Theocharis Chatzistathis

Hellenic Agricultural Organization - Demeter | ELGO · Soil and Water Resources Insitute - Thermi, Thessaloniki

(1) Background: This study investigates the effects of potassium (K) and rootstock on the growth, photosynthetic activity, and mineral nutrition of lemon trees; (2) Methods: Lemon trees (cv. Adamopoulou) grafted onto sour orange (Citrus aurantium) (SO) or Volkamer lemon (Citrus volkameriana) (VL) rootstock were cultivated hydroponically under 0.00,...

Foliar application with calcium (Ca) fertilizers improves quality and flesh firmness of kiwifruit and affects the mineral composition of leaves and fruits. The impact of preharvest foliar sprays, using a commercial fertilizer with organic Ca content in combination with an integrated nutrient management (INM) fertilizers and biostimulants was assess...

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of excess boron (B) on the nutrient uptake, growth, and physiological performance of grapevines. Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapevines, either own-rooted or grafted onto 1103P and 101-14 Mgt rootstocks, were exposed in a hydroponic pot experiment to 0.5 mM boron for sixty days. Twenty-five days followin...

Aiming at the production of robust chestnut plants suitable for the establishment of plantations or for their use in afforestation of forest ecosystems, we studied the effect of soil mixtures on growth, physiological characteristics, and nutritional status of chestnut seedlings. In a complete randomized-block design pot experiment, the soil used wa...

The recent energy crisis has increased the cost of fertilization for olive growers. This is why alternative nutrient sources, such as manures and other organic materials, could be used to sustain olive production within the framework of sustainable agriculture, by decreasing chemical fertilization inputs. A greenhouse pot experiment was established...

In this work, we evaluated the effects of cultivation practices and sites (representing four locations in Crete, Greece) on soil organic carbon sequestration in established citrus orchards, olive groves, and uncultivated fields (used as a control). Soil pH, soil texture, soil organic matter (SOM), Permanganate Oxidizable Carbon (POXC), Total Kjelda...

Under the economic pressure from the increase of fertilizers’ prices due to the recent energy crisis, more efforts are needed to search for alternative and cheaper sources of nutrients for crops. The purpose of our study was to compare the effects of manure and inorganic amendments’ application to those derived from the application of a controlled-...

Chromium toxicity is considered within the most severe and dangerous nutritional disorders, and it can often be observed in crops grown in industrial areas. The present study aims to determine the effects of Cr(VI) toxicity on the growth, nutrition, and physiological performance of grapevines. In a pot hydroponic experiment, own-rooted Merlot and C...

For the production of Pinus brutia seedlings resilient to dry climatic conditions of Mediterranean ecosystems and better adapted to climatic change, the laboratory of Forest Soil seedlings of P. brutia on the first year of their growth, replanted in bigger sized plastic pots. As fulfilled material used forest soil from 90% gneiss rock and 10% from...

Organic fertilization is a promising strategy to decrease N mineralization rates and high N losses via leaching and denitrification, thus synchronizing N application with N uptake for crops. A 230-day experiment with olive plants was realized under greenhouse conditions to compare urea and biogas digestate (BD) application on the growth, nutrient u...

The present study examined the effects of different nitrogen (NH4NO3) and potassium (KNO3) fertilization levels in combination with a nitrogen-fixing, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculation on the carbohydrate (CHO), amino acid content, and nutrient concentrations (N, P, K) in the spears and the root system of asparagus plants. No...

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of clinoptilolite zeolite and vermiculite on (i) nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) acquiring enzymes’ activity, (ii) potential nitrification rate (PNR), and on (iii) availabilities of the inorganic N forms. These parameters are critical to description of N mineralization and nitrification proces...

Organic fertilization has been proposed as an alternative approach to supply nutrients for crops, in the frame of organic and sustainable agriculture, with the aim to decrease high inorganic fertilization rates, protect the environment and decrease production costs for farmers. Since different types of organic fertilizers, such as manures, olive mi...

