Bioactive compounds of different Campania native sweet pepper varieties were evaluated. Polyphenols ranged between 1.37 mmol g⁻¹ and 3.42 mmol g⁻¹, β-carotene was abundant in the red variety “Cazzone” (7.05 μg g⁻¹). Yellow and red varieties showed a content of ascorbic acid not inferior to 0.82 mg g⁻¹, while in some green varieties the presence of ascorbic acid was almost inconsistent. Interrelationships between the parameters analyzed and the varieties showed that ascorbic acid could represent the factor mostly influencing the antioxidant activity. Polyphenol profile was different among the varieties, with a general prevalence of acidic phenols in yellow varieties and of flavonoids in red varieties. Principal Component Analysis, applied to ascorbic acid, total polyphenols and β-carotene, revealed that two of the green varieties (“Friariello napoletano” and “Friariello Sigaretta”) were well clustered and that the yellow variety “Corno di capra” showed similarity with the green varieties, in particular with “Friariello Nocerese”. This was confirmed by the interrelationships applied to polyphenol composition, which let us to light on a clustering of several red and yellow varieties, and that mainly the yellow ”Corno di capra” was closer to the green varieties of “Friariello”.

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was cultivated in Italy until the end of the Second World War. Since then, it has been abandoned and substituted with other crops mainly due to legal restrictions and public concerns. Public legislation passed in 2016, has allowed for the production of hemp seeds, flowers and fibers (law n. 242/2016). During a 2019 survey on hemp sanitary status in the province of Naples (40°57'6"12 N, 14°22'37"56 E), hemp 'Kompolty' with symptoms of root rot were observed at a private farm and collected for further analysis at the phytosanitary laboratory of CREA in Caserta. Death generally occurred within 2-3 weeks after the appearance of the first symptoms, occurring on ca. 10% of plants, consisting of yellowing, canopy wilt and signs of roots covered with white mycelium and fan-like mycelium under the bark. The causal agent, was isolated from small root segments, excised from symptomatic plants, the surface was disinfected with 2% sodium hypochlorite, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with streptomycin sulphate (100mg/L) and incubated in the dark at 25°C for 5 days. Small pieces (2-3 mm) at the edge of the resulting colonies were sub-cultured onto PDA and incubated at 25°C in the dark for one week. The mycelia from 15 isolates showed pear-shaped swellings adjacent to the septa. The conidia were aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoid to ovoid, and 3-5 × 2.5-3 µm (n=50). Based on the morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Rosellinia necatrix Berl. ex Prill. (Singleton et al., 1992) a fungus taxonomically revised to Dematophora necatrix R. Hartig (Wittstein et al., 2020). To confirm the identification, total DNA was extracted from five isolates using a DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) and the ITS spacer was PCR-amplified with primers ITS1-ITS4 (White et al., 1990). The size-expected amplicons of 536 bp were purified and sequenced, the resulting sequence was trimmed and deposited in GenBank under the accession number MK937913. BLAST-n analysis revealed 98.83% nucleotide identity with some representative isolates of D. necatrix (MK888684.1; KT343972.1). To fulfill Koch's postulates, the pathogenicity tests were carried out on fifteen 4-weeks-old potted hemp plants 'Kompolty'. The inoculation was performed by adding 3 g of millet seeds inoculated with ten mycelial plugs, taken from the margins of a D. necatrix actively growing colony, per liter of sterile peat and perlite substrate in single pots. Moreover, ten hemp plants were inoculated with sterilized millet seed and served as negative controls. All plants were incubated at 25°C. After three weeks, inoculated plants exhibited foliar chlorosis, apical wilting, and death in two weeks, similar to what was observed in the field. Control plants did not show any symptoms. The fungus was isolated from the roots in all fifteen inoculated plants and confirmed to be D. necatrix based on morphological and molecular analysis, carried out with a second primer pair EF1-983F/ EF1-2218R targeting the transcription elongation factor 1- (Rehner and Buckley., 2005) (MW541068) that showed 99.67% nt in BLAST-n analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of D. necatrix infecting hemp in Europe. The farm where the problem arose has a history of cultivation for the production of apples for over 30 years. Therefore, an adaptation of D. necatrix to the new host is hypothesized. An in-depth knowledge on the diseases of hemp will be needed to relaunch hemp cultivation in this area.

