The use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) is increasingly gaining acceptance from all the stakeholders of the agricultural production. Different strains of PGPB species had been found to have a vast variety of mechanisms of action, while at the same time, affect differently a variety of crops. This study investigated the effectiveness of ten PGPB strains, on sweet corn cultivation under Mediterranean soil and climatic conditions. A field experiment that followed a completely randomized design was conducted at the region of Attica at Oropos. The results indicated that B. mojavensis increased yield by 16%, B. subtilis by 13.8%, B. pumilus by 11.8% and B. pseudomycoides by 9.8% compared to control. In addition, the harvested grains of the plants treated with B. mojavensis, B. subtilis and B. pumilus presented the highest values of protein and fiber content. Moreover, in most of the cases, high values of photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance during the cultivation period, resulted in high productivity. Regarding the texture, the size, the sphericity and the ash content of corn grains, it was found that they were not influenced by the application of different treatments of PGPB. The use of certain strains of PGPB, under specific soil and climatic conditions could contribute to better understand which strains are better suited to certain crops.

The challenge to increase nitrogen uptake efficiency in intensively cultivated soils without runoffs and atmospheric release has been difficult to handle and usually leads to the excess application of mineral fertilizers. In the present study, four combinations of two different N fertilizers and a control were used in maize cultivation to evaluate the use of different types of N fertilization in the case of agronomic and plant physiology characteristics, as well as the quantity and quality characteristics of maize’s yield. The results show that, when the full rate of mineral fertilization with the addition of half rate of organo-mineral fertilizer with amino acids (MF+OMAA/2) was used, maize presented a 16% yield increase in comparison with the control, followed by mineral fertilization (MF) with a 10% increase. Protein content was increased in all treatments by 3–6% compared to the control, with the conventional fertilization and the alternates with lower rates of mineral fertilization not differing significantly. The nitrogen content in the leaves of maize increased in both measurements (11–23% and 19–40% at 70 and 107 days after sowing, respectively) of the different fertilizer treatments compared to the control. The results of this study confirm that the organo-mineral fertilizer containing amino acids can be used as an alternative or additive N fertilization that can decrease the use of conventional mineral fertilizers or can result in improved seed productivity and protein content in maize farms.

Over the last years the use of Machine Learning in agriculture has increased in order to reach the increasing demands of the food sector. However, over the last few years there have been cases of food fraud, as well as an increased environmental impact in the agricultural sector. Digital Product Passports are more and more used in different industries in order to ensure traceability and validity of the data and the followed procedures. Digital Product Passports are mostly based on blockchain, which offers stakeholders the ability to access information at every part of the life-cycle of the product. Moreover, Digital Product Passports are key components to EU's Green Deal, which aims at achieving Carbon Neutrality and increase circular economy. In this study we outline the different components for the development of a Digital Product Passport, as well as the data that should be used main implementation challenges.

COVID-19 has affected the entire existence of humans. Despite the mass vaccination programs globally deployed, some governments are still struggling to minimize human losses, high rates of virus transmission, and the socio-economic shock the entire planet has being gone through. COVID-19 has seriously affected all global socio-economic sectors. In this direction, agriculture, food-security and the environment could not be outside of the high-scale negative impacts, especially during the first year of the imposed lockdowns on both national and global scales. The present study provides information on the impact of COVID-19 and the lockdowns imposed, having as its study area the Republic of Cyprus. The study focuses on potato cultivation and production, and on which level entire agricultural procedures were affected during the examined period of the lockdown. A survey methodology study was done with questionnaires distributed to local potato farmers across the country to quantify and identify the link between the pandemic and the potato sector of the island. It was revealed that manpower was limited due to the lockdowns, the distribution of crops to markets disrupted, long delays in transactions in the agricultural sector were experienced, and economic uncertainty, in general, in Cyprus was experienced, among other impacts. Results of the study indicated that—since COVID-19 is not going to be the last disease—a global transition towards a more resilient and spatially localised food network is required.