Massimo Zaccardelli

• Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economy Analysis

It is desirable to find and evaluate innovative sustainable products guaranteeing and increasing the quality and productivity of radish (Raphanus sativus). Compost tea (CT) represents a natural organic preparation providing benefits to the soil–plant system, including a biostimulant action against climate change. Therefore, we evaluated whether CT...

New disease report of Sclerotium rolfsii on the leguminous Crotalaria juncea. Careful to choose the cover crop! To read the article, follow this link: https://rdcu.be/dWkwi

Background To counteract soil degradation, it is important to convert conventional agricultural practices to environmentally sustainable management practices. To this end, the application of biostimulants could be considered a good strategy. Compost, produced by the composting of biodegradable organic compounds, is a source of natural biostimulants...

Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in maintaining soil fertility sensu lato. Sustainable soil management aims to make the soil environment more hospitable increasing microorganism diversity and complexity by means of the minimal disturbance of soil and inputs of organic material. This results in the effective functioning of agricultural system...

The replacement of synthetic chemical herbicides and traditional plastic sheets is a major challenge of modern horticulture in view of a sustainable weed management. In the first step of this research, we tested the weed control efficacy of two biodegradable polymers, chitosan and galactomannan, applied to the soil surface as spray mulching, with o...

The poster summarize the results of seed health analyses developed in the frame of AgroBiodiversità Campana project (P.S.R. 2014-2020, Measure 10.2.1) and highlights the finding of new pathogen on legume seeds but also the seeds as carriers of fungal species with potential biocontrol behaviour.

This paper aims to provide an evaluation of the environmental and economic aspects of strawberry cultivation in the Campania and Basilicata regions of Southern Italy, and to consider the effects on strawberry productivity following compost tea (CT) application. Eight strawberry-growing systems were tested. To this end, compost tea production and ch...

By-products of the agri-food sector are increasingly employed in the production of new organic preparations, with biofertilizer and biostimulating functions, thus reducing the consumption of non-renewable resources and turning production chains towards circular economy and sustainability. Two composts were produced with solid digestate (85%) as a c...

In 2021, in Campania region (IT), chickpea plants cv. Caposele showed, with 70% incidence, foliage yellowing and desiccation, collar blackening and secondary root reduction. After morphological, molecular and pathogenicity tests, the causal agent of the disease was identified as FSSC.

During the last three years, more than 300 landraces belonging to different plant species have been the main focus of an Italian valorization research project (AgroBiodiversità Campana, ABC) aiming at analyzing, recovering, preserving, and collecting local biodiversity. In this context, phytosanitary investigation plays a key role in identifying po...

The diagnostic survey of seedborne fungal pathogens is fundamental for symptomless material stored in gene banks to avoid the diffusion of pathogens by germplasm distribution and propagation. In this work, seeds of Southern Italian landraces of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) belonging to the gene bank at CREA (Italy) were inspected to asse...

Sustainable agricultural systems based on the application of phyto-friendly bacteria and fungi are increasingly needed to preserve soil fertility and microbial biodiversity, as well as to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Although there is considerable attention on the potential applications of microbial consortia as biofertili...

Climate change has led to the spread of plant pathogens in novel environments, causing dramatic crop losses and economic damage. Botryosphaeriaceae represents a massive fungal family, containing a huge number of plant pathogens, which are able to infect several hosts. Among them, Macrophomina phaseolina is a necrotrophic fungus, responsible for sev...

Garden cress is a vegetable crop in the Brassicaceae family that is appreciated for its nutraceutical and taste-giving components in minimally processed food chains. Due to its very short cycle, which depends on the range of production from microgreens to baby-leaf vegetables, this crop is threatened by soil-borne pathologies developing within the...

The “soilless” cultivation of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) in containers with peat as substrate allows overcoming the problem of unsuitable soils, thus enhancing the spread of this crop in new areas. Since the use of peat presents several critical environmental and economic sustainability issues, the evaluation of alternative solutions is re...

The aim of the present study was to characterize the physical-chemical and microbiological features of aerated compost teas (CTs) extracted with dechlorinated tap water and with two different additives, molasses and whey, in increasing doses. Plant pathogen suppression properties of CTs were also taken into account. Total nitrogen in CTs increased...

