http://http://dspace.unitus.it:80 The DSpace digital repository system captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. 2013-05-22T10:10:20Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/1401 Title: Analysis of spatial relationships between soil and crop variables in a durum wheat field using a multivariate geostatistical approach Authors: Casa, Raffaele; Castrignanò, Annamaria Abstract: For important crop and soil properties, temporal variability is generally higher than spatial variability and the definition of stable low- and high-yield potential zones, for site-specific management, is very difficult. In this study the application of a multivariate geostatistical methodology, factorial kriging analysis (FKA), is proposed for this purpose, allowing simultaneous processing of several layers of information on spatially and temporally variable crop and soil properties. The methodology was applied to measurements carried out in a durum wheat field in Viterbo (Central Italy). Soil properties, plant development and biomass, LAI and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were measured following a grid sampling scheme. Yield components were assessed at the same points at harvest. Coregionalization analysis was carried out and FKA was applied in order to clarify the spatial relationships between the different variables acting at the different scales. The application of FKA to soil, plant and yield properties allowed to discriminate between variables with a different rate of variation, pointing out at those more stable which could be used as a basis to site-specific management. Description: L'articolo é disponibile sul sito dell'editore: http://www.sciencedirect.com 2007-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/1398 Title: Nitrogen fertilisation management in precision agriculture: a preliminary application example on maize Authors: Casa, Raffaele; Cavalieri, Andrea; Lo Cascio, Benedetto Abstract: The adoption of precision agriculture techniques for N management has the potential for improving agronomic, economic and environmental efficiency in the use of such input. The present work was aimed at testing a simplified N balance method for the prescription of N fertilisation in uniform management zones defined from information on measured soil properties on grain maize in central Italy. The results of this preliminary experience show that the application of the N balance prescription map did not bring to significant differences, from a uniform N fertilisation, in terms of grain yield, economic return above N cost and nitrate content in the soil profile at the end of the growing season. However, the adoption of the prescribed N fertilisation strategy for the whole field would have caused a limited saving in the amount of fertiliser employed, quantified at about 10 kg N ha–1. 2009-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/1399 Title: Estimation of maize canopy properties from remote sensing by inversion of 1-D and 4-D models Authors: Casa, Raffaele; Baret, Fréderic; Buis, Samuel; Lopez-Lozano, Raul; Pascucci, Simone; Palombo, Angelo; Jones, Hamlyn G. Abstract: The inversion of canopy reflectance models is widely used for the retrieval of vegetation properties from remote sensing. However the accuracy of the estimates depends on a range of factors, most notably the realism with which the canopy is represented by the models and the possibility of introducing a priori knowledge on canopy characteristics to constrain the inversion procedure. The objective of the present work was to compare the performances and operational limitations of two contrasting types of radiative transfer models: a classical one-dimensional canopy reflectance model, PROSPECT?SAIL (PROSAIL), and a three-dimensional dynamic (4-D) maize model. The latter introduces greater realism into the description of the canopy structure and implicit a priori information on the crop. The assessment was carried out with multiple view angle data recorded from field experiments on maize at stages V5 to V8. The simplex numerical optimization algorithm was used to invert the two models, using spectral reflectance data for PROSAIL and gap fraction data for the 4-D maize model. Leaf area index (LAI) was estimated with a RMSE of 0.48 for PROSAIL and 0.35 for the 4-D model. Retrieval of average leaf inclination angle (ALA) was problematic with both models. The effect of the number and distribution of observation view angles was examined, and the results highlight the advantage of oblique angle measurements. Description: L'articolo é disponibile sul sito dell'editore: http://www.springerlink.com 2009-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/1400 Title: Soil conservation tillage effects on yield and water use efficiency in on irrigated crops in Central Italy Authors: Casa, Raffaele; Lo Cascio, Benedetto Abstract: Despite possible agronomic and environmental benefits, the diffusion of soil conservation tillage systems in Italy is currently rather low. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of different soil tillage techniques, in an effort to identify suitable soil management options for irrigated crops in Central Italy. An experiment was carried out on maize and soybean from April to October in two consecutive years (1993 and 1994) in Maccarese (a coastal location near Rome). The systems compared were: conventional mouldboard ploughing (CT), minimum tillage, ridge tillage and no-tillage (NT). In 1993, actual crop evapotranspiration was measured throughout the growing season on NT and CT soybean, using a micrometeorological technique. No significant differences due to soil tillage were found for grain yield and yield irrigation water use efficiency (IWUEy), except for soybean in 1994, in which yields and IWUEy were 59 % higher on conservation tillage treatments compared with CT. In 1994 soybean yield water use efficiency was 10.1 and 9.5 kg ha)1 mm)1 for NT and CT respectively. The results suggest that the adoption of soil conservation tillage is feasible, for the specific cropping system, with equivalent or better performances as conventional tillage. Description: L'articolo é disponibile sul sito dell'editore: http://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com 2007-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/1659 Title: Reduction of the phenolic components in olive-mill wastewater by an enzymatic treatment and its impact on durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) germinability Authors: Casa, Raffaele; D'Annibale, Alessandro; Pieruccetti, Fabio; Stazi, Silvia Rita; Sermanni Giovannozzi, Giovanni; Lo Cascio, Benedetto Abstract: Olive-mill wastewater (OMW), an effluent of olive oil extraction process, is annually produced in huge amounts in olive growing areas. An interesting option for its disposal is the spreading on agricultural land, pro- vided that phytotoxic effects are neutralized. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the potential of an enzyme-based treatment in removing OMW phytotoxicity. To this aim, germinability experiments on durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf. cv. Duilio) were conducted in the presence of different dilutions of raw or enzyme-treated OMW. OMWtreatment with laccase resulted in a 65% and 86% reduction in total phenols and ortho-diphenols respectively, due their polymerization as revealed by size-exclusion chromatography. Raw OMW exerted a significant concentration-dependent inhibition on the germinability of durum wheat seeds which was evident up to a dilution rate of 1:8. When the effluent was treated with a fungal laccase, germinability was increased by 57% at a 1:8 dilution and by 94% at a 1:2 dilution, as compared to the same dilutions using untreated OMW. The treatment with laccase also decreased the mean germination time by about 1 day as compared to untreated controls. These results show that germinability inhibition due to OMW can be reduced effectively using fungal laccase, suggesting that phenols are the main determinants of its phytotoxicity. Description: L'articolo é disponibile sul sito dell'editore: http://www.sciencedirect.com 2002-12-31T23:00:00Z