Andrea Onofri

University of Perugia | UNIPG · Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences

BACKGROUND Raphanus raphanistrum causes $40 million total revenue losses annually in Western Australia partly due to its historically‐documented ability to evolve herbicide resistance to multiple modes of action. In this study, 376 field‐sampled populations of R. raphanistrum were tested for resistance to 21 herbicides applied at the recommended la...

Arable soils significantly contribute to atmosphere pollution through N2O emissions due to the massive use of N-based fertilizers and soil managements. N2O formation in the soil occurs mainly through nitrification and denitrification processes, which are influenced by soil moisture, temperature, oxygen concentration, pH, and the amount of available...

Diversified crop rotations have been suggested to reduce grain yield losses from the adverse climatic conditions increasingly common under climate change. Nevertheless, the potential for climate change adaptation of different crop rotational diversity (CRD) remains undetermined. We quantified how climatic conditions affect small grain and maize yie...

The Mediterranean region is expected to experience increased extreme precipitation events with the risk of inland flooding because of climate change. This may adversely affect the establishment of warm‐season turf species, usually selected for low water consumption. A simulated waterlogging experiment was conducted at the University of Padua in nor...

The main measure worldwide adopted to manage plant bacterial diseases is based on the application of copper compounds, which are often partially efficacious for the frequent appearance of copper-resistant bacterial strains and have raised concerns for their toxicity to the environment and humans. Therefore, there is an increasing need to develop ne...

Diversifying agriculture by rotating a greater number of crop species in sequence is a promising practice to reduce negative impacts of crop production on the environment and maintain yields. However, it is unclear to what extent cereal yields change with crop rotation diversity and external nitrogen fertilization level over time, and which functio...

BACKGROUND The evolution of the fungal communities associated with durum wheat was assessed using different diagnostic approaches. Durum wheat grain samples were collected in three different Italian cultivation macro‐areas (north, center and south). Fungal isolation was realized by potato dextrose agar (PDA) and by deep‐freezing blotter (DFB). Iden...

Citation: Quaglia, M.; Beccari, G.; Vella, G.F.; Filippucci, R.; Buldini, D.; Onofri, A.; Sulyok, M.; Covarelli, L. Marketed Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Seeds: A Mycotoxin-Free Matrix Contaminated by Mycotoxigenic Fungi. Pathogens 2023, 12, 418. Abstract: A total of 25 marketed quinoa seed samples different for origin, farming system and pac...

Pelargonic acid is a non-selective post-emergence contact bio-herbicide which is registered both for cropping and non-cropping uses in several countries. Dose–response curves on the efficacy of pelargonic acid against common weeds in Mediterranean areas are not available. Dose–response curves of pelargonic acid efficacy against summer and winter an...

Barnyard grass [Echinochloa crus‐galli (L.) Beauv] is a competitive C4 weed species that is widely distributed throughout the world. Although it originated in warm climatic conditions, currently, it is found in Europe as far north as Norway. This study aimed to compare the phenological development of plants from different climatic conditions in var...

The climate change is causing, more and more frequently, expansions of the main weed crops both in agricultural areas and in urban areas; the consequences are the subtraction of land useful for cultivation in agricultural areas to the detriment of crops normally grown, with repercussions also in terms of competition for light, water and nutrients,...

Crocus is a taxonomically complex genus, characterized by high intra- and inter-specific variability. Five wild Crocus taxa - Crocus biflorus, C. longiflorus, C. neapolitanus, C. siculus and C. thomasii from three different areas of Southern Italy (Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily) have been investigated. We considered both flower morphological trai...

The variability in the emergence process of different populations was confirmed for two Echinochloa crus-galli populations, one from Italy (IT) and the second from Norway (NO). Seeds were sown in 12 localities over Europe and the Middle East and the emergence patterns of IT and NO were compared with those of several local populations at each locati...

Echinochloa crus‐galli (L.) P. Beauv. is one of the most important weeds. It is distributed worldwide and has adapted to diverse habitats and climatic conditions. This study aimed to compare the emergence patterns of two populations of E. crus‐galli from different environments at 11 locations across Europe and the Middle East. Seeds of the two popu...