Vegetable and ornamental crops require high input demand to adequately support their standard commercial quality and yield. For these crops, a very high level of agronomic use efficiency of many productive factors can be achieved in soilless culture. For example, the benefits derived from the adoption of soilless closed loops for the recirculation...

Medicinal plants always are part of folk medicine and are nowadays receiving worldwide attention for prophylaxis, management, and treatment of several diseases, as an alternative to chemical drugs. The current work provided a comprehensive overview and analysis of the Astragalus and health relationship in literature. The analysis of their therapeut...

In the last few years, the aromatic plant market for fresh consumption has been growing, especially packaged herbs for Mass Market Retailers. Pruning and selection of aromatic plants during packaging leads to the accumulation of a large amounts of plant residues with consequent disposal costs. In a circular economy perspective, the aim of this stud...

Currently, vegetable production systems have been changed to improve yield and quality, leading to an improvement in sustainability. In horticultural cultivation, one of the most important sectors is the seedling production in nurseries. In the past, horticultural seedlings were produced directly by farmers. Nowadays, industrialized nurseries provi...

Highlights - Municipal solid organic waste compost (MSWC) integrated with N fertilizers can sustain vegetable production. - MSWC (at least 30 t ha-1 d.w.) replaced synthetic fertilizers for tomato and eggplant productions. - N fertilizer integration to the compost residual effect is necessary to sustain endive and broccoli productions. - MSWC (at 1...

Research has been increasingly focusing on the selection of novel and effective biological control agents (BCAs) against soil-borne plant pathogens. The large-scale application of BCAs requires fast and robust screening methods for the evaluation of the efficacy of high numbers of candidates. In this context, the digital technologies can be applied...

In the National park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni (South Italy), a portion of a chestnut forest was converted in 2012 into an agricultural system in order to crop a local variety of bean. We investigated the effect over time of the conversion on the functional diversity of the soil microbial community by two different approaches: the cata...

Forest ecosystems are an important biodiversity environment resource for many species. Forests and trees play a key role in food production and have relevant impact also on nutrition. Plants and animals in the forests make available nutrient-rich food sources, and can give an important contributions to dietary diversity, quality, and quantity. In t...

Compost teas (CTs) are liquid organic formulates obtained by prolonged extraction, with or without aeration, of a quality compost into an aqueous medium. They can significantly improve plant growth and development likely through nutritive and/or biostimulant mechanisms. In nursery production chain of tomato, pepper and melon, the use of seven CTs w...

Plants produce a huge array of secondary metabolites that play a key role in defense mechanisms against detrimental microorganisms and herbivores, and represent a suitable alternative to synthetic fungicides in sustainable agriculture. In this work, twelve crude hydroethanolic extracts derived from leaves of different potato cultivars were chemical...

Medicinal plants are used worldwide due to their lower risk of side effects and eco-friendly, cost-effective production when compared to chemical drugs, encouraging researchers to further exploit the therapeutic potential of the former. One of the most popular medicinal plants is Vitex agnus-castus L., grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions, to...

Bioactive compounds of different Campania native sweet pepper varieties were evaluated. Polyphenols ranged between 1.37 mmol g–1 and 3.42 mmol g–1, β-carotene was abundant in the red variety “Cazzone” (7.05 μg g–1). Yellow and red varieties showed a content of ascorbic acid not inferior to 0.82 mg g–1, while in some green varieties the presence of...

Sage species belong to the family of Labiatae/Lamiaceae and are diffused worldwide. More than 900 species of sage have been identified, and many of them are used for different purposes, i.e., culinary uses, traditional medicines and natural remedies and cosmetic applications. Another use of sage is the application of non-distilled sage extracts and...

Green waste composts are obtained from agricultural production chains; their suppressive properties are increasingly being developed as a promising biological control option in the management of soil-borne phytopathogens. The wide variety of microbes harbored in the compost ecological niches may regulate suppressive functions through not yet fully...

While the control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi becomes increasingly difficult without using chemicals, concern over the intensive use of pesticides in agriculture is driving more environmentally sound crop protection managements. Among these approaches, the use of compost to suppress fungal diseases could have great potential. In this study,...

