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Advantages of vineyard cover crops include soil conservation, nutrient and water cycling, and a better growth–yield balance. They naturally promote agro-system biological multifunctionality, soil biocenosis, and biological pest control. However, for the role of cover crops on disease control, there is still a lack of information. We performed a systematic evaluation of the soil management effects on the development of two main pathogens: Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator. Conventional soil tillage was compared to grass and legume cover crops during a three-season trial in the Nurra wine region (Sardinia, Italy). Disease and grapevine development were assessed in relation to the weather, leaf area growth, leaf nitrogen, canopy density, and favorable microclimatic conditions for each disease, to weight their importance on disease susceptibility in each treatment. Higher infection percentages were observed in plots subjected to soil tillage. Disease development was better understood in relation to leaf area, leaf nitrogen, and canopy density. The main role of weather conditions on downy mildew infections was ascertained, yet high canopy sunlight levels reduced disease spread under grass cover. For powdery mildew, leaf nitrogen had a crucial role in disease development under soil tillage, and canopy light and hygrothermal conditions had the most relevant function on disease development in cover-cropped vineyards.
Ana Fernandes de Oliveira; Salvatorica Serra; Virna Ligios; Daniela Satta; Giovanni Nieddu. Assessing the Effects of Vineyard Soil Management on Downy and Powdery Mildew Development. Horticulturae 2021, 7, 209 .
AMA StyleAna Fernandes de Oliveira, Salvatorica Serra, Virna Ligios, Daniela Satta, Giovanni Nieddu. Assessing the Effects of Vineyard Soil Management on Downy and Powdery Mildew Development. Horticulturae. 2021; 7 (8):209.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAna Fernandes de Oliveira; Salvatorica Serra; Virna Ligios; Daniela Satta; Giovanni Nieddu. 2021. "Assessing the Effects of Vineyard Soil Management on Downy and Powdery Mildew Development." Horticulturae 7, no. 8: 209.
The calibration of a reliable phenological model for olive grown in areas characterized by great environmental heterogeneity, like Italy, where many varieties exist, is challenging and often suffers from a lack of observations, especially on budbreak. In this study, we used a database encompassing many phenological events from different olive varieties, years, and sites scattered all over Italy to identify the phases in which site-enlarged developmental rates can be well regressed against air temperature (Developmental Rate function, DR) by testing both linear and nonlinear functions. A K-fold cross-validation (KfCV) was carried out to evaluate the ability of DR functions to predict phenological development. The cross-validation showed that the phases ranging from budbreak (BBCH 01 and 07) to flowering (BBCH 61 and 65) and from the beginning of flowering (BBCH 51) to flowering can be simulated with high accuracy (r2 = 0.93–0.96; RMSE = 3.9–6.6 days) with no appreciable difference among linear and nonlinear functions. Thus, the resulting DRs represent a simple yet reliable tool for regional phenological simulations for these phases in Italy, paving the way for a reverse modeling approach aimed at reconstructing the budbreak dates. By contrast, and despite a large number of phases explored, no appreciable results were obtained on other phases, suggesting possible interplays of different drivers that need to be further investigated.
Arianna Di Paola; Maria Chiriacò; Francesco Di Paola; Giovanni Nieddu. A Phenological Model for Olive (Olea europaea L. var europaea) Growing in Italy. Plants 2021, 10, 1115 .
AMA StyleArianna Di Paola, Maria Chiriacò, Francesco Di Paola, Giovanni Nieddu. A Phenological Model for Olive (Olea europaea L. var europaea) Growing in Italy. Plants. 2021; 10 (6):1115.
Chicago/Turabian StyleArianna Di Paola; Maria Chiriacò; Francesco Di Paola; Giovanni Nieddu. 2021. "A Phenological Model for Olive (Olea europaea L. var europaea) Growing in Italy." Plants 10, no. 6: 1115.
Beyond climatic conditions, qualitative performance is led by the intrinsic characteristics of the genotype. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vine water status and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) application on berry composition of the cultivars Cannonau, Merlot and Sangiovese. The experiment, carried out in 2016 and 2017, consisted of comparing two levels of irrigation treatments, full irrigation versus a non-irrigation treatment. Within each treatment, two sub-treatments were set up: (i) 4 mL L−1 of exogenous ABA applied at veraison to clusters only and subsequently repeated after six days; (ii) a control (untreated vines). The application of different irrigation regimes confirmed that the response to water stress is highly cultivar-dependent. Berry composition was influenced differently among cultivars by water stress. In terms of metabolites, positive influences were observed with Cannonau. No significant effects were observed by spraying exogenous ABA directly on grapes. Moreover, no significant interactions were found between the application of water stress and ABA. Exogenous ABA application did not appear to be a viticultural practice capable of influencing must composition in environments characterized by severe environmental conditions such as heat and drought.
Massimiliano Cocco; Luca Mercenaro; Mauro Lo Cascio; Giovanni Nieddu. Effects of Vine Water Status and Exogenous Abscisic Acid on Berry Composition of Three Red Wine Grapes Grown under Mediterranean Climate. Horticulturae 2020, 6, 12 .