Germination and emergence assays represent the most notable examples of time-to-event data in agriculture and related disciplines. In spite of the peculiar characteristics of this type of data, there has been little effort to establish a specific and comprehensive framework for their analyses. Indeed, a brief survey of the literature shows that ger...

Investigations on seed biology and ecology are of major importance for the conservation of threatened plants, both providing baseline information and suggesting practical approaches. In our study, we focused on the germination behavior of Silene hicesiae Brullo & Signor., a narrow endemic species to Panarea and Alicudi (Aeolian Archipelago, Italy),...

This study investigates the adsorption and dissipation of glyphosate and the formation/dissipation of AMPA in non-tilled (NT) and conventionally tilled (CT) soil at 0–5 and 5–20 cm depth. Glyphosate adsorption was mainly related to the different NT and CT soil properties (clay and amorphous Al oxides), whereas an effect of the soil management could...

BACKGROUND Lolium rigidum is the weed of greatest economic impact in Australia due to its formidable capacity to evolve herbicide resistance. In this study, 579 field‐sampled L. rigidum populations were tested for resistance to 21 herbicides applied at the recommended rate. Nine herbicide treatments were binary mixtures. RESULTS A total of 15 876...

The endophytic bacterium Pantoea agglomerans DAPP‐PG 734 was previously isolated from olive knots caused by infection with Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi DAPP‐PG 722. Whole‐genome analysis of this P. agglomerans strain revealed the presence of a Hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (Hrp) type III secretion system (T3SS). To assess the r...

Game meat production strongly differs from that of other meats, as peculiar factors present in the field and in the steps prior to transfer to a game-handling establishment can influence the hygiene of the carcasses and, therefore, of the meat. The effects of such factors were considered in hunted wild boars based on the main hygienic criteria adop...

Conservation agriculture has been promoted to sustainably intensify food production in smallholder farming systems in southern Africa. However, farmers have rarely fully implemented all its components, resulting in different combinations of no-tillage, crop rotation, and permanent soil cover being practiced, thus resulting in variable yield respons...

Key message A new R-software procedure for fixed/random Diallel models was developed. We eased the diallel schemes approach by considering them as specific cases with different parameterisations of a general linear model. Abstract Diallel experiments are based on a set of possible crosses between some homozygous (inbred) lines. For these experimen...

Grafting is a valuable tool for managing problems of tomato soil-borne pathogens and pests, but often generates unpredictable effects on crop yield and product quality. To observe these rootstocks-induced changes, experimental designs including many rootstock-scion combinations are required. To this end, a greenhouse experiment was conducted on 63...

Most legumes are well-known for the physical dormancy of their seeds; hence, the implementation of appropriate scarification techniques is essential for introducing new legume crops within agricultural systems. This study investigated morpho-anatomical traits and dormancy-breaking requirements in two taxa of the genus Bituminaria: the widespread B....

BACKGROUND Resistance to the dinitroaniline herbicide trifluralin in Lolium rigidum (annual ryegrass) often is mediated by the enhanced capacity to metabolize the herbicide to less toxic polar conjugates and/or by functionally recessive target‐site mutations in α‐tubulin. RESULTS In two L. rigidum populations possessing enhanced trifluralin metabo...

The population of wild animals is increasing, and control strategies based on selective hunting are among the major options adopted. The game meat obtained is therefore available for controlled and certified valuable chains. The understanding of carcass contamination and the factors affecting it is therefore crucial to ensure meat safety and prolon...

Bermudagrass is becoming increasingly popular in the Mediterranean transition zone of Europe for establishing new sports and recreational turfgrasses. In these regions, the quality and winter hardiness of bermudagrass turf is influenced by the establishment. It has been demonstrated that an early establishment of bermudagrass results in a longer gr...

Chianina is an Italian cattle breed appreciated for its meat and resilience skills. No standard values are present in literature regarding Chianina thymic involution. A possible early physiological involution has been reported during the Italian National Residue Plan screening tests. The aim of this work was to perform an anatomo‑histopathological...

BACKGROUND Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a complex disease of wheat and barley caused by several Fusarium species. In recent years, a variation in the composition of the FHB community has been observed in several wheat cultivation areas across the world. In detail, F. avenaceum and F. poae increased their frequencies, while, a lower F. graminearum...