Boron (B) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and development, exhibiting extremely narrow margins between deficiency and toxicity. B toxicity is devastating for productivity and apparent for a continuously increasing part of agricultural land, under the influence of on-going climate change. In this study, the effects of increased B supply (b...

Under the current and future climate crisis, a significant rise in soil salinity will likely affect vine productivity in several Mediterranean regions. During the present research, the rootstock effects on salinity tolerance of Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapevine cultivars were studied. In a pot hydroponic culture, own-rooted Merlot and Cabernet Fr...

Under high organic matter content, even under low extractable soil P concentrations, sufficient or over-sufficient foliar P levels may be found. This multi-year study aimed at examining the effects of organic matter content and irrigation management on (a) soil fertility, (b) P-cycle related soil enzymes (acid and alkaline phosphatase, pyrophosphat...

Calcium preharvest application influences fruit quality. The impact of preharvest foliar sprays using several commercial fertilizers with Ca content on the fruit quality and nutritional status of the kiwi cv. ‘Hayward’ was investigated for a 2-year period. Fruit flesh firmness increased under all Ca sprays compared to the control. Total soluble sol...

The effects of pre-harvest factors on field productivity, and especially on the ultimate quality of harvested products (fruits), are o en overlooked and underestimated, although a wide spectrum of these factors, including environmental conditions and field management practices, directly or indirectly influences tree productivity and the qualitative...

Following nematode infestation, leaf-localized responses are vital not only as early infection signs but also as an indication of actions required to preserve crop productivity. In this context, the leaf-level physiological responses of cantaloupe seedlings were evaluated after 40 consecutive days of cultivation under different Meloidogyne javanica...

One of the most challenging topics for the sustainable agriculture is how to decrease high fertilization rates. A pot experiment, exploring the effects of zeolite (ZEO) and/or vermiculite (VER) as soil amendments, comparing to the soil application of a controlled release fertilizer (CRF), was realized in chestnut plants. Various parameters related...

The present investigation assesses the behavior of three pomegranate cultivars (Punica granatum L.) (‘Wonderful’, ‘Ermioni’ and ‘Grenada’) under increased concentrations of three salts (NaCl, KCl and K2SO4) after 150 days of growth in vivo conditions. The aim of this research was to study the nutrient accumulation and distribution in leaves and roo...

BACKGROUND Floating system is a suitable low cost hydroponic method for growing baby leaf vegetables. Among other, the main advantage of the system is the use of large volume of nutrient solution which is characterized by high heat capacity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different root‐zone temperature on baby leaves of lettuc...

One of the most important issues for modern agriculture is how to decrease fertilization rates and enhance the sustainability of crops, without decreasing yields. Two inorganic (zeolite-zeo; vermiculite-ver) amendments and their mixtures with an organic soil amendment (goat manure) (i.e., zeo + ver, manure + ver, manure + zeo) were tested, and comp...

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is an emblematic, long-living fruit tree species of profound economic and environmental importance. This study is a literature review of articles published during the last 10 years about the role of beneficial microbes [Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), Plant Growth Pr...

How fully productive olive trees (Olea europaea L., cv. 'Chondrolia Chalkidikis') manage to over-satisfy their P nutritional needs under low Olsen P availability in soils? A B S T R A C T Often, from soil and plant tissue analyses, over-sufficient foliar P levels in olive trees, grown under low Olsen P availability, are determined. In order to deep...

In the current paper we assess different machine learning (ML) models and hybrid geostatistical methods in the prediction of soil pH using digital elevation model derivates (environmental covariates) and co-located soil parameters (soil covariates). The study was located in the area of Grevena, Greece, where 266 disturbed soil samples were collecte...

Organic fertilization has been proposed as an alternative method, in the frame of sustainable agriculture, to enhance soil fertility and satisfy the nutritional needs of crops, without the input of chemical fertilizers. A six-month pot experiment, with 3 soil amendments, used as organic fertilizers (cow manure-CM, goat manure-GM, and their mixture,...

