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Horseradish is a crop grown for its edible underground parts. The development of new cultivars is hindered by the species' predominant vegetative reproduction, making it essential to evaluate locally cultivated accessions to identify new types suitable for cultivation. To this end, 11 horseradish accessions from family vegetable gardens in Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy were examined using 26 qualitative and six quantitative morphological descriptors and characterized by the five major glucosinolates (GSLs) present in the rhizome compared to a reference cultivar. A wide range of variability was observed for the considered qualitative morphological traits. The rhizome's top and basal diameters were 9.9 and 6.2 cm, respectively, with an average fresh weight of 521 g. Total GSL content ranged between 79.5 and 133.5 μmol/g dry weight (DW), with sinigrin (SIN) being the primary component at an average content of 110.0 μmol/g DW. Differences among the investigated accessions were noted for quantitative traits describing their productive features and for GSL content. A positive correlation was discovered between the biometric traits of the plant's underground parts and the SIN and total GSL content, suggesting a link between the quality and yield of the edible product. According to the multivariate analysis, accessions were grouped into three main clusters: the largest of the reference cultivar and the majority of accessions with similar productive and qualitative traits; another featuring two with good qualitative and productive characteristics. The investigated accessions proved to be a valuable germplasm source for cultivating the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aruncus dioicus (Walter) Fernald (Rosaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant whose young shoots are traditionally collected in the wild and consumed as a food in NE Italy. The aim of this study was to determine the germination requirements of its seeds in order to start its cultivation, and to assess the germination of six accessions of the species. Viability of seeds ranged from 86 to 97% in the various accessions. Germination rate was almost null in seeds of two accessions, and ranged from 10.5 to 37.3 in the other ones. The seed coat was permeable to water. Treatments with GA3, KNO3 and mechanical scarification did not enhance the germination, while the cold stratification treatment at 2 °C for different periods improved the germination rate and the mean germination time as compared with the untreated seeds. With 45 days of cold stratification, the germination rate and mean germination time (respectively, 90.1% and 7.7 dd) of seeds were different from those of the untreated seeds. Cold stratified seeds germinated under artificial light and did not germinate in the dark. Seeds of A. dioicus displayed an intermediate physiological dormancy, removable by a cold stratification treatment, requiring both light and cold conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Echinacea angustifolia plants were grown in pots containing three growth substrates, highly light soil, a medium light soil, and natural farm soil to which horticultural substrate (Manna Flor PT) was added in various proportions. The root length, number of main roots, number of secondary roots, collar diameter, root diameter, distance between collar and root bifurcation, root hairs density, and fresh and dried root weight per plant were measured. The plants grown in the substrate corresponding to highly light soil (75% sand and 25% horticultural substrate), harvested after 3 years, had a good development (54.8 cm) and weight (23.9 g of dry weight) of the root. The effect of growth substrates was not evident for echinacoside (0.40% on average) and dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic isobutylamide (0.26% on average), while it was clear for cynarin and chicoric acid, which were higher (respectively 0.13% and 0.22%) in the substrate consisting of 75% of farm soil and 25% of horticultural substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of the volatile fraction of a naturalized population of parsley [Petroselinum crispum(Mill) Nyman] were assessed and compared in a field trial with those of three commercial cultivars. Volatile oils extracted from the leaves were analysed by GC/FID and GC/MS. A total of twenty compounds were detected in all accessions, being the most representatives the terpenes 1,3,8-p-mentathriene and β-phellandrene and the phenylpropanoid myristicin. The naturalized population differed from the cultivars for the highest yield of volatile oil, which was characterized by the absence of apiole, a lower content of myristicin and the highest amount of 1,3,8-p-mentathriene. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil from the evaluated accessions was very low. Due to its essential oil yield and composition, the naturalized population could be taken into consideration for the starting of a breeding programme.ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHERCopyright of Journal of Essential Oil Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A naturalized population of parsley of the province of Trento, Italy, was evaluated ex-situ for its morphological and agronomic traits in a field trial in which it was compared with three commercial cultivars of the species. The naturalized population belongs to the smooth leaf type for the absence of curling, and differed from the other smooth leaf type accessions for the lower plant height, the smaller length of petiole and the prostrate attitude of the plant, all undesirable characteristics which make the harvest of plants more difficult. The yields of aerial parts and leaves were higher in the commercial cultivars, while the naturalized population had the highest yield and content of essential oil. Due to the high content and yield of essential oil, the naturalized population could be the object of an eventual breeding program aiming to improve the morphologic and agronomic undesirable characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]