AMA StyleMassimiliano Cocco, Luca Mercenaro, Mauro Lo Cascio, Giovanni Nieddu. Effects of Vine Water Status and Exogenous Abscisic Acid on Berry Composition of Three Red Wine Grapes Grown under Mediterranean Climate. Horticulturae. 2020; 6 (1):12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMassimiliano Cocco; Luca Mercenaro; Mauro Lo Cascio; Giovanni Nieddu. 2020. "Effects of Vine Water Status and Exogenous Abscisic Acid on Berry Composition of Three Red Wine Grapes Grown under Mediterranean Climate." Horticulturae 6, no. 1: 12.
The responses of two red grape varieties, Bovale Grande (syn. Carignan) and Cannonau (syn. Grenache), to temperature and natural UV radiation were studied in a three-years field experiment conducted in Sardinia (Italy), under Mediterranean climate conditions. Vines were covered with plastic films with different transmittances to UV radiation and compared to uncovered controls. Light intensity and spectral composition at the fruit zone were monitored and berry skin temperature was recorded from veraison. Total skin anthocyanin content (TSA) and composition indicated positive but inconsistent effects of natural UV light. Elevated temperatures induced alterations to a greater extent, decreasing TSA and increasing the degree of derivatives acylation. In Cannonau total soluble solids increases were not followed by increasing TSA as in Bovale Grande, due to both lower phenolic potential and higher sensitivity to permanence of high temperatures. Multi linear regression analysis tested the effects of different ranges of temperature as source of variation on anthocyanin accumulation patterns. To estimate the thermal time for anthocyanin accumulation, the use of normal heat hours model had benefit from the addition of predictor variables that take into account the permanence of high (>35 °C) and low (<15 °C and <17 °C) temperatures during ripening.
Ana Fernandes De Oliveira; Luca Mercenaro; Alessandra Del Caro; Luca Pretti; Giovanni Nieddu. Distinctive Anthocyanin Accumulation Responses to Temperature and Natural UV Radiation of Two Field-Grown Vitis vinifera L. Cultivars. Molecules 2015, 20, 2061 -2080.
AMA StyleAna Fernandes De Oliveira, Luca Mercenaro, Alessandra Del Caro, Luca Pretti, Giovanni Nieddu. Distinctive Anthocyanin Accumulation Responses to Temperature and Natural UV Radiation of Two Field-Grown Vitis vinifera L. Cultivars. Molecules. 2015; 20 (2):2061-2080.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAna Fernandes De Oliveira; Luca Mercenaro; Alessandra Del Caro; Luca Pretti; Giovanni Nieddu. 2015. "Distinctive Anthocyanin Accumulation Responses to Temperature and Natural UV Radiation of Two Field-Grown Vitis vinifera L. Cultivars." Molecules 20, no. 2: 2061-2080.
This work offers a methodology based on statistical tools and GIS applications in a study of the adaptability of Opuntia to the environment, applied on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Detailed surveys of habitats containing naturalized populations of Opuntia spp. were made in order to select study sites. The topographic, soil and climatic features of these are described. The local biotypes are ascribed mainly to the spineless Opuntia ficus–indica (L.) Mill. and to the spiny Opuntia amyclaea Ten. Although introduced at different times, for different uses, they have adapted to the Sardinian environment and established in the wild. The distributions of the two species differed. The FloraMap® modelling approach was used to simulate Opuntia distribution as a function of the island's climate and produced individual distribution maps using the accession points for the two species. Our analysis showed that environmental conditions at elevations above 800 m are the main limiting factors for the presence and abundance of Opuntia in Sardinia. Spatial representation developed by GIS software indicated temperatures below 2 °C as the threshold impairing the species naturalized distribution. The statistic results also show that variation in rainfall does not affect Opuntia spatial distribution in Sardinia.
P. Erre; I. Chessa; G. Nieddu; P.G. Jones. Diversity and spatial distribution of Opuntia spp. in the Mediterranean Basin. Journal of Arid Environments 2009, 73, 1058 -1066.
AMA StyleP. Erre, I. Chessa, G. Nieddu, P.G. Jones. Diversity and spatial distribution of Opuntia spp. in the Mediterranean Basin. Journal of Arid Environments. 2009; 73 (12):1058-1066.
Chicago/Turabian StyleP. Erre; I. Chessa; G. Nieddu; P.G. Jones. 2009. "Diversity and spatial distribution of Opuntia spp. in the Mediterranean Basin." Journal of Arid Environments 73, no. 12: 1058-1066.
I. Chessa; G. Nieddu. EVALUATION OF FRUIT TREE GENETIC RESOURCES IN A MEDITERRANEAN SECONDARY CENTER OF BIODIVERSITY. Acta Horticulturae 2003, 239 -247.
AMA StyleI. Chessa, G. Nieddu. EVALUATION OF FRUIT TREE GENETIC RESOURCES IN A MEDITERRANEAN SECONDARY CENTER OF BIODIVERSITY. Acta Horticulturae. 2003; (623):239-247.
Chicago/Turabian StyleI. Chessa; G. Nieddu. 2003. "EVALUATION OF FRUIT TREE GENETIC RESOURCES IN A MEDITERRANEAN SECONDARY CENTER OF BIODIVERSITY." Acta Horticulturae , no. 623: 239-247.