Lamiaceae is one of the largest families of aromatic plants and it is characterized by the presence of external glandular structures which produce essential oils highly valued in cosmetics and medicine. Plants of Lavandula latifolia, Mentha piperita, Salvia sclarea, Salvia lavandulifolia, Thymus capitatus, and Thymus mastichina were grown for one year. In order to evaluate the effects of drought stress, plants were subjected to two water treatments (100% ETo and 70% ETo, including the rainfall during the experimental period). At the end of the experiment, the biomass, the essential oil content, and leaf nutrients concentration were assessed for each water treatment and species studied. At the end of the experiment, L. latifolia, M. piperita and T. capitatus plants showed a significant fresh weight reduction under drought stress conditions whereas the other species studied remained unchanged. With respect to dry weight, only L. latifolia plants showed a reduction under water deficit conditions. As far as essential oil content was concerned, L. latifolia and S. sclarea plants had a reduction under water deficit conditions. Leaf nutrient concentration showed different trends between species considering the nutrient assessed. The economic viability of the growth of this species will be dependent on the benefits achieved which are related to yield production obtained and the price accorded for both raw material and the essential oil extracted.

The development of intensive horticulture in Almería, with a huge increase in greenhouse surface area, is related to three essential factors: climatic characteristics, groundwater use and mulching sandy soil. The purpose of the present paper is to draw a picture of the integral management of water irrigation in the intensive horticultural systems in the region, by identifying the most significant water resource contributions and alternative water resources. Results indicate that the use of groundwater for the irrigation of horticultural crops in the greenhouses presents a high degree of overexploitation of the aquifers, but due to the continuous search for alternative water resources, such as desalinated and reclaimed water, as well as in-depth knowledge of the integral management of water irrigation through automated fertigation and localized irrigation systems, the current status of the water resources could be sustainable. Moreover, being conscious of the pollution generated by agricultural leachates, the horticultural system of Almería is implementing complementary sustainable systems such as recirculation, cascade cropping systems and phytodepuration for the reuse of the leachate. Considering all these factors, it can be concluded that the intensive horticultural system is on the right path towards respecting the environment and being sustainable in terms of water use.

The presence of antibiotics in crops is mainly caused by their irrigation with reclaimed wastewater and by the use of organic amendments of animal origin. During this work, the fate of sulfonamide antibiotics in tomato crop has been assessed in two commercial greenhouses located in Almería (Spain) irrigated with reclaimed wastewater. Samplings were made annually for two years. Sulfonamides in several parts of the plant (roots, leaves and fruits) as well as reclaimed wastewater, amendments and soils were analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that sulfonamides accumulated in soils (sulfamethoxazole between 2 and 14 µg kg⁻¹; sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine and sulfadimethoxine in concentrations below 1 µg kg⁻¹) were in the reclaimed wastewater at concentrations in the ng L⁻¹ range. Their distribution in plants depended on the sulfonamide. The sulfonamides detected in tomato were sulfadiazine, sulfapyridine, sulfamethazole, sulfamethoxazole and sulfadimethoxine. Sulfamethoxazole was the antibiotic with highest concentration in tomato fruit, exceeding 30 µg kg⁻¹. All sulfonamides were below the Acceptable Daily Intake, however, further studies and legislation are needed to assure food safety.

The objectives of this study were to compute diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS) norms and sufficiency ranges from a survey of tomato crops grown in Mediterranean greenhouses and the verification of their variation during plant growth and development. DRIS norms were computed from 408 samples of first young mature leaves collected during different phenological stages. Using the DRIS technique, two sufficiency ranges were developed: one includes all the database regardless of the phenological stage, and the other was developed based on the phenological stage. Also, ten DRIS norm nutrient ratios and cv were computed from N, P, K, Ca, and Mg analytical results. All the ratios in flowering (FL), and only N/K, Mg/K, and Mg/N in fruit development (FD), showed low cv and therefore may play a fundamental role in crop development in accord with the DRIS norms calculated. It is also necessary to point out that a slight modification in the nutrient concentration led to a large change in the nutritional balance of the plant. Moreover, the general sufficiency ranges developed were: N (25–48), P (2.6–4.7), K (16–31), Ca (23–36), and Mg (6.7–10 g·kg ⁻¹ ). In conclusion, this work may signify an improvement in the nutritional diagnosis of greenhouse tomatoes in the Mediterranean area, because there is great variability when setting DRIS standards and sufficiency ranges based on phenological stages compared with general DRIS norms and sufficiency ranges. Use of DRIS norms and sufficiency ranges will allow better nutritional adjustment based on the phenological stage of the crop.

The Mediterranean area has been experiencing an extensive development of intensive horticulture, with a majority of that located in arid and semi-arid regions with limited water resources and poor water quality. One of the most important greenhouse vegetable crops is melon. This article studies the effects of different nitrogen–potassium (N–K) fertilizers applications and two types of irrigation water on yield and nutritional behavior of melon crop Cucumis melo L. (var. cantalupensis Naud. Alpes). The trial was conducted during two cycles under Mediterranean greenhouse conditions, on sandy mulching soil. The experimental design was bifactorial: NK fertigation and water quality, with three nutrition levels and two water qualities [MS with electrical conductivity (EC) = 0.6 dS m⁻¹ and HS with EC = 2.3 dS m⁻¹]. During the first cycle, the fertigation levels were F₁ (50% NK), F₂ (100% NK), and F₃ (125% NK). In the second cycle, the fertigation levels were F₂, F₄ (125% N and 150% K) and F₅ (180% N and 220% K). Treatment F₂ was the recommended total doses (220 kg N ha⁻¹ and 355 kg K ha⁻¹). The increase in the NK concentration of the nutritive solution produced a rise in commercial production. The salinity of irrigation water did not affect marketable yield but had an effect on the fruit size, which was compensated for by an increase in the amount of fruit produced. Dry-matter production, N, and K uptake by plant (g m⁻²) were evaluated in the first and second trials. Salinity and NK nutrition levels significantly affected (P < 0.05) dry matter and N and K uptake by melon plant. Nitrogen and K uptake present interesting correlations with production and with each other, as established by mean regression analysis.