Assessment of soil quality under different management practices is crucial for sustainable agricultural production and natural resource use. In this study, different statistical methods (principal component analysis, PCA; stepwise discriminant analysis, SDA; partial least squares regression with VIP statistics, PLSR) were applied to identify the variables that most discriminated soil status under minimum tillage and no-tillage. Data collected in 2015 from a long-term field experiment on durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) were used and twenty soil indicators (chemical, physical and biological) were quantified for the upper soil layer (0–0.20 m). The long-term iteration of different management strategies affected soil quality, showing greater bulk density, relative field capacity (RFC), organic and extractable carbon contents (TOC and TEC) and exchangeable potassium under no-tillage. PCA and SDA confirmed these results and underlined also the role of available phosphorous and organic carbon fractions as variables that most discriminated the treatments investigated. PLSR, including information on plant response (grain yield and protein content), selected, as the most important variables, plant nutrients, soil physical quality indicators, pH and exchangeable cations. The research showed the effectiveness of combining variable selection methods to summarize information deriving from multivariate datasets and improving the understanding of the system investigated. The statistical approaches compared provided different results in terms of variables selected and the ranking of the selected variables. The combined use of the three methods allowed the selection of a smaller number of variables (TOC, TEC, Olsen P, water extractable nitrogen, RFC, macroporosity, air capacity), which were able to provide a clear discrimination between the treatments compared, as shown by the PCA carried out on the reduced dataset. The presence of a response variable in PLSR considerably drove the feature selection process.

Roots play a key role in withstanding wheat abiotic stress. In this work, we phenotyped seedling root morphology of two semi-dwarf bread wheat cultivars, the Chinese cv Lankaodali and the Italian cv Rebelde, under the hypothesis that these two genotypes have contrasting root traits and could be used as donors in breeding programs. Root development was compared in a semi-hydroponic screening, where full-strength (FS) vs. half-strength (HS) complete Hoagland’s solution represented high and moderate nutrient availability, and a screening comparing HS solution with tap water corresponding to a condition of nutrient starvation. Genotypes were further compared in soil under full watering (100% of field capacity) vs. drought stress (50% of field capacity). Lankaodali outperformed Rebelde by producing 50% more leaf mass and 70% more root mass in FS solution, 125% more leaf mass and 106% more root mass in HS solution, and 65% more leaf mass and 36% more root mass under nutrient starvation. This cv also showed a positive correlation between leaf mass and root length and mass (between r = 0.82–0.9 and r = 0.83–0.87, respectively, p < 0.05). In the soil screening experiment, Lankaodali produced more biomass than Rebelde regardless of water availability, 48% more leaf mass, 32% more root mass, and 31% more absolute rhizosheath mass (average across water availability treatments). Lankaodali proved to be more responsive than Rebelde to both water and nutrient availability. High values of broad-sense heritability—ranging between 0.80 for root mass and 0.90 for length in a hydroponic screen and 0.85 for rhizosheath size in soil—indicate that these traits could be useful for breeding.

Measuring canopy height is important for phenotyping as it has been identified as the most relevant parameter for the fast determination of plant mass and carbon stock, as well as crop responses and their spatial variability. In this work, we develop a low-cost tool for measuring plant height proximally based on an ultrasound sensor for flexible use in static or on-the-go mode. The tool was lab-tested and field-tested on crop systems of different geometry and spacings: in a static setting on faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and in an on-the-go setting on chia (Salvia hispanica L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). Cross-correlation (CC) or a dynamic time-warping algorithm (DTW) was used to analyze and correct shifts between manual and sensor data in chia. Sensor data were able to reproduce with minor shifts in canopy profile and plant status indicators in the field when plant heights varied gradually in narrow-spaced chia (R² = 0.98), faba bean (R² = 0.96), and wheat (R² = up to 0.99). Abrupt height changes resulted in systematic errors in height estimation, and short-scale variations were not well reproduced (e.g., R² in widely spaced chia was 0.57 to 0.66 after shifting based on CC or DTW, respectively)). In alfalfa, ultrasound data were a better predictor than NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) for Leaf Area Index and biomass (R² from 0.81 to 0.84). Maps of ultrasound-determined height showed that clusters were useful for spatial management. The good performance of the tool both in a static setting and in the on-the-go setting provides flexibility for the determination of plant height and spatial variation of plant responses in different conditions from natural to managed systems.

This chapter provides an introductory overview of some bioactive compounds in goat milk, presenting a selection of key results from literature. The aim of the chapter is to review the effects of the feeding system and of the breed on goat milk and cheese fine quality in order to identify management options aimed at improving the nutraceutical characteristics of milk and dairy products. We will discuss a series of case studies focused on the assessment of the effects of feeding system and breed and their interaction on specific health-promoting bioactive compounds: (i) fatty acid (FA) profile, (ii) antioxidant compounds and (iii) oligosaccharides (OS). Experimental data will be discussed highlighting the potential role of local Mediterranean breeds for the production of functional dairy products.

Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) is a Mediterranean biannual anthelmintic forage. Due to its high productivity, nutraceutical value, and suitability for harsh environments, interest in this crop is growing. Under the current scenario of climate change and water scarcity, it is important to evaluate crop drought tolerance, especially for newly bred materials. Drought stress and well-watered conditions (50 vs. 80% of the field capacity) were applied in a pot experiment to compare responses of the widespread commercial variety Bellante with those of a recently released variety named ‘Centauro’, currently registered in the Italian national register of plant varieties but not yet available on the market. Compared to the well-watered treatment, drought-stressed plants showed lower values of fresh biomass (−69%), number of leaves (−68%), and root length (−49%). The Centauro cv. showed a different architecture to Bellante with more shoots (+43% P < 0.05) and a trend for more leaves (+25% P = 0.08). These traits are possibly related to its superior palatability. Centauro also developed a higher root length (+70%, P < 0.05) across irrigation levels. Drought stress affected condensed tannin (CT) content. A significant genotype × environment interaction was found with Centauro displaying more (+50%) and less (−35%) CT than Bellante under drought stress and well-watered conditions, respectively. The higher constitutive root length density of Centauro may be exploited in breeding programs aimed at improving the root sink, given the role of this trait in resource acquisition capacity and root-derived ecosystem services.

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds are considered a superfood, but research on vegetative biomass uses is scarce. We conducted a two-year trial under the hypothesis that short-day flowering black chia would provide quality forage at high latitudes and tested sowing density (D1 = 125, D2 = 25, D3 = 8 and D4 = 4 plants m⁻²) and top-dressing N fertilization (N = 0, N = 20 kg ha⁻¹) at three stages (EV = early vegetative, LV = late vegetative and EF = early flowering). Forage yield reached 9.0 and 5.64 t ha^-1 of total and 2.07 and 1.56 t ha⁻¹ of leaf dry mass at EF in 2013 and 2014, respectively. High plant density corresponded to higher biomass but to lower plant relative growth rate, stem diameter, branching, proportion of leaves and lipid and crude protein content. Crude protein declined from 18% at EV to about 8% at EF and was lower in D1 than in D4. Lipids ranged between 33.83 g kg⁻¹ (D4, EV) and 17.34 g kg⁻¹ (D1, EF) (p < 0.005). N topdressing affected forage quality but not yield. Alpha-linolenic acid was the most abundant fatty acid (FA) (608 g kg⁻¹ FA at EV). The long vegetative growth of short-day flowering chia in southern Europe is favorable to fodder production, and management should be optimized by seeking balance between growth rate and stand density while optimizing vegetative stage growth for the highest forage quality.