The low organic matter and nitrogen levels in the soils, as well as the high weed pressure, typical of Mediterranean agroecosystems, necessitate a valid and sustainable alternative management. The utilization of cover crops such as Trifolium subterraneum L. may represent an innovative and efficient option for low-input and organic agricultural syst...

The cultivation of Tuber melanosporum Vittad., the black truffle, recently expanded all over the world. For successful truffle production, an important factor to consider is the mycorrhization level of the planted mycorrhized-seedlings. To assess the mycorrhization level of a truffle orchard it is necessary to develop a sampling strategy. Root samp...

A total of 20 dried date samples, chosen as representative among those available on the Perugia (Umbria, Central Italy) market, were analyzed for the possible occurrence of fungal species and related contamination by fungal secondary metabolites. Twenty-six isolates, representative of the total mycobiota, were obtained and morphologically identifie...

Investigating the in vitro fumonisin biosynthesis and the genetic structure of Fusarium verticillioides populations can provide important insights into the relationships between strains originating from various world regions. In this study, 90 F. verticillioides strains isolated from maize in five Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Egy...

In this study, durum wheat kernels harvested in three climatically different Italian cultivation areas (Emilia Romagna, Umbria and Sardinia) in 2015, were analyzed with a combination of different isolation methods to determine their fungal communities, with a focus on Fusarium head blight (FHB) complex composition, and to detect fungal secondary me...

In a 4-year study, the biannual crop rotation processing tomato–durum wheat was applied to three cropping systems: (i) an innovative organic coupled with no-tillage (ORG+) where an autumn-sown cover crop was terminated by roller-crimping and then followed by the direct transplantation of processing tomato onto the death-mulch cover; (ii) a traditio...

Abstract This study aims to explore the effect of environmental factors (temperature, light, storage time) on germination response and dormancy patterns in eight Mediterranean native wildplants, belonging to the Euphorbia L. genus. In detail, we considered E. amygdaloides subsp. arbuscula, E. bivonae subsp. bivonae, E. ceratocarpa, E. characias, E....

Understanding the dynamics of invasive species under global climate change requires knowledge about the effects of environmental factors on germination and emergence. We considered Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq., an invasive species that is quickly invading Southern European agricultural systems, and performed germination assays in growth chambers a...

Warm-season turfgrass species prevail in tropical and subtropical areas, but can also be grown in the transition zone. In this case, cold tolerance is a key aspect for germination and successful turfgrass establishment. The germination response to sub-optimal temperatures was investigated for Cynodon dactylon (cvs Jackpot, La Paloma, Transcontinent...

This document provides R and SAS code for performing the interval-censored data analyses in Onofri, A., Piepho, H.P., Kozak, M. (2019): Analyzing interval-censored data in agricultural research: A review with examples and software tips. Annals of Applied Biology 174, 3-13.

Metric data are usually assessed on a continuous scale with good precision, but sometimes agricultural researchers cannot obtain precise measurements of a variable. Values of such a variable cannot then be expressed as real numbers (e.g., 1.51 or 2.56), but often can be represented by intervals into which the values fall (e.g., from 1 to 2 or from...

Time-to-event methods have been proposed in the agricultural sciences, as one of the most suitable options for the analysis of seed germination data. In contrast to traditional linear/nonlinear regression, time-to-event methods can easily account for all statistical peculiarities inherited in germination assays, such as censoring, and they can prod...

Nei sistemi agricoli una corretta gestione delle piante infestanti dovrebbe prevedere un approccio di tipo integrato tra tutti i diversi mezzi di lotta ammissibili (agronomici, colturali, fisici, meccanici e/o chimici). Le colture orticole sono caratterizzate da una bassa capacità competitiva che si traduce in effetti marcati della competizione ese...

Foliar fertilization with selenium (Se) may well be beneficial in increasing the nutritional and qualitative values of food in Se-deficient regions such as the Mediterranean Basin, and may contribute to an increase in drought resistance in plants. The present study has considered detachment force, flesh firmness, pigmentation, fresh and dry weight,...

Global climate change and invasive species are quickly becoming two of the most important problems in natural and human managed ecosystems. Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq is one of the most invasive plants in the world, widespread in the European and Italian agricultural systems. Temperature and light have been known to influence weed seed germination...

