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The cultivation of oil crops for biofuel production has often been accused of not being environmentally sustainable due to the high inputs needed. To explore the effect of reduced input on pro-ductive and qualitative traits of camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz), a trial was carried out over a two-year period. This study analysed two different levels of input: a low input treatment (shal-low non-inversion tillage and low fertilisation rate) and a high input treatment (deeper tillage and high fertilisation rate). Camelina was positively, even though to a limited extent, affected by high input treatment as highlighted by the increase in seed yield (from 1.8 to 2.0 t ha), crop residues (from 4.8 to 5.2 t ha), seed protein content (from 26.5 to 28.9%), seed oil content (from 41.5 to 43.4%) and oil yield (from 0.75 to 0.88 t ha). So, from a sustainable point of view, we must consider negligible the effect of high input and satisfactory the performances of camelina in the low input regime. Low input management resulted in satisfactory yields in terms of both quantity and quality, results which were not very different from high input, indicating promising potential for conservation agriculture practices in camelina in a semi-arid envi-ronment.

We describe a screening protocol that characterizes different varieties of tomato, pepper and melon under combined drought, salt and heat stress. This method is included in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 1 of the project VEG-ADAPT. Financial support has been provided by PRIMA, a program supported by the European Union.&nbsp

The identification of a bi-univocal correspondence between geographical origin of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and the composition of its stigmas has recently been the subject of many research papers, which have focused on the analysis of the differences among the so called "minor components", such as flavonoids and volatiles, in the secondary metabolic pattern of this spice. Saffron pigments (crocetin esters), on the other hand, constitute the majority of the metabolites found in its stigmas, and their spectrophotometric measurement is still used as an official method to determine the quality of the spice in terms of coloring power. To our knowledge, no attempts have been made to find a correspondence between the geographical origin of different saffron samples and their morphological traits and pigments pattern. In this paper, we have demonstrated that saffron corms of different origins, grown in the same experimental field, produce daughter corms with different dimensions and still produce stigma samples with different pigment profiles. Furthermore, daughter corm dimensions and pigment profile even more so, may be related to the origin of the sample, and therefore pigments can be used as chemotaxonomic markers. Compositional analyses results were corroborated by genetic data obtained using AFLP molecular markers.

In many legumes, the germination ability of newly harvested seeds is controlled by two contrasting processes, the maturation process and the establishment of seed coat dormancy, which prevents the germination of mature seeds. These two processes are often staggered, so that seeds may achieve a transitory ability to germinate long before the establishment of seed coat dormancy. To clarify these issues, a field and laboratory experiment was conducted on two Mediterranean legume species, Lotus ornithopodioides L. and Scorpiurus muricatus L. subsp. subvillosus (L.) Thell. [syn. Scorpiurus muricatus L. var. subvillosus (L.) Lam.]. Pods were collected from mother plants at regular intervals from the beginning of seed filling to complete maturation. The seeds harvested at different times were weighed and submitted to germination assays to evaluate their germination ability. The results show that the seeds of L. ornithopodioides and S. muricatus acquired a good germination ability (>70%) already at 27 and 23 d after anthesis (DAA) before reaching their maximum dry weight, while seed coat dormancy was imposed much later for the two species, at 40 and 32 DAA. Based on pod and seed morphology, seed weight, and germination ability, three distinct stages were defined during maturation, which might help identify when seeds achieve their maximum germination ability. This may be a first step in overcoming the problem of seed coat dormancy alongside studies on postharvest treatment of freshly harvested seeds.

