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The cultivated hops are recently moving towards new growing areas in Southern Europe, boosted by the increasing number of craft breweries and by the higher vulnerability to climate change observed, for this crop, in the traditional growing regions. Despite this clear market and geographic trend, there is a lack of knowledge about pedoclimatic needs and agronomic performances of hops grown in the Mediterranean environment. Particularly, the agronomic potential of a new hopyard during its establishment period is poorly studied even in traditional growing zones. Moreover, a restricted number of plants were usually sampled to gather the few data available, thus leading to a probable overestimation of yield performance. A commercial organic hopyard in central Italy was established and a 2-year (2018–2019) field experiment was set-up to accurately investigate the cone and shoot yield potential of cultivar ‘Cascade’ and to understand how such yields are related to each other and to soil texture. Hop plants were two-years old when the experiment started; plant population was 4,000 plants ha−1. Forty points within the hopyard were sampled for soil analysis and yield traits. Data were analyzed accounting for spatial dependence of the sampling points. Results show a negative relation between clay content in the soil and hop yields, even though it was significant only in the exceptional rainy season of 2018. Shoot and cone yield were positively and strongly related, suggesting the green shoot yield in spring as a good predictor of hop production. Both shoot and cone yield significantly increased from the second to the third year (+11% and +16%, respectively); however, the unseasonably high rainfall of 2018 probably lowered the yield of the first experimental year. Cone yield attained over this 2-year study (1.24 t ha−1 and 1.44 t ha−1 for 2018 and 2019, respectively) was within the published ranges for mature plants. Similarly to cone production, shoot dry matter yield was lowe

Evaluation of the sustainability and environmental footprint of different agricultural production systems, such as organic and conventional systems, is an open scientific debate. Presently, several agri-environmental indicators have been proposed; however, their reliability and interpretation are still under discussion. The investigation of biological, chemical, and physical soil health variables has been advocated for understanding the sustainability of agricultural systems, even though they are not univocal indicators. In the present study, both biological (abundances of ammonia-oxidizing archaea, AOA; ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, AOB; and nosZ) and physicochemical (pH; soil organic carbon, SOC; total Kjeldahl nitrogen, TKN; available phosphorus, P; and texture) soil variables were investigated to compare two soils under organic (OS) and conventional (CS) management after 15 years. Among the physicochemical variables analyzed, TKN content was higher whereas P content and pH values were lower in the OS than in the CS. The SOC content was not affected by agricultural management. Biological indicators showed significant differences in the soil nitrogen cycle. After 15 years, the OS showed a higher potential for N2O emission reduction (higher nosZ) and NO3- losses in the environment (higher AOA) than the CS. Therefore, we conclude that biological (AOA and nosZ) and chemical (P, TKN, and pH) variables can be regarded as soil health indicators for comparing different agricultural management systems.

Agricultural management affects soil fertility through the frequency and type of agronomic practices such as mechanical operations, type and rate of fertilizers, crop rotations, and residue management. This study evaluated the evolution of soil chemical properties (pH; electrical conductivity; soil organic carbon, SOC; total Kjeldahl nitrogen, TKN; and available phosphorous, PO4-P) over time in two farming systems, organically and conventionally managed, after 5 and 14 years after the establishment of both systems, in northeastern Italy. SOC content remained stable in the conventional farming system, but slightly decreased in the organic farming system, despite inputs from organic amendments. In contrast, soil TKN remained consistently higher in the organic farming system. The PO4-P increased over time, in both farming systems. Moreover, we observed that an increase of 1% in soil clay content resulted in increases of 0.0534 and 0.0053 g kg–1 in SOC and TKN, respectively. In conclusion, our results indicate that organic management does not have an advantage over conventional management in terms of soil organic matter accumulation.

In in contesto di carenza idrica e di inquinamento delle acque superficiali causato dalle attività agricole, devono essere identificate nuove pratiche di gestione delle risorse idriche che rispondano a queste problematiche e possano essere utilizzate in diversi ambienti. Il bacino idrografico della Laguna di Venezia (nell'Italia nord-orientale) è un'area sensibile all'inquinamento delle acque superficiali. La prevalenza di terreni pianeggianti e la presenza di una falda freatica superficiale, tuttavia, suggeriscono condizioni idonee per la realizzazione di due pratiche di gestione idrica per la riduzione dei carichi di N e P provenienti dalle aree agricole: il drenaggio controllato (controlled drainage: CD) e le wetland artificiali a flusso superficiale (surface flow constructed wetlands: SFCWs). Il monitoraggio di lungo periodo delle performance di queste pratiche è necessario per fornire risultati di validità generale, che non siano condizionati dalla variabilità meteorologica annuale. Questo lavoro valuta le performance di un sistema di CD e di SFCW in un esperimento di lungo periodo. Il CD è stato monitorato durante i periodi 1995-2002 e 2006-2013, in termini di bilancio idrico e di resa delle colture, e dal 2007 al 2013 anche per le perdite di N e P. La SFCW è stata monitorata dal 2007 al 2013 per la riduzione dei carichi di N e P. Il CD ha permesso di ridurre i deflussi idrici del 69% e ha determinato un aumento complessivo della resa di granella di mais del 26,3%, e della resa di mais da insilato del 4,0%. Le perdite di NO3-N e PO4-P nelle acque superficiali sono state ridotte rispettivamente del 92% e del 65%. La SFCW ha mostrato tassi di rimozione annui apparenti dell'83% e del 79% rispettivamente per NO3-N e N totale, e del 48% e del 67% rispettivamente per PO4-P e P totale. Sia il CD che la SFCW si sono rivelati efficaci nel ridurre i carichi inquinanti di N e P, ed il CD ha anche contribuito ad aumentare la resa delle colture attraverso il risparmio idri