The continuous increase in the world population and the associated food demands in the wake of climate change are pushing for the development and cultivation of climate-resilient crops that are able to efficiently use natural resources. Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) might be a promising candidate crop thanks to its heat stress resistance and its limited water demand. To date, one of the most important strategies to increase grain yield and to improve other agronomic important traits is through an efficient breeding program based on a wide genetic variability of parental germplasm. In this study, we evaluated the agronomical traits of a world collection of 80 P. miliaceum accessions. The entire collection was evaluated over a 2 year field experiment under Mediterranean pedoclimatic conditions, which exhibited a wide range of variability for plant height (25–111 cm), grain yield (842–3125 kg ha⁻¹), total dry biomass (2767–10,627 kg ha⁻¹), harvest index (HI; 0.25–0.35), Growing Degree Days (GDDs; 581–899), and days to maturity (80–111 d). A non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (Np-MANOVA) analysis indicated that GDDs to flowering, grain yield, total dry biomass, days to maturity, plant height, and seed yield per plant were useful parameters to differentiate the germplasm accessions. High heritability (>0.60) was observed in both years for plant height, leaf number, basal tiller, seed yield per plant, 100-seed weight, GDDs to flowering, and days to maturity. Grain yield, total dry biomass, and HI reported moderate heritability (0.30–0.60). The findings reported in the present study may provide valuable information that could support researchers in breeding programs to develop high grain-yielding accessions.

In recent years, biochar has generated global interest in the areas of sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation. The main positive effects of biochar were observed to be the most remarkable when nutrient-rich feedstock was used as the initial pyrolysis material (i.e., anaerobic digestate). In this study, the influence of solid anaerobic digestate and biochar that was produced by the slow pyrolysis of solid digestate was evaluated by comparing the differences in the crop growth performances of Pelargonium graveolens. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse while using three different growth media (i.e., solid digestate, biochar, and vermiculite). The results indicated that: (i) the pyrolysis of solid digestate caused a reduction in the bulk density (−52%) and an increase in the pH (+16%) and electrical conductivity (+9.5%) in the derived biochar; (ii) the best crop performances (number of leaves, number of total branches, and plant dry weight) were found using biochar, particularly for plant dry weight (+11.4%) and essential oil content (+9.4%); (iii) the essential oil quality was slightly affected by the growth media; however, the main chemical components were found within the acceptable range that was set by international standard trade; and, iv) biochar induced the presence of leaf chlorosis in Pelargonium graveolens.

This study delves into the ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) practiced by pastoralists along the transhumance routes in southwestern Angola. Within the framework of three cooperation projects, we conducted 434 interviews, collecting information on 89 taxa used for treating 16 livestock diseases. The most cited species was Ptaeroxylon obliquum (132 citations), followed by Salvadora persica (59) and Elaeodendron transvaalense (49). Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) was the disease most cited (223 citations; 44 species), followed by wounds (95; 20) and Newcastle (86; 14). We found that 30 species and 48 uses have not been previously reported in the ethnoveterinary literature. Jaccard index (mean value = 0.13) showed a greatly diversified knowledge among the ethnic groups: Kuvale and Nyaneka were the most knowledgeable and should be included in the various strategies for disseminating EVM in the area. Most informants recognized that abundance of some species decreased in the last years as a result of human activities and climatic changes. Finally, we discuss challenges in preserving the EVM in the area. Our findings suggest that preservation of the EVM in southwestern Angola is widely impacted by the access to biomedicine. Future studies should investigate the opportunity to integrate traditional medicine into mainstream development projects, which is crucial for decolonizing the veterinary sector in Angola.

Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. 1768) is cultivated in several dry and semi-dry areas of the world to produce fresh fruit, bioenergy, cosmetics, medicine, and forage. One of the main production constraints is the presence of many seeds within the fruit, which can negatively influence both the fresh-fruit market price and industrial transformation processes. In this study, different gibberellic acid (GA₃) concentrations were tested for their ability to produce well-formed and seedless fruits. Different application methods (injection and spraying) and concentrations of GA₃ (0, 100, 200, 250, and 500 ppm) combined with floral-bud emasculation were applied to a commercial plantation in southern Italy to evaluate their effects on the weight, length, and diameter of the fruits, total seed number, hard-coated viable seed number, and seed weight per fruit. The results indicated that the application of 500 ppm GA₃ sprayed on emasculated floral buds was the most effective method for reducing seed numbers of prickly pear fruits (−46.0%). The injection method resulted in a very low number of seeds (−50.7%) but produced unmarketable fruit. Observed trends suggest the need to investigate the impact of higher GA₃ concentrations and the applicability of a maximum threshold. Further studies are needed to increase our understanding of the physiological effects of the gibberellic acid pathway through productive tissue in terms of organoleptic and fruit quality.

Two wild populations of Helichrysum (Mill.) located at Elba Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Central Italy) were morphologically and phytochemically analyzed to taxonomically identify H. litoreum (population A) and H. italicum subsp. italicum (population B). Micromorphological and histochemical analyses were performed on the indumentum using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Light Microscope (LM). Morphometric analyses on vegetative and reproductive traits were also conducted. Finally, a chemotaxonomic analysis was carried out on the terpene profile of flowers, leaves and bark tissues using gas chromatography (GC-MS). Results suggested that morphological discriminant traits were mainly in leaves and cypselae glandular tissues. Phytochemical analysis indicated that a high relative content of α-pinene and β-caryophyllene were the main markers for population A, while a high relative content of neryl-acetate, α-curcumene, isoitalicene and italicene, especially in the terpene profile of bark tissue, were the main compounds for discriminating population B. The analysis suggested that the wild population A could be mainly ascribed to H. litoreum, whilst population B is defined by H. italicum.

Hops are widespread as a wild plant in almost all Northern and Central Italy, and the characterization of wild populations is attracting considerable interest in verifying their potential use. The development of hops as agricultural crop can be an interesting opportunity, both for farms that would have available a new crop to be included in the crop system and for craft breweries interested in characterizing beers with local raw materials. In the present work, 14 wild hop accessions coming from various Italian locations were characterized and compared with 2 commercial varieties (Cascade and Hallertau Taurus) grown in the same environments. The cones were analyzed to measure the content of α- and β-acids, polyphenols, flavonoids, and the anti-radical power. The α-acid content of wild hops was generally low, while the β-acid content was very variable and quite high in some samples. The content in polyphenols and flavonoids and the antiradical power were high and generally similar to those of the commercial varieties. Therefore, the analyzed genotypes are not very suitable for use as bitter hops in beer production, while further analysis may indicate a possible use as aroma hops, or for herbal and pharmaceutical purposes, thanks to their antioxidant content.