The purpose of this research was to explore the effect of temperature, light, and post-harvest period, and their interactions, on seed germination ecology of four common pasture species in the Mediterranean environment. Mature seeds of Diplotaxis erucoides, Hirschfeldia incana, Hyoseris scabra (Mediterranean distribution) and Sonchus oleraceus (cosmopolitan distribution) were subjected to seven constant temperatures (10-408C, at intervals of 58C) under continuous darkness, or a 12 h/12 h light/dark photoperiod at 30, 150 and 270 days after harvest (DAH). Cumulative germination and germination speed were determined. In all the tested species, except S. oleraceus, light significantly enhanced germination. S. oleraceus seeds maintained germination values over 90%, in a wide range of temperatures (10-358C), in the dark as well as in light. Seeds of H. incana germinated well soon after seed dispersal. In D. erucoides and H. scabra, germination increased with storage period, while in S. oleraceus there was no effect of seed age. In all the species, moreover, no germination was recorded at 408C. Temperature, light, and post- harvest requirement may be regarded as an adaptation strategy to ensure optimal conditions for seedling development and survival in Mediterranean species, while the species with a cosmopolitan distribution germinates under almost all tested conditions.

Saffron is well known for its use as a condiment spice, as a dye and in traditional medicine, but very little information is available on the relationship between agronomic management and the qualitative features of this spice, the latter strictly associated with its unique metabolic profile represented by the crocetin esters, picrocrocin and safranal. There is increasing interest in saffron because of its specific and multiple properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of climatic condition and genotype on compositional characteristics of saffron. Flower number and stigma yield were significantly affected by environment and corm provenance. The content of the main crocetin esters, namely trans-crocetin di-(²-d-gentibiosyl) ester (1), trans-crocetin (²-d-glucosyl)-(²-d-gentibiosyl) ester (2), trans-crocetin (²-d-gentibiosyl) ester (3), trans-crocetin (²-d-glucosyl) ester (4), and picrocrocin, were evaluated according to the spectrophotometric ISO standard methodology, which ranked the samples into three qualitatively decreasing categories (I–III); composition was evaluated mainly through the application of HPLC equipped with ultraviolet visible diode array detector and electro-spray mass spectrometer detectors (HPLC–UV–vis-DAD–ESI-MS), which made it possible to determine the metabolic profiles of stigma samples in terms of crocetin esters and picrocrocin content. The chemical data were combined with the environmental conditions and genotype, and the results showed that crocetin esters 1 and 2 represent the major components of total crocetin ester amount, as indicated by the high positive correlation (0.971 and 0.833, respectively). Moreover crocetin esters 2 and 4, and total crocetin esters amount resulted correlated with picrocrocin content (0.794, 0.818 and 0.678, respectively). Finally, a Pearson correlation was performed in order to individuate any possible relationship between yield characteristics (flower number, total yield and unitary stigma weight) and the qualitative parameters of saffron.

Nowadays agro-industrial waste induces increasing problems due to the high economic cost and heavy environmental impact of disposal. By contrast, its potential re-use as organic fertilizer could represent a sustainable approach to recycling nutrients and reintegrating organic matter into soil. Such recycling should be particularly beneficial in Mediterranean areas because there is a progressive loss of soil fertility. To assess the possible re-use of industrial citrus waste as organic fertilizer, a two-year research project was carried out to study the effects of dried orange waste on the growth and production of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). Two dried orange waste doses of 4 and 8 kg/m2 were compared with conventional mineral fertilization, of 80 kg/ha2 of nitrogen, and with a control without fertilization in the first year. During the second year, the residual effects of the past year's fertilization and two-year application of the orange waste doses and mineral fertilization on duration of biological cycle, grain yield, leaf area index, above-ground biomass and crop growth rate were studied. Our results show that organic fertilization gave similar wheat yields to the mineral fertilization, averaging at 3.63 t/ha. Organic fertilization promoted crop growth much more than mineral fertilization, by up to +400%. However, at the highest dose repeated organic fertilization induced a severe depressive effect on crop establishment. It indeed gave the lowest values for leaf area index of 0.6, biomass of 222 g/m2 dry weight and crop growth rate of 2.5 gm-2 d-1 at the heading stage, and a 50% decrease in wheat grain yield. In both years, the lowest dose of orange waste produced maximum agronomic efficiency. We conclude that an appropriate use of dried orange waste as fertilizer can partially solve environmental problems related to the citrus fruit processing industry, and represents a low cost organic matter source for Mediterranean soil with poor fertility.