A 2-year field experiment was carried out in Central Italy on processing tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv PS1296). The aim was to assess the effects of various N sources and methods of distribution on crop growth and yield, as well as on the potential risks of nitrate leaching. Processing tomato was fertilized by using (i) green manuring w...

Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.) is an annual legume with a long crop cycle and high temperature threshold for seed germination (20-21°C). In semi-arid Mediterranean areas, inadequate soil warmth delays guar planting to May/early June and harvest to October-November, when high rainfall hinders seed maturation and lowers gum quality. Nine w...

Background Some lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks occur in Mediterranean Countries. They are still largely unexploited and cause considerable problems due to the lack of cost-effective harvesting, storage and disposal technologies. Recent studies found that some basidiomycetous yeasts are able to accumulate high amount of intracellular lipids for...

Sexual plant reproduction is a strategy that allows plant populations to increase genetic variability, and consequently to be more efficient in adapting to new environments and to overcome stress conditions. Here, we focus on the reproductive mode of Phragmites australis, an important sub-cosmopolite species that can spread both by clonal propagati...

Requiring water and minerals to grow and to develop its organs, Maize (Zea mays L.) production and distribution is highly rainfall-dependent. Current global climatic changes reveal irregular rainfall patterns and this could represent for maize a stressing condition resulting in yield and productivity loss around the world. It is well known that low...

Instrumental settings of the ICP-MS and HPLC.

DNA methylation level in maize plants subjected to drought stress or not, treated or not with selenium.

Moisture of aerial parts and roots. Length of aerial parts.

Principal component analysis, data.

BACKGROUND Biofortification of food crops has been used to increase the intake of Se in the human diet, even though this may change the concentration of other elements and modify the nutritional properties of the enriched food. Therefore, Se‐biofortification programs should include the routine assessment of the overall mineral composition of enric...

Maize (Zea mays L.) requires water and minerals to grow and to develop its organs. Its production and distribution is highly rainfall-dependent and yet current global climatic changes reveal irregular rainfall patterns that result in stress conditions with loss of yield and productivity around the world. It is well known that low water availability...

It is known that the presence of weeds causes serious losses to the agricultural production, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. The major problem in modern agriculture is the environmental impact of synthetic herbicides and the increase in herbicide-resistant weed species. Allelopathic compounds can be used to develop a sustainable weed ma...

Grain legume crops play a strategic role in cropping systems around the world, but their acceptance in European agriculture is rather low, because of low yield stability. We used a dataset comprising five to eleven genotypes for each of four legume crops (field pea, lentil, faba bean and chickpea) in four dry environments (two locations by two year...

Fusarium pseudograminearum, F. culmorum and F. graminearum are the most important Fusarium Crown Rot (FCR) causal agents. They have the common ability to biosynthesize deoxynivalenol (DON). To elucidate the behaviour of each of the three species, a comparative study was carried out to investigate symptom progression, fungal systemic growth and tran...

Background: Nowadays, the evaluation of effects of pesticides often relies on experimental designs that involve multiple concentrations of the pesticide of interest or multiple pesticides at specific comparable concentrations and, possibly, secondary factors of interest. Unfortunately, the experimental design is often more or less neglected when a...

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) technology offers vast possibilities in plant lighting due to its ability to mix different light frequencies, high energy use efficiency and low heat production combined to long lifespan. In particular, the combined effect of the Blue:Red (B:R) ratio and other frequencies in the central part of the PAR spectrum (CGA, i....

The use of amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) in the food and dietary supplements industry is increasing. The aim of this work is to promote the Mediterranean area as a production hot spot, by using multivariate statistical analyses on data obtained in two-year trials and relating to morphological, productive, and qualitative traits and antioxidant activit...

Modelling weed seedling emergence pattern appears to be a promising approach in the development of effective weed management programmes based on the selection of optimal timing of control operations. Thermal and hydrothermal time models propose that seed germination rates are proportional to the amount by which temperature and water potential excee...

The final goals of this study are : i) to parameterize crop models considering two Long Term Agro-Ecosystem experiments (LTAE) located in experimental farms of Foggia (FG) and Papiano, Perugia (PG), in Southern and Central Italy, respectively and ii) to evaluate the crop residue (CR) management as a strategy of adaptation and/or mitigation to clima...