ]·1.5(H 2 O)} n ( B ) was obtained by exposing A to the air. The materials’ morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FT-IR studies provided information about: (a) the structural characteristics of the products; (b) the degree of polymerization; (c) the interactions occurring between the aromatic rings of PBT macromolecular ligand and the titanium metal centers; (d) the effects of the hydration process on coordination geometry of Ti complexes and on the three-dimensional structure of the resulting hybrid inorganic–organic polymer. The thermal behaviour of materials was investigated by thermogravimetry (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The electrical properties of pristine PBT, A and B materials were studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in the 40 Hz to 10 MHz range, and in the range of temperatures from 173 K to about 423 K. The conductivity mechanism was interpreted in terms of charge carrier hoppings between different sites followed by polymer network reorganizations both in bulk grains, and inter-grain interfaces.

Results of a field research to study salinity tolerance of four "seed" propagated artichoke cultivars ('Opal', 'A 106', 'Lorca' and 'Violin') and 'Violetto di Provenza' agamically propagated, are reported. All the cultivars resulted moderately salinity tolerant according to literature data on cultivars "seed" and agamically propagated. Threshold, slope and ECe50 values were, respectively, equal to 2.3 - 1.9 - 4.2 - 4.3 and 3.9 dS m(-1), 7.2 - 5.6 - 4.9 - 5.7 and 5.7% in dS(-1), 9.2 - 10.8 - 14.4 - 13.1 and 12.7 dS m(-1) respectively for 'Opal', 'A 106', 'Lorca', 'Violin' and 'Violetto di Provenza'. These results show 'Lorca' and 'Violin' as the more salt tolerant cultivars and 'Opal' the less tolerant one. Salinity increased heads dry matter, whereas heads diameter-length ratio, percentage of edible part and waste, and atrophic heads incidence were not influenced.