Stefano Marino

• Ph.D.
• Research Associate at University of Molise

Semi-natural grasslands represent a vital source of forage and fodder for livestock farming, fulfilling an essential ecological function. This study upholded the efficacy of Sentinel-2 time series data in conjunction with ground data on aboveground biomass (AGB), ecological composition, and floristic composition for the development of a prediction...

The general aim is to assess the landscape diversity and the ecological value of a multifunctional and diversified farm in an Italian inner area. The study was carried out in the context of the national DEMETRA research project, aimed at developing and implementing integrated and multifunctional agricultural production systems with a high degree of...

The study investigates the suitability of time series Sentinel-2 NDVI-derived maps for the subfield detection of a sunflower crop cultivated in an organic farming system. The aim was to understand the spatio-temporal behaviour of subfield areas identified by the K-means algorithm from NDVI maps obtained from satellite images and the ground yield da...

Optimizing crop yield is one of the main focuses of precision farming. Variability in crop within a field can be influenced by many factors and it is necessary to better understand their interrelationships before precision management methods can be successfully used to optimize yield and quality. In this study, NDVI time-series from Sentinel-2 imag...

The agricultural sector is one of the major users of water resources. Water is an important asset that needs to be preserved using the latest available technologies. Modern technologies and digital tools can transform the agricultural domain from being manual and static to intelligent and dynamic leading to higher production with lesser human super...

Digital farming approach merges new technologies and sensor data to optimize the quality of crop monitoring in agriculture. The successful fusion of technology and data is highly dependent on the parameter collection, the modeling adoption, and the technology integration being accurately implemented according to the specified needs of the farm. Thi...

Currently, the world is facing high competition and market risks in improving yield, crop illness, and crop water stress. This could potentially be addressed by technological advancements in the form of precision systems, improvements in production, and through ensuring the sustainability of development. In this context, remote-sensing systems are...

Environmental conditions and nutritional stress may greatly affect crop performance. Abiotic stresses such as temperature (cold, heat), water (drought, flooding), irradiance, salinity, nutrients, and heavy metals can strongly affect plant growth dynamics and the yield and quality of horticultural products. Such effects have become of greater import...

Vegetation indices (VIs) acquired by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images are mainly associated with yield, yield components and crop physiological responses. Monitoring spatial and temporal variability of yield crop traits by remote sensing technique is a basis for a correct adoption of precision farming. The study reports a VIs-image segmentation...

Vegetation indices (VIs) acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) images are mainly associated with yield, yield components, and crop physiological responses. Unfortunately, simple strategies for grouping planting areas with homogeneous agronomic crop traits are still to be explored. The present study analyses the ability of cluster method applie...

Monitoring the spatial and temporal variability of yield crop traits using remote sensing techniques is the basis for the correct adoption of precision farming. Vegetation index images are mainly associated with yield and yield-related physiological traits, although quick and sound strategies for the classification of the areas with plants with hom...

A field experiment was performed on spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) under different irrigation regimes in a hilly area of Southern Italy. Objectives of the study include evaluating the physiological and biometrical response of mint from plant establishment up to its complete maturation, as well as the yield composition in essential oil at two differe...

Timely and accurate estimation of crop yield variability before harvest is crucial in precision farming. This study is aimed to evaluate the ability of cluster analysis based on Vegetation Indices (VIs) that were obtained from UAVs to predict the spatial variability on agronomic traits of ten winter wheat cultivars. Five VIs groups were identified...

In order to limit the smoking tobacco sector crisis, a new non-GMo Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Solaris was proposed as oil seed crop. Residues of oil extraction were successfully used in swine nutrition. the aim of this study was to explore the full potential of this innovative tobacco cultivar as multitasking feedstock non interfering with the food c...

While a deep crisis is affecting the smoke tobacco cultivation in Italy, the non GMO Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Solaris has been developed (PCT/IB/2007/053412) as "energy crop", since its maximized production of flowers/seeds are rich in oil used as biofuel. In certain climatic conditions, after the harvest of the inflorescences, a second harvest of...

An on-farm research study was carried out on two small-plots cultivated with two cultivars of durum wheat (Odisseo and Ariosto). The paper presents a theoretical approach for investigating frequency vegetation indices (VIs) in different areas of the experimental plot for early detection of agronomic spatial variability. Four flights were carried ou...