Imbalanced Ca/Mg and excess Ni (due to serpentine stress) are limiting factors for plant productivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate if growth, nutrient uptake, PSII activity, photosynthesis and antioxidant activity of pomegranate (Punica granatum L., cv. Granada) plants were affected by serpentine stress. Pomegranate plants were gro...

It was investigated if differential genotypic tolerance of two pomegranate cultivars (‘Wonderful’ and ‘Acco’) to serpentine stress existed. For this purpose, pomegranate plants were grown outdoors, in three soil substrates (from parent material marl, serpentine and serpentinized peridotite). The results indicated that growth, most foliar nutrient c...

Leaf and soil samples were taken and analyzed from two mature biological olive groves (Olea europaea L., cv. ‘Chondrolia Chalkidikis’), in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Northern Greece, in order to determine the correlations between soil exchangeable cations and foliar calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) concentrations, and the interrelations...

The disposal of olive mill wastewater (OMW) is a serious environmental issue for the Mediterranean countries. However, there is still no common European legislation on the management and the re-use of OMW in agriculture, in the frame of sustainable crop management and the standards for the safe OMW disposal and re-use are left to be set by each EU...

Manganese (Mn) is one of the most important essential micronutrients for plant metabolism and growth, and especially for photosynthesis. It activates more than 35 enzymes and affects root growth. Manganese is taken up by plants as Mn²⁺, or as organic complex in calcareous soils. Both Mn uptake and utilization efficiency (MnUE) are influenced by gen...

After forest harvesting, organic matter accumulation and soil nutrient availability are usually negatively influenced, especially during the first years. The hypothesis that 15 years after selective harvesting (15Y) the increased forest biomass, together with the enhanced nutrient recycling rates, compared to 5-years after harvesting (5Y), could re...

Organic farming has been proposed as an alternative agricultural system to help solve environmental problems, like the sustainable management of soil micronutrients, without inputs of chemical fertilizers. The purposes of this study were: i) to assess Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu bioavailability through the determination of sequentially extracted chemical for...

Every year, worldwide olive oil production produces in a short period of time (late autumn-winter) vast quantities of olive mill wastewater (OMW). This product causes environmental and management problems due to its disposal into rivers and lakes. During the last years, OMW application (used either as crude, raw material, or as treated- with differ...

A six-month field experiment (from October to March) was conducted in a 20-year-old experimental grove of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in order to enhance its micronutrient levels and to assess the effect of micronutrient foliar application manganese, zinc and boron (Mn, Zn and B) on mineral nutrition, chlorophyll concentration and chl...

A greenhouse experiment was conducted, in order to study the effect of nitrogen (N) form (NO3⁻, NH4⁺, urea, NH4⁺ + NO3⁻) and concentration (1, 8 and 16 mM) on growth, mineral nutrition and photosynthetic performance of olive plants (Olea europaea L., cv. ‘Kalamon’). Our data indicate that when plants at high supply (16 mM) received urea as N source...

Two sustainable management models were studied, in order to investigate if they were successful in satisfying the nutritional needs of mature olive groves (20 year-old olive trees- Olea europaea, cv. ‘Koroneiki’), situated in two geographical regions of Greece (Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Northern Greece, and Corfu, Ionian Islands, Western Gre...

Nutrient availability affects root growth. The effect of potassium level on the root growth, weight and elongation, as well as on nutrient content of the olive genotypes ‘Megaritiki’> Wild Olive> ‘Chondrolia Chalkidikis’> ‘Biancolilla’, and K utilization efficiency, was investigated. For this purpose, a greenhouse experiment was carried out in the...

Deforestation was, for many years, a common practice in Greece in order for the old forest sites to be used as croplands. These deforestations had a very negative influence on soil fertility, especially in the caseswhere soil depth was restricted, and very sharp inclinations occurred. All these caseswere followed by increase of soil surface runoff...

