Assessment of Agro-Ecological Apple Replant Disease (ARD) Management Strategies: Organic Fertilisation and Inoculation with Mycorrhizal Fungi and Bacteria

Apple replant disease (ARD) impacts the economic yield of orchards by physiological and morphological suppression of apple trees on replanted soils. The complexity of replant disease caused by a plethora of biological interactions and physical properties of the soil requires complex management strategies to mitigate these effects. Based on expert recommendations, we selected two management strategies linked to agroecological principles of (a) organic fertilisation with a specific mulch composition (MDK) and (b) biofertilisation with arbuscular mycorrhizal and bacterial strains (AMFbac), applied by a composition of existing products. For both management strategies we provide a proof-of-concept, by pot and field experiments. Both treatments have the potential to mitigate ARD effects on plant vigour. ARD effect was fully mitigated by MDK treatment in the short-term (one year) and was mitigated by up to 29% after seven years of MDK treatment (long-term). MDK provides an additional substrate for root growth. AMFbac has the potential to mitigate ARD effects on plant vigour but with non-replicable plant-beneficial effects in its current form of application. Thereby our results show a principal potential to mitigate economic effects but not to overcome replant disease inducing effects. While the MDK treatment is found resource intensive but reliable, the AMFbac treatment was found more user-friendly.

Polyphenol composition of lettuce cultivars affected by mineral and bio-organic fertilisation

Three types of Lactuca sativa L. plants (green lettuces Batavia cv. Maritima and cv. Winter Butterhead, red lettuce Lolo rosa cv. Tuska) were investigated for their polyphenol composition. The lettuce plants were grown in polyethylene greenhouses and treated with different fertilisers. The qualitative and quantitative polyphenol composition was evaluated according to the use of mineral, organic (Italpollina and Arkobaleno) and bio (Lombricompost and EKOprop NX) fertilisers. The individual polyphenol components (caffeoyl derivatives and quercetin glycosides) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and the sample differences were estimated. The differences in the polyphenol content in the green lettuce cultivars in dependence on fertilisation were much higher than those in the red cultivar. In general, the red lettuce Lolo rosa cv. Tuska was characterised by the highest content of polyphenols. The highest content of all components was determined in the samples of red lettuce with the use of organic fertiliser Arkobaleno. In. the red lettuce and the green lettuce cv. Winter Butterhead organic fertilisation resulted in the higher content of polyphenols in comparison with mineral fertilisation and unfertilised samples. An exception was observed in cv. Maritima, where the unfertilised samples showed higher content of polyphenols compared to the fertilised samples

The effect of different copper doses and organic fertilisation on soil’s enzymatic activity

A three-year pot experiment carried out in the vegetation hall in 2014–2016 included studying the enzymatic activity of soil, into which various amounts of copper: (100, 200 and 300 mg Cu/kg soil) and organic materials (cattle manure, chicken manure, post-mushroom substrate) were introduced, used separately, at a soil-introduction dose of 2 g C_org/kg. Copper and organic materials were used once, only in the first year of the study, before sowing test plant orchard grass. In soil collected after the last (fourth) swath of grass in each year of the study, the activity of urease, dehydrogenases, acid, and alkaline phosphatase was determined. Applications of copper to the soil, regardless of its dose, resulted in a decrease in urease, dehydrogenases and alkaline phosphatase and an increase in acid phosphatase activity. The inactivating effect of this metal on the activity of urease, dehydrogenases and alkaline phosphatase increased with the increase of its dose. Organic fertilisation generally increased the enzymatic activity of the analysed soil. In subsequent years of the study, urease and alkaline phosphatase activity decreased, while acid phosphatase activity increased. Dehydrogenase activity did not change significantly in subsequent years of the study.

LIFE15 ENV/IT/000392 − LIFE VITISOM Project, viticulture innovation technology and GHG emission monitoring

The main aim of the LIFE VITISOM Project is to promote an innovative solution for the management of the organic fertilisation in the viticultural sector. In parallel, different activities of monitoring of impacts have been planned. Specifically, a deep study about GHG emissions has been organised. In this context, different studies are being carried out: a continuous monitoring of net carbon fluxes (NEE) through the Eddy Covariance method, followed by University of Padua which allows data to be obtained at vineyard ecosystem level; a spatial monitoring of CH4, N2O and CO2, through a mobile instrument for measuring the variation of GHG developed by West Systems within the LIFE+ IPNOA Project. In the first case, two Eddy Covariance towers have been installed, one at Guido Berlucchi (Franciacorta, Lombardy) and one at Bosco del Merlo (Lison, Veneto). Additionally, spatial monitoring is being carried out in five testing sites involved in the LIFE VITISOM project. In this case, different organic fertilisation managements are compared.