In recent years we have seen a growth in the revenues and investments of satellite industry. Originally, satellites, remote sensing (RS), and other navigations systems were only employed for government and military purposes. However, in the past two decades there has been an increase use of these tools for commercial purposes. In particular, satell...

Vegetation indices (VIs) obtained from unmanned aerial system (UAS) are effective for monitoring quantitative and qualitative characteristics of vegetation cover. Nevertheless, the identification of agronomic homogeneous crop areas to be managed in a specific different agronomic way is still to be improved in precision farming. The aim of the study...

mi di informazione geografi ca, teleri-levamento, GPS, droni, camere multi-spettrali, termiche, RGB, ecc.) è fonda-mentale per identifi care la variabilità nel campo ai fi ni di acquisire informa-zioni utili per l'applicazione dell'agri-coltura di precisione. Il termine telerilevamento indica l'insieme di tecniche, strumenti e mez-zi interpretativi...

This paper reviews the literature on applications of remote sensing for monitoring soil- and crop- water status for irrigation purposes. The review is organized into two main sections: (1) sensors and platforms applied to irrigation studies and (2) remote sensing approaches for precision irrigation to estimate crop water status, evapotranspiration,...

The effects of nitrogen (N) addition on productive and physiological traits of Triticum dicoccum were assessed under two N levels (0, unfertilized, and 90 kg N ha −1) in field conditions, in two growing seasons. In the study case, the N supply (90 kg N ha −1) was applied in three-split applications (20% at pre-plant stage, 40% at tillering stage, 4...

Frequency and intensity of heat waves and drought events are expected to increase in Europe due to climate change. European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is one of the most important native tree species in Europe. Beech populations originating throughout its native range were selected for common-garden experiments with the aim to determine whether the...

An agronomic research was conducted to evaluate the spatial variability of an onion crop, with the aim to test Vegetation indices (VIs) as a tool to detect different yield areas. Eleven VIs were derived from geo-referred hyperspectral readings taken at bulbification stage. Eight VIs showed significant regressions with yield, and grouped in four clu...

Hyperspectral vegetation indexes (VIs) were used to detect stressed crop areas in drip irrigated tomato subjected to waterlogging. The crop was quite uniform throughout the field until the beginning of flowering, as confirmed by spectroradiometric readings and agronomic traits. From 78 days after transplanting (DAT) (42 days before harvest), a spot...

An agronomic study was conducted in Central Italy to evaluate the spatial efficiency of drip irrigation in terms of fruit yield and leaf physiology in a tomato crop and the forecasting potential of spectral reflectance. The cv. ‘Perfectpeel’ was transplanted on May 2011 in a twin row spacing, with a final plant density of 30.000 plants ha-1, on a s...

The present paper deals with proximal sensing technique applied to a drip irrigated tomato field. The aim of this “on farm” research was the evaluation of three Vegetation indices, WI (Water index) WI/NDVI and TSAVI (Transformed Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index), to analyze the correlation among VIs and tomato yield, to assess the spatial variability...

Environmental, genotypic and agronomic factors have an effect on the yield value of an onion crop, which is determined primarily by number, weight and size of bulbs. Spatial variability of soil properties affects crop yield. Remote sensed hyperspectral vegetation indices (VIs), calculated using crop reflectance at field scale can be used either as...

Experiments were carried out to study the effects of N fertilizer rates and timing of application on the yield and grain quality of a rainfed emmer crop (Triticum dicoccum Shübler) under Mediterranean conditions. The following parameters were analyzed: hulled and net grain yield, hulled index, spikesm−2, spikelets per spike, kernelsm−2, thousand-ke...

The objectives of this study are (i) to evaluate vegetation indices sensitivity to discriminate between two different cultivars; (ii) to determine the effects of site elevation and developmental stages on cultivar discrimination. The experiment was carried out for the growing season 2007/08 at “Agro di Pesche” (Central Italy, Molise region). Four e...

The increasing demand for traditional and natural foods has renewed the interest in hulled wheat species. Among these, Triticum dicoccum Schübler has survived in Italy only in a few hilly and mountainous areas of central and southern Italy. As a rule, emmer is cultivated in marginal areas with organic farming procedures that use very low N inputs,...