Colour plays an important role among the quality traits of durum wheat, attracting consumer attention for the pasta market. The traits involved in colour expression are affected by genotype, environment, and processing. In the present study, based on eighteen durum wheat genotypes grown in eight environments, the effects of different traits related to colour expression were evaluated. Carotenoid pigments, such as lutein and β-carotene content; yellow and brown indices; and lipoxygenase, peroxidase, and polyphenoloxidase activities were analysed in semolina. The effects of processing were evaluated by measuring both the content of carotenoid pigments and colorimetric indices in pasta. The genotype, the environment, and their interaction were significant for all traits, although with a strong prevalence of genotypic effects, except for the brown index. After processing, a decrease in carotenoid content and the yellow index (86.7% and 16.0%, respectively) was observed, while the brown index increased (8.2%). A multiple regression analysis was performed on semolina traits, and the yellow index emerged as the main predictor for pasta colour, strengthening this trait as a fast and reliable criterion of selection. A High-Performance Index tool was also used to identify the genotype and environment that better combine all traits, positively influencing colour expression. All this information can be used in durum wheat breeding programmes for the prediction of pasta colour.

A rapid, non-destructive method for nitrate content assessment is essential for a rational wide-scale application of nitrogen in sustainable growing spinach. The method should be effective in facing environmental, genotype, and management variability. The results from three field experiments carried out in Teramo (Italy), during the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons, and by combining nitrogen supply with spinach genotypes, are presented. The spectral canopy reflectance was collected to find out the spectral band relationship with nitrate concentration. Preliminary PCA and mixed linear model analysis showed that nitrate content is among the less detectable features. Unexpected chlorosis onset in one experiment added more variability; nevertheless, spectral regions of blue-cyan and early NIR when combined into Vegetation Indexes were able to correlate to nitrate content with R² up to 0.65 in all experiments. This study demonstrates that focusing on just a few spectral regions facilitates the acquisition of suitable and robust information on nitrate content in spinach.

Local varieties are known to cope more efficiently with stressful and/or low-input conditions than cultivated ones by activating secondary metabolisms and, hence, are supposed to have higher nutraceutical potential. In this work, we investigate the effects of N and light, supplied at optimal and sub-optimal levels, on the fruit yield and quality of a local ecotype of sweet pepper, Altino, grown in the Abruzzo Region (Southern Italy). In 2017, two open-field experiments were carried out, comparing increasing N rates (0, 100 and 200 kg N ha⁻¹, 0_N, 100_N and 200_N, respectively) and different percentages of shading and/or manipulations of the transmitted solar radiation, obtained through photoselective nets (red net, RN; black net, BN; unshaded Control). Both N and light were preconditions to obtain stable yields in terms of both fruit number and fruit weights. However, BN significantly reduced the number of sunscalded fruits (0.39 vs. 3.38 and 2.59 fruit plant⁻¹ for BN, Control and RN, respectively), leading to lower waste. N deficiency favoured higher total polyphenol (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) contents in ripened fruits; on the other hand, shading significantly reduced TPC (−12.4%) in immature and TFC (−18.2%) in red fruits. The variations in nutraceuticals were also evaluated in terms of the variations of the single phenolic acids in fruits during ripening; the most interesting results were associated with light treatments. Further research should be directed to the in-depth study of nutrition regimes, in combination with other photoselective nets applications (i.e., pearl nets), that could be suitable for the Altino genotype to enhance the yield and nutraceutical potentials of its fruits.

Local varieties represent a heritage for plant biodiversity and, thanks to their resilience, are characterized by a better adaptation and rusticity to environmental variables. This work reports the morphological and physiological responses of a local ecotype of sweet pepper grown in Southern Italy, i.e., Altino, to N and light supplied at optimal and sub-optimal levels. In 2017, two open-field experiments were set up, comparing increasing N rates (0, 100 and 200 kg N ha⁻¹, 0_N, 100_N and 200_N, respectively) and different percentages of shading and/or manipulations of the transmitted solar radiation, obtained through photoselective nets (red net, RN; black net, BN; unshaded Control). The unfertilized plants reduced growth (by 32% on average, at 83 days after transplanting, DAT), especially in terms of number of leaves, leaf area and effectiveness (chlorophyll content) of photosynthetic apparatus; no differences were recorded among fertilization treatments. On the other hand, the shading avoidance mechanisms resulted in higher biomass partitioned to leaves at the expense of sink organs, the building of more expanse (higher total leaf area) and thinner (higher specific leaf area and lower leaf-cuticular waxes) photosynthetic apparatus, and in a greater concentration of leaf pigments. The effects on yield and fruit quality of Altino ecotype deserve to be further explored.

Different research works have been carried out over the years to investigate new and reliable systems to test the authenticity of products obtained using organic cultivation methods. Based on a previously proposed integrated approach for discriminating organic from conventional products through the acquisition of isotopic data and other chemical and biochemical parameters, we herein report the results of an open-field cultivation case study for cauliflower crop. Experiments were carried out on soil, leaves, and corymb samples of cauliflowers grown using six different nitrogen fertilization treatments (organic, conventional, and mixed at different % of mineral fertilizers). The results of this study have shown that a multivariate analysis of isotopic data (¹³C/¹²C; ¹⁵N/¹⁴N, ³⁴S/³²S, ²H/¹H, and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O isotopic ratios) combined with other parameters (fresh weight, total soluble solids, total acidity, cut resistance, CIE L*, a*, b* color indices, head height, head diameter, ascorbic acid content, total polyphenols, and ORAC units) performed using the linear discriminant analysis method gives researchers the possibility to discriminate organic products from conventional ones. Our study highlighted that the different isotopic signatures impressed on the cauliflowers by the different nitrogenous sources combined with the qualitative pattern of the crop, significantly affected by the different treatments, could effectively be jointly used to trace the organic origin of the crop.