In the present study, 133 bacterial isolates from 11 composted aromatic plant wastes were selected for their ability to inhibit the mycelial growth of the soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi Sclerotinia minor and Rhizoctonia solani. Successively, a subset of 35 from them were further characterized for their ability to control, in vivo, rocket damping-...

Although compost and biochar received high attention as growing media, little information is available on the potential of vineyard by-products for the production and use of composted solid digestate (CSD) and biochar (BC). In the present study, two experiments are reported on CSD and BC mixed with commercial peat (CP) for grapevine planting materi...

The Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens (L.), Diptera: Stratiomyidae) is an insect whose larvae thrive on agro-industrial by-products. This study reports the first use of black soldier fly larvae processing residue (BSPR) as an innovative ingredient for growing media. BSPR was characterized and evaluated to partially replace commercial peat (CP) i...

On-farm composting is suitable to recycle agricultural biomasses in mature and stable organic matter that can be applied to improve the general soil conditions, such as physical, chemical, hydro-physical, texture, and refresh the provided ecosystem services for human well-being. Quality compost have a high potential in sustaining plant health throu...

The concerns of people over the wide use of chemicals are determining an increasing attention to more eco-friendly management practices in agriculture. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are emerging as important beneficial microbial inoculants because of their capability to promote plant growth and improve plant protection. We performed R...

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is considered as one of the most suitable energy crops for Southern Europe. The aim of this work was to outline the effects of organic fertilisers on the productivity and the global warming potential (GWP) on cardoon production. Six fertilisers (N 100 kg ha⁻¹, N 50 kg ha⁻¹, Compost 30 t ha⁻¹, Compost 15 t ha⁻¹ + N 25...

Sustainable agriculture aims to reduce its environmental impact. In this research, the carbon footprint and energetic analysis have been performed for three consecutive years to investigate the actual environmental impact of processing tomato production, in the organic (OS) vs the conventional cropping systems (CS), in a specialized Mediterranean a...

Chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller.) burs (CSB) represent a solid waste produced during the edible fruit harvesting. Their usual disposal in the field increases the environmental and economic impact of the agricultural process. HPLC-UV-HRMS profiling revealed that CSB organic and aqueous extracts (CSB-M, CSB-H, CSB-A) contain several hydrolyzable tan...

Compost tea (CT) is an organic liquid product derived from quality compost carrying useful microorganism and molecules capable to protect and stimulate growth of the plants. It is gaining a lot of interest for improving productivity of conventional and/or organic vegetable crops. In this research, the effects of an aerated water-extracted CT obtain...

Le leguminose da granella per l’alimentazione umana stanno riscuotendo un crescente interesse, vista la necessità di approvvigionarsi sempre più di proteine riducendo, allo stesso tempo, il più possibile l’impatto ambientale. Infatti, le leguminose sono autonome rispetto all’azoto essendo naturalmente azotofissatrici e, rispetto alle proteine di or...

In the last decades, use of biodiesel, produced by oil seeds, has widely increased. Defatted seed cakes are the most important byproducts of biodiesel production chain and their agricultural valorization is becoming a global challenge. The aim of this study was to characterize carbon molecular composition of several seed cakes (Brassica carinata A....

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a good source of nutrients and phenolic compounds with versatile health benefits. Polyphenol-rich extracts of six ecotypes of P. vulgaris were analysed to determine their phenolic profiles and assayed in vitro for inhibitory effects on digestive enzymes relevant to carbohydrates and lipids metabolism. The extra...

Modern agriculture should increase crop sustainability while feeding the growing population. The organic cropping system has emerged as an interesting alternative and more sustainable crop management than conventional one. Unfortunately, the current yield gap between organic and conventional systems is significant for most crops, and this limits th...

In the present study, 26 accessions of rocket salad belonging to four species (Eruca sativa Mill., Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC., Diplotaxis muralis (L.) DC. and Erucastrum spp.) were tested for resistance to damping-off, wilting and leaf spot disease causal agents. High susceptibility to Rhizoctonia solani was detected in all accessions while var...

