Chiara Cirillo

Summary: Climate change poses a significant threat to viticulture, especially in Mediterranean regions, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of grapevine physiological responses to environmental stressors. Wood formation records environmental signals, yet it remains largely unstudied in woody horticultural crop species. This study provides the first detailed analysis of xylogenesis in Vitis vinifera L. ‘Greco’ and proposes a novel modelling approach to interpret data and identify the main environmental drivers in wood formation. Cambial activity and xylem cell production were monitored in vines cultivated in a rainfed vineyard in Southern Italy throughout the 2022 growing season. Vines were subjected to different soil management strategies: cover cropping (C), natural grassing (N) and tillage (T). A Multivariable Fractional Polynomial (MFP) model was employed to identify environmental factors associated with the different phases of xylogenesis, identified and quantified through microscopy and digital image analysis: cambial cells (CC), post-cambial enlarging cells (PC), cells in secondary wall thickening (SW) and mature cells (MT). Our results revealed a bimodal pattern of cambial activity across all treatments, with vines under tillage showing the widest final growth-ring width. The MFP model revealed that distinct environmental factors are associated with the different phases of xylogenesis. The number of CC was explained by solar radiation. The width of the PC zone was co-driven by solar radiation (53%), humidity (27%), and soil moisture (20%). The SW phase was predominantly and negatively influenced by wind speed (86%). Finally, the MT phase was mainly related to solar radiation (64%) and soil temperature (28%). This study indicates that combining xylogenesis with a modelling approach helps the identification of possible environmental drivers in wood formation in grapevine. These findings highlight the high sensitivity of grapevine to specific micro-environmental variables and can aid in developing the potential of dendro-agronomy as a powerful diagnostic tool for assessing climate impacts in woody crops.

Hydroponic systems enable constant and high-quality crop yields while avoiding soil-borne diseases and significant pedoclimatic limitations. Recycling nutrient solutions (NSs) makes these systems more environmentally friendly, but long-term cultivation often leads to a decline in the quality and quantity of final products. Biochar and compost tea (CT) are an emerging nature-based solution known to improve both soil and plant health. This study investigates whether biochar or CT treatments can counteract the physiological and productive decline observed in recycled hydroponic systems. We established a closed floating raft system in a controlled-environment greenhouse, cultivated basil (Ocimum basilicum L. cv. Eleonora) over five cycles (conditioning phase), and then performed a last cycle (recovery phase) with the application of either compost tea or biochar filtration. Plant physiology and growth parameters were monitored. As expected, basil plants grown in untreated recycled NS showed significantly lower yields and dry matter content and reduced physiological values compared to controls (fresh NS). Among the applied treatments, biochar did not show any recovery function, whereas CT treatments fully restored physiological parameters and growth performance in a concentration-dependent manner. Recycled hydroponic systems often lead to physiological decline in plants, which can be effectively counteracted by CT treatments.

Lemon basil (Ocimum × citriodorum) is a highly valued aromatic plant renowned for its distinct citrus aroma. This study aimed to evaluate sustainable substrates and cultivation systems for its production. Two complementary and sequential experiments were conducted: an initial experiment designed to compare coconut fiber mixed in varying proportions with perlite to rock wool, evaluating their effectiveness during germination and early growth (experiment 1), and a subsequent experiment aimed at assessing plant performance in a decoupled aquaponic system relative to hydroponics utilizing the best-performing coconut fiber-perlite mixture from the first phase along with rock wool as substrates (experiment 2). The substrate with 70% coconut fiber and 30% perlite (F70:P30) significantly improved seed germination, leaf number, and total leaf area of seedlings. The decoupled aquaponic cultivation system resulted in a 52.5% increase in flavonoid content, accompanied by higher calcium and magnesium uptake in stems and roots compared to hydroponics. These findings clearly underscore the potential of coconut fiber substrates mixed with perlite as sustainable alternatives to rock wool, reducing environmental impact, disposal costs, and health risks. Similarly, aquaponic cultivation emerges as a valuable strategy for sustainable lemon basil (Ocimum × citriodorum) production, offering comparable yields to hydroponics while improving plant nutritional and phytochemical quality through beneficial plant-microbe interactions. These results provide practical evidence supporting the adoption of environmentally friendly substrates and cultivation practices, thus contributing significantly toward sustainable intensive vegetable production systems.

