This work was aimed at investigating the effects of rate and timing of nitrogen fertilization applied to a maternal wheat crop on phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of edible sprouts and wheatgrass obtained from offspring grains. We hypothesized that imbalance in N nutrition experienced by the mother plants translates into transgenerational responses on seedlings obtained from the offspring seeds. To this purpose, we sprouted grains of two bread wheat cultivars (Bologna and Bora) grown in the field under four N fertilization schedules: constantly well N fed with a total of 300 kg N ha⁻¹; N fed only very early, i.e., one month after sowing, with 60 kg N ha⁻¹; N fed only late, i.e., at initial shoot elongation, with 120 kg N ha⁻¹; and unfertilized control. We measured percent germination, seedling growth, vegetation indices (by reflectance spectroscopy), the phytochemical content (total phenols, phenolic acids, carotenoids, chlorophylls), and the antioxidant activity (by gold nanoparticles photometric assay) of extracts in sprout and wheatgrass obtained from the harvested seeds. Our main finding is that grains obtained from crops subjected to late N deficiency produced wheatgrass with much higher phenolic content (as compared to the other N treatments), and this was observed in both cultivars. Thus, we conclude that late N deficiency is a stressing condition which elicits the production of phenols. This may help counterbalance the loss of income related to lower grain yield in crops subjected to such an imbalance in N nutrition.

A rapid, non-destructive method for nitrate content assessment is essential for a rational wide-scale application of nitrogen in sustainable growing spinach. The method should be effective in facing environmental, genotype, and management variability. The results from three field experiments carried out in Teramo (Italy), during the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons, and by combining nitrogen supply with spinach genotypes, are presented. The spectral canopy reflectance was collected to find out the spectral band relationship with nitrate concentration. Preliminary PCA and mixed linear model analysis showed that nitrate content is among the less detectable features. Unexpected chlorosis onset in one experiment added more variability; nevertheless, spectral regions of blue-cyan and early NIR when combined into Vegetation Indexes were able to correlate to nitrate content with R² up to 0.65 in all experiments. This study demonstrates that focusing on just a few spectral regions facilitates the acquisition of suitable and robust information on nitrate content in spinach.

Modern agriculture faces critical challenges from soil degradation and excessive use of chemical fertilizers, threatening sustainable seed germination and crop establishment. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of using Pseudomonas spp. isolated from Colombian mangrove sediments as biofertilizers to enhance crop productivity, with an emphasis on Lactuca sativa (lettuce) seed-to-seedling transition. Fifty-eight isolates were characterized and screened for their ability to improve the germination of the lettuce seeds, but only nine strains showed promising activity. The strains were identified at the species level and screened for Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) traits such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, phosphate solubilization, organic acid production, and salt tolerance (5%). Four different species were identified, namely Pseudomonas putida (one strain), Pseudomonas monteiilli (two strains), Pseudomonas taiwanensis (one strain), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (four strains). P. aeruginosa strains P8 and P9 demonstrated exceptional performance, significantly improving root elongation, seedling biomass, and antioxidant activity compared with the uninoculated plants in vitro. These strains showed dual agrobiotechnological value: (i) enhancing early seedling vigor through hormonal stimulation and (ii) improving nutrient availability via phosphate solubilization. Our findings highlight the biotechnological potential of mangrove-associated Pseudomonas spp. as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, particularly for seed priming and seedling establishment systems in stress-prone soils.