The feasibility of using a combination of organic fertilizer with a reduced rate of chemical nitrogen fertilizer as an alternative to conventional inorganic fertilization was tested on the growth and biomass accumulation of hemp plants and the phytochemical accumulation in their inflorescences. To achieve this goal, a field experiment was set up with the following nine treatments: F0, no fertilizer; NPK, mineral fertilizer with 100 kg ha⁻¹ nitrogen; C1, compost from solid digestate (50%) + cardoon-based spent mushroom substrate (50%); C2, compost from solid digestate (50%) + straw-based spent mushroom substrate (50%); C3, C4, C5, and C6, composts from solid digestate (50%, 67%, 75%, and 84%, respectively) and cardoon waste (50%, 33%, 25%, and 16%, respectively); SD, non-composted solid digestate. C1–C6 and SD were added to the soil, along with half the rate (50 kg ha⁻¹) of chemical nitrogen fertilizer. Taking F0 as a reference, all fertilized treatments, except C6 and SD, showed a notable increase in plant growth and biomass accumulation in the stem, inflorescence, and whole plant. Among the organic treatments, the best growth performances were detected in C1 and C5, which reached, or even exceeded, that of NPK. Compared to F0, all fertilized treatments had high phenolic acid and flavonoid yields, while high carotenoid, tocopherol, terpene, and cannabinoid (mainly CBD) yields were detected in all fertilized treatments except C6 and SD. Among the organic treatments, C1 and C5 stood out for their highest phenolic acid, flavonoid, carotenoid, and tocopherol yields, while C1, C2, and C3 stood out for their highest terpene and cannabinoid yields, which, in both cases, reached, or even exceeded, those of NPK. Overall, our findings show that 50% replacement of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer with C1 to C5 composts may represent a cost-effective and environmentally safe alternative to conventional inorganic fertilization that can sustain the growth of hemp plant and the phytochemical accumulation in its inflorescences, thus promoting the use of this crop for fiber and bioenergy production, as well as for applications in food, nutraceutical, agrochemical, and cosmetic sectors.

Mulching is one of the most recommended practices in agriculture due to its positive effects on the plant/soil system. Very few experiments have been conducted to date to investigate the effect of mulching, with both organic and inorganic materials, on tobacco. The main aim of this study was to test the synergic effect of a soil-biodegradable (according to standard EN17033) mulching film (the commercial Mater-Bi^®, Novamont SpA, Novara, Italy) and drip irrigation (M-D) compared with that of bare soil and sprinkler/drip irrigation (first/second part of the growing season; BS-SD) on a tobacco crop (Nicotiana tabacum L., flue-cured Virginia) grown in the Tiber Valley (the tobacco cultivation district of Central Italy). BS-SD represents the standard practice applied by tobacco growers in the study area. The plants grown under the M-D management system grew more and developed faster than the plants grown under BS-SD conditions. Under the M-D system, yields increased in comparison with the BS-SD conditions (+29%, on average). The gross revenue obtained via the M-D-cured products also increased (+63%, on average) thanks to higher prices assigned by expert evaluators on the basis of the extrinsic quality traits (color, structure and texture, degree of ripeness, elasticity, lamina integrity, handling defects, and vein incidence). The economic value of the cured products increased with the leaf crowns; it was the lowest in the basal (B) leaves and the highest in the middle-upper (MU) leaves. The intrinsic quality traits of the cured leaves (total N and nitrate contents, alkaloids, and reducing sugars) also confirmed that the best quality was found in the M-D-cured products, as determined by expert evaluation. Interestingly, the reducing sugar (RS) contents of tobacco obtained using the M-D management system were 2.5-, 1.1-, and 0.9-fold greater than those under the BS-SD conditions (B, M, and MU products, respectively). An additional commercial value of the cured products was thus obtained with the M-D crop management system due to RS, an intrinsic quality trait considered by manufacturing industries.

The use of peat, the standard substrate used for soilless cultivation of horticultural crops, is becoming of increasing concern as peat is a non-renewable resource and its extraction can degrade wetland ecosystems, creating a strong environmental impact. For this reason, the search for organic materials that can totally or partially replace peat has become increasingly important. In this research, three types of composts (C1, C2, C3), derived from cardoon biomass mixed in different volumes with woody and/or fruit wastes, were utilized as the constituents of growing media, at two dilution rates with peat (60:40 and 30:70 v:v), to assess their effect on the growth and quality of baby leaf lettuce in a greenhouse trial. The two cultivars Imperiale and Verde d’Inverno, belonging to the butterhead and romaine lettuce types, respectively, were employed. Plant performance and yield were unaffected or were positively affected by compost-containing growing medium compared to the control. The cultivars responded differently to the growing medium; the Imperiale showed the highest yield with C1 compost at a 60% rate while the Verde d’Inverno with the C2 was at 30%. The total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid were found higher in the Verde d’Inverno than in the Imperiale variety while the total polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were lower. Also, the content of chlorophylls as well as of antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activity were differently affected by the growing medium, depending on the lettuce cultivar. The results obtained indicate that cultivated cardoon waste-based compost is a promising constituent of the growing media for baby leaf production. The specific varietal response observed should be considered to optimize both yield and product quality.