The use of Brassicaceae biocidal green manure crops (e.g., Raphanus sativus ssp oleiformis and Eruca sativa ssp oleiformis) is an agronomic technique for the control of several nematodes including Heterodera schachtii and Meloidogyne incognita. Recently, these crops have been extensively studied and even commercially applied in horticulture rotations. In addition, the possibility of producing a formulation based on Brassicaceae defatted seed meals characterized by biocidal activity has been developed. These meals are able to amend soils with organic matter containing nematicidal volatile compounds, derived from the enzymatic hydrolysis of endogenous glucosinolates. This option opens new perspectives for an organic and low environmental impact nematode control. In this study, the effect of a treatment with industrial defatted meals on a commercial zucchini cultivation in greenhouse, on sandy soil heavily and uniformly infested by root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita was evaluated. This effect was compared with the effectiveness of six liquid applications during zucchini crop using Oxamyl distributed by drip irrigation, a technique allowed, recommended and commercially applied on zucchini in the area where the experiment was conducted. During harvesting time, the nematode level both in roots and in soil, and some qualitative (length, weight and diameter) and quantitative (yield) zucchini parameters were evaluated. Compared with the chemical control, defatted seed meal application clearly limited nematode infestation and allowed plant roots with a lower root gall index (2.0 to 3.5 versus 3.5 to 4.5). The zucchini yield in biocidal seed meal treated plot was the same as the control in the first month of harvesting, but it was 9% higher in the second month of harvesting due to the lower infestation of zucchini roots. In addition, in the plot treated with defatted seed meal, harvesting time was one week longer than chemical plot with a final 14% total yield improvement.

The increase of separate collections of bio-waste, largely represented by food waste, and their biological treatment is an essential feature of the waste management strategy. The aim of this paper was to highlight the role of compost in the circular economy, and its use in the agricultural sector. An annual time-step model for estimating soil organic matter (SOM) stock dynamics in a 22-year time frame was developed and tested on cardoon cropping system. The model took into account few soil parameters, mean annual temperature, and the cultural systems management, in particular organic fertilizers and crop residues. This work indicates that compost use in agriculture would be beneficial both for SOM increase and GHG reduction. The results showed how high-quality compost could represents the actual driving force of this change able to connect food, waste, economy and environment.