One-year-old self-rooted cuttings of three Citrus limon cultivars (Nouvel Athos, Lisbon, Maglini) were grown in 1 L black plastic bags, containing a mixture of sand: perlite (1:1), in order to investigate: i) if genotypic differences to salt stress existed, ii) if KNO3 can alleviate salinity stress, iii) the role of carbohydrates (such as the sugar...

Micronutrient constraints (especially those of Fe, Mn, and Zn) are among the most serious nutritional problems in calcareous and alkaline soils. Other adverse soil conditions limiting their availability are low cation exchange capacity (CEC), high organic matter content, soil humidity shortage, etc. From the non-soil factors restricting Fe, Mn, and...

Juglans regia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Eucalyptus sp. and Populus sp. plantations, suffering from Mn and Cu toxicity, were limed in order to reduce Cu and Mn solubility in soil. The purposes of the present work were: i) to study the changes in soil chemical properties after the addition of CaCO3, ii) to investigate the influence of liming on the redu...

The purpose of the present study was to compare the ability of three micronutrient soil-test extractants [diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), Mehlich 3, and Soltanpour and Schwab] to determine plant-available concentrations of manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) in three soils (from parent material Marl, Gneiss schist, and Peridotite) f...

Olive (Olea europaea L.) plants were sprayed (one, two or three times) with nutrient solutions containing KCl, KNO3 and K2SO4 with the same amount of K (0, 1, 2 and 3% w/v). The weight of the plants was unaffected by salt type, number of sprays or K concentration of salts, whereas the dry matter percentage was significantly increased in the plants...

A hydroponic experiment was carried out in an experimental greenhouse in order to investigate if K level in nutrient solution affected the efficient use of K (KUE) of three olive cultivars, as well as if genotypic differences concerning KUE among them for the same K level existed. For that purpose, the effect of K concentration on growth, nutrient...

Rooted leafy cuttings of three Greek olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars (Koroneiki, Kothreiki and Chondrolia Chalkidikis) were grown for six months in three soil types, in an experimental greenhouse, in order to investigate: i) if their root system was colonized by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungus (AMF) genus and, ii) if genotypic differences concernin...

The response of three-month-old rooted cuttings of the olive cultivars ‘Picual’ and ‘Koroneiki’ grown in black plastic bags containing perlite as a substrate to excess manganese (Mn) (640 μM) was studied. The rooted cuttings were irrigated with 50% modified Hoagland nutrient solution. At the end of the experimental period, which lasted 130 days, th...

Export Date: 18 October 2014

A 130-day hydroponic experiment was carried out in a glasshouse to examine whether manganese (Mn) concentration in the nutrient solution affects the nutritional status of olive plants and to find out whether the chlorophyll fluorescence technique is suitable to assess Mn toxicity and/or deficiency stress in olive plants prior to the appearance of t...

The mean Mn concentration in soils ranges from extremely low levels to 10000 p.p.m., depending on soil type, as well as on climate. The basic reason for the great variation of Mn concentration among different soil types is the differential Mn concentration of different rocks and minerals from which they were originated, through the process of weath...

It has been studied the time course of seven leaf nutrients’ (Mn, Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, K and P) concentrations when plants of the olive cultivar ‘Koroneiki’ were grown for about 5 months (from the 30th of May till the 17th of October) in three soils from different parent materials (Marl, Gneiss schist and Peridotite), located in the region of Central Ma...

The time course of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in the leaves of two olive cultivars (Picual and FS-17) irrigated with nutrient solutions differing in Mn concentration (0, 2 and 1280 micromol L(-1)) was studied under hydroponic conditions to determine whether PPO activity could be used as an early criterion of Mn status of olive plants, and to...

Three-month-old rooted olive cuttings (Olea europaea L., cvs. Koroneiki and Kothreiki of ≅ 20 to 25 cm in height) were grown outdoors for 140 days (from 30 May until 17 Oct.) under ambient conditions in black plastic bags containing 3 kg of soil. Three soils from different parent material (Marl, Gneiss schist., and Peridotite) and with different ph...