In the Mediterranean region, viticulture is challenged by climate change which is increasing the frequency and severity of summer drought events. Under limited water availability conditions, controlling plant hydraulics and gas exchanges is crucial for crop productivity. Functional anatomical traits at the leaf and wood levels play a fundamental role in the capability of acclimation to environmental stresses. Thus, understanding how environmental factors and cultivation practices influence such traits is fundamental, given that they establish the limits of physiological acclimation capability.Within this framework, this study aimed to evaluate if anatomical traits at the leaf and wood levels are differently harmonized when vines are cultivated under various treatments of soil and canopy management, with possible consequences on eco-physiological behavior, growth, and productivity. The study was conducted in a vineyard at the Feudi di San Gregorio winery premises (Southern Italy), where vines of the 'Greco' cultivar were cultivated under three treatments of soil management (cover crops, natural coverage, and soil tillage) and two types of canopy management (double guyot and double guyot flipped) over a period of three years. Leaf and wood anatomy were analyzed through light and epi-fluorescence microscopy to quantify functional anatomical traits linked with the efficiency of gas exchanges and water flow. To better interpret the relations among wood anatomical traits, inter- and intra-annual environmental variability, and cultivation management, the knowledge of the precise timing of wood formation is fundamental. Therefore, xylogenesis analysis was applied too, by collecting microcores biweekly from the main stem, in order to model wood growth dynamics and relate them to climate variables.The overall data analysis showed the degree of plasticity of the ‘Greco’ cultivar at the structural level and suggested that the combination of traits at different organ levels may influence the vines’ response to climate change also mediated by pedo-climatic and cultivation conditions.

Mediterranean forests are severely threatened by increasing seedling mortality due to harsh environmental conditions, especially drought. In this study, we investigate whether seedlings of Quercus ilex and Arbutus unedo, previously exposed to water deficit, acquired tolerance to summer drought. Seedlings of the two species were grown from April to September in a plastic tunnel greenhouse and exposed to two irrigation regimes (control, 100% water holding capacity; water-stressed, 50% of control). In mid-August, the irrigation of all plants was suspended for three weeks. The response of the species was analyzed to evaluate survival, growth, ecological, and anatomical traits of wood produced under stressful conditions and marked through the pinning technique. The results suggest that both species show pre-acclimation to drought, with Q. ilex demonstrating a marked increase in survival percentage. This is likely due to a reduction in vessel size in response to previous water stress. In contrast, in A. unedo, the higher frequency of narrower vessels allowed safer water transport compared to Q. ilex, thus explaining the slight increase in survival. Overall results indicated that the two species adopt different strategies to overcome drought, providing valuable insights for managing seedlings in natural ecosystems and urban green spaces.

The viticultural sector is one of the agricultural sectors most challenged by Climate change(CC), needing specific adaptation and mitigation actions to make local farming communities and production resilient. In this context, it is important to guarantee not only the achievement of production but also, above all, the achievement of a cultivar-specific grape quality able to support the oenological goal and, thus, the expression of terroir.In viticulture, the plant's water stress is therefore important, representing, unlike other crops, a necessary condition for achieving the quality and typicality of the wine. This is because the vine water status represents the main regulator of the hormonal balance of grapevines, affecting berries' characteristics such as sugar, anthocyanins, flavonoid concentration, and acidity.For this reason, under climate change, the introduction of irrigation represents a complex issue. In fact, it is not only important to guarantee water to the plants, but to maintain a specific water stress during the ripening phase of the grapes.From this perspective, the aim of this contribution is to show the first results of a task of Spoke 3 of the National Research Center for "Agriculture Technologies - Agritech" (NextGenerationEU European program) on the identification of procedures for the optimized management of the water resource in vineyards.The research adopts multidisciplinary approaches and methods to support irrigation optimization in the vineyard. It has been based on two main steps: (i) the identification of the functional homogeneous zones (fHZs) present in the vineyard through an environmental analysis based on the determination of the soil spatial variability, the micro-morphology of the vineyard (LIDAR) and the spatial variability of the crop response at different resolutions (UAV); (ii) use and test of field sensors to monitor plant and soil water status in the fHZs in order to define the optimal timing and volume of irrigation to achieve the desired field oenological goals while preserving the water resource.The experiment has been realized in an Aglianico vineyard (2 ha) of Tenuta Donna Elvira winery (Montemiletto – AV), where climate, plant, and soil are monitored through the use of commercial and non-commercial sensors. In particular, two weather stations and seven monitoring nodes (soil TDR probes at three soil depths) have been distributed within the irrigated and non-irrigated long plots. The plants were monitored continuously (hourly time step) by means of a new in vivo sensor developed by IMEM CNR institute, Bioristor, (applied to 16 plants to monitor the plant status) and discontinuously (weekly or two-weekly time step) plant measurements (e.g., UAV multispectral measurements, LWP, yield production, grapes quality,..etc..).The irrigation supply was realized through an automated irrigation system (MySOLEM) and defined according to the leaf water potential (LWP) measured in the field, maintaining its value between 1.2 and 1.4 bar during the ripening period. At the end of the first year, the analysis of collected data to develop a vineyard water management model able to support achieving oenological goals and facing climate change has been realized.

Against the backdrop of climate change, soil loss, and water scarcity, sustainable food production is a pivotal challenge for humanity. As the global population grows and urbanization intensifies, innovative agricultural methods are crucial to meet rising food demand, while mitigating environmental degradation. Hydroponic and aquaponic systems, has emerged as one of these solutions by minimizing land use, reducing water consumption, and enabling year-round crop production in urban areas. This study aimed at assessing the yield, ecophysiological performance, and nutritional content of Lactuca sativa L. and Cichorium endivia L. var. crispum grown in hydroponic and aquaponic floating raft systems, with Oreochromis niloticus L. integrated into the aquaponic system. Both species exhibited higher fresh biomass and canopy/root ratios in hydroponics compared to aquaponics. Additionally, hydroponics increased the leaf number in curly endive by 18%. Ecophysiological parameters, such as the leaf net photosynthesis rate, actual yield of PSII, and linear electron transport rate, were also higher in hydroponics for both species. However, the nutritional profiles varied between the two cultivation systems and between the two species. Given that standard fish feed often lacks sufficient potassium levels for optimal plant growth, potassium supplementation could be a viable strategy to enhance plant development in aquaponic systems. In conclusion, although aquaponic systems may demonstrate lower productivity compared to hydroponics, they offer a more sustainable and potentially healthier product with fewer harmful compounds due to the reduced use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and the absence of chemical residue accumulation. However, careful system management and monitoring are crucial to minimize potential contaminants.

Summary: In the Mediterranean region, prolonged droughts affect the growth and reproductive cycles of grapevine. Changes in the physiological processes of grapevine, consequent to variations in environmental factors or cultivation management, are recorded in wood anatomical and isotopic traits in grapevine stems. In this study, we measured the anatomical traits and stable carbon isotope content in the annual rings of Vitis vinifera L. subsp. vinifera ‘Falanghina’ in four vineyards located in southern Italy, characterised by different water availability. The aim was to investigate how wood anatomical traits respond to interannual climatic variations according to local conditions. Wood cores were taken from the stem of the grapevines and subjected to both microscopy and carbon stable isotope analyses to quantify functional wood anatomical traits, such as vessel size and frequency, and the intrinsic water-use efficiency of the grapevine. Wood traits were correlated with data on precipitation and temperature. The results showed that the plants at the four vineyards were characterised by differences in wood structure influencing the grapevine’s physiology under different conditions of water availability. Overall, the analyses showed that the grapevines at the wetter sites developed