Herein, we report the draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas fluore-scens strain CREA-C16, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium that was isolated from the rhizosphere of Pisum sativum L. plants. The genome sequence is ~6 Mb in size, with a GC content of 60.1%, and includes 4,457 candidate protein-encoding genes. P seudomonas fluorescens strain CRE...

The effectiveness of non-chemical control methods is a critical point of the research about the development of alternatives to banned and/or unsustainable fungicides. In order to extend the magnitude and/or the spectrum of the control ability of each component, the combination of different tools has been proposed. In this work, glucosinolate- conta...

Plant-derived antifungals have an interesting potential to be used for the sustainable management of plant diseases. In this work, seven different local genotypes of Capsicum annuum, diffused in agricultural areas of Campania Region (Italy), were explored for their potential in providing phytochemical extracts suitable for antifungal applications....

Beans are important dietary components with versatile health benefits. We analysed the extracts of twelve ecotypes of Phaseolus vulgaris in order to determine their phenolic profiles, antioxidant activity, and the in vitro antiproliferative activity. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) admitted us to detect...

Antifungal activity of plant-derived compounds can be exploited in disease management systems to improve sustainability and replace synthetic molecules. In this study, four crude hydroethanolic extracts of leaves, collected from Italian Solanum spp. landraces, were selected to evaluate their ability to suppress Sclerotinia minor Jagger, a great thr...

In order to prevent soil degradation, it is important to convert conventional agricultural practices to environmentally sustainable management. To this end, the application of biostimulants could be considered as a good strategy. Compost is produced by the composting of biodegradable organic matter, and is a source of natural biostimulants, such as...

Compost teas are compost-derived liquid products that may potentially induce positive effects on treated crops, including disease suppressiveness and biostimulation of the overall improved plant status. In this work four teas, produced from agricultural and municipal waste compost, were applied in a processing tomato cropping system to gain sustain...

The use of plant-derived products in postharvest disease management may be a valid alternative to conventional chemical treatments. In this study, the antifungal activity of crude foliar extracts of a wild Capsicum annuum accession against Alternaria alternata was assessed. Pepper extracts affected mycelial growth and suppressed conidia germination...

Compost is a stabilized organic matter deriving from bio-oxidation of undecomposed feedstock. Its utilization in combination with other substrates may give several benefits for the plants, including the suppression of soil-borne plant diseases. However, not all composts are suppressive and their level vary, as well as the range of the suppressed pa...

A spent coffee ground compost (SCGC) was evaluated as an alternative component of growing media to partially replace commercial peat (CP) and fertilizers in the production of potted plants. Seven mixtures (CP 100% + solid mineral fertilizers, CP 100% + liquid mineral fertilizers, CP 90% + SCGC 10%, CP 80% + SCGC 20%, CP 70% + SCGC 30%, CP 60% + SCG...

Efforts to safeguard and promote the on-farm maintenance of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces should take seed quality into high consideration. Seed quality, in addition to suitable agronomic performances, is a good criterion to identify the most interesting materials among those traditionally cultivated. Ten landraces, still cultivated...

Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are an important source of bioactive compounds in the diet. In particular tomato, that comprises a significant part of the human diet, is known to be an important source of antioxidant compounds, such as lycopene, flavonoids and ascorbic acid. Numerous recent studies concerned the comp...

Background: The use of compost may relieve the factors that limit productivity in intensive agricultural systems, such as soil organic matter depletion and soil sickness. Concomitantly, the practice of on-farm composting allows the recycle of cropping green residues into new productive processes. Results: We produced four vegetable composts by usin...

Bacillus biological control agents are powerful alternatives to chemical fungicides for suppressing plant diseases caused by fungi. In this work, 93 strains of spore-forming bacteria isolated from solanaceous phylloplane, were screened for in vitro antibiotic activity against Alternaria alternata, causal agent of tomato early blight. The twenty mos...

Compost, rich in plant nutrients, is a readily available fertilizer with beneficial effects on physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of the soils. Moreover compost-based treatments can exert protective effects against plant diseases occurrence and/or stimulate an enhanced plant physiological status with improvements in quantity...

Compost, rich in plant nutrients, is a readily available fertilizer with beneficial effects on physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of the soils. Moreover compost-based treatments can exert protective effects against plant diseases occurrence and/or stimulate an enhanced plant physiological status with improvements in quantity...

Natural plant-derived antifungal substances can be explored as valid alternative to conventional chemical fungicides for to control plant pathogens development. In this study, thirteen aqueous crude foliar extracts of Capsicum genotypes were examined for their antifungal activity. Grinded 70 °C-dried leaves were autoclaved, at a dose of 0.5 g ml...

Compost is considered one of the different available sustainable approaches that may be used to prevent, mitigate or to control plant diseases. This is possible through the exploitation of the compost suppressive properties. This chapter aims to address the several aspects of compost suppressivity in order to derive the key principles of this pheno...

Aerated compost teas (ACTs) are organic products obtained by forced aeration of composts suspended in liquid phase. These products may be biological control tools alternative to synthetic fungicides, because ACTs contain antagonistic microorganisms. In this study, soilborne disease suppressive ability of seven water ACTs, extracted from five hortic...

The use of compost tea (CT) is becoming interesting for applications in organic agriculture. CTs are oxygenated extracts of compost that give positive effects on the crops because contain bioactive molecules and microorganisms that improve plant growth and health. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of CTs applied as foliar spray and...

Compost use is increasingly proposed as a sustainable strategy to restore the fertility of degraded agricultural soils and to reduce landfill disposal or incineration of organic wastes. The effects of compost application on many soil physico-chemical and biological properties, as well as on soil contamination, have been investigated widely, but a m...

La crescente attenzione verso gli aspetti di sicurezza alimentare e la preoccupazione di contaminazione da residui chimici delle derrate associate all’impiego di fungicidi di sintesi, sta innescando un particolare interesse per l’impiego di sostanze naturali nella gestione fitosanitaria delle colture. Lo sfruttamento di composti fitochimici estratt...

Genetic relationships, agronomic, nutritional and technological traits of ten Italian landraces, two improved lines and two cultivars of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) were investigated using a multi-disciplinary approach. Seed storage proteins, used as biochemical markers, were able to detect polymorphisms with variability mainly related to the po...

In an intensely cultivated soil in southern Italy, the effects of municipal waste compost on soil activities (basal respiration, β-glucosidase, and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis), Biolog functional diversity, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were estimated in a short period following amendment. Treatment with compost at 30 t ha−1 (dry...

The development of new strategies of integrate pest management to improve processing tomato yield and sustainable quality, are requested by the market. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of foliar applications of glucosinolates and certain medicinal plant essential oils in open field cultivation management. Tomato yield from plots t...

The increasing consumer’s awareness about direct correlation existing among food and health and the contamination problems coming from some foodstuffs, have recently created a rising demand for food that the consumers perceive as “natural and unadulterated”. For these reasons the importance of the organic agriculture is growing. The aim of this wor...

A stepwise screening strategy made it possible to identify five new Bacillus spp. strains for biocontrol of Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia minor and Fusarium solani. In vitro and in vivo biocontrol activity and M13-PCR DNA-fingerprinting led to the selection of these valuable biological control agents (BCAs) from a wide collection of over 250 cand...

An ecotype of the lima bean, named 'fagiolo a Formella', which, to the best of our knowledge, is the only example of an Italian lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) ecotype, is cultivated in the Campania region of southern Italy. Physical, nutritional and processing traits of dry seeds were evaluated for two consecutive growing seasons (2009 and 2010)....

Nitrogen-fixing efficiency is influenced by genetic combination of rhizobia strain/legume genotype. In this research, 48 rhizobia isolates from lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) were characterized for DNA polymorphism and assayed for their ability to improve, in open field, grain yield of lentil. By DNA polymorphism analysis, only four haplotypes were...

Characterization of 15 chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) accessions (6 cultivars, 3 selected lines and 6 landraces) was performed using morphological, agronomic, and technological traits, together with biochemical (seed storage proteins) and molecular markers. Field trials, performed in two different geographical areas of Southern Italy, one in a plain...

Dal confronto tra due varietà di pomodoro da industria, Docet e Faraday, coltivate in convenzionale e in biologico emerge che le rese agronomica e industriale risultano più elevate nel sistema convenzionale. La causa è da ricercarsi nella minore disponibilità di azoto assimilabile dalle piante coltivate in biologico.