Background: Quality and safety of potato is both cultivar and postharvest management dependent. The precise assessment of freshness and cultivar are complex tasks requiring time-consuming, expensive, and destructive techniques. Method: Potatoes from three commercial cultivars were stored for 5 months at 5 °C. Color and chlorophyll fluorescence were recorded, Red-Green-Blue (R-G-B), Red-Green-Near infrared (R-G-NIR) and Red-Blue-Near infrared (R-B-NIR) digital images, as well as hyperspectral images were acquired both on the external periderm of the tuber and in the inner flesh part. Partial least square regression (PLSR) and discriminant analysis, combined with feature selection techniques were implemented, in order to assess the potato freshness and to classify them into the respective genotypes. Results: The PLSR analysis of visible/near infrared (Vis/NIR) spectra reflectance most reliably predicted potato freshness, with a cross-validated regression coefficient equal to 0.981 and 0.947, as determined by external or internal measurements, respectively. Variance inflation factor, variable importance scores, and genetic algorithms identified specific wavelength regions that mostly affected the accuracy of the model in terms of strongest regression and lowest collinearity and root mean cross validation error. Conclusions: Vis/NIR spectra reflectance data from the skin of the potato tubers may be reliably used in the assessment of postharvest storage life, as well as in the cultivar discrimination process.

The xerophyte medicinal species Crithmum maritimum was investigated for its physiological and antioxidant responses under increasing salinity stress and foliar biostimulant application. At moderate salinity (10 dS/m sodium chloride NaCl), plant growth and photosynthetic activity were enhanced, whereas high salinity (20 dS/m) led to significant reductions in biomass, photosynthetic efficiency, and water use efficiency. Salinity-induced oxidative stress was confirmed by elevated levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), in upper plant tissues. Foliar application of two bioactive compounds—Aquamin and Cultisano—partially mitigated the detrimental effects of high salinity. Treated plants maintained higher photosynthetic parameters and exhibited improved antioxidant profile compared to untreated controls. Furthermore, GC–MS analysis of essential oils revealed that salinity altered the composition of key volatile components, notably increasing γ-terpinene and reducing p-cymene content. Biostimulant treatments counteracted these changes, enhancing terpene components such as p-cymene, and thymol-methyl-ether. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of biostimulants to enhance both salt tolerance as well as the phytochemical value of C. maritimum, suggesting promising applications in sustainable agriculture and high-value plant product development under saline conditions. It was concluded that the type of biostimulant significantly influenced the physiological and quality characteristics of sea fennel plants. Further study on this topic is proposed, aiming at the improvement of antioxidant activity, which is beneficial to human health.

Hydroponic systems, which use commercial hydroponics technologies, are cheaper and easier to maintain than traditional farming methods in soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate various salinity ranges (E.C.i from 1 dS/m to 14 dS/m) in water enriched with nanobubbles (NBs) for the growth and productivity of lettuce plants in a floating disk hydroponic system. This research study investigated how using floating disks in a greenhouse with a nanobubble (NB) generator may affect lettuce’s (Lactuca sativa L.) morphological and physiological responses to salt stress. The goal of this experiment was to examine the results of the influence of NB and non-NB treatments on agronomic traits and yield. The results indicated that the NB device is an innovative and very effective technology for sustainable lettuce production under a high-salinity nutrient solution. This device presents a valuable solution to the global issue of the increased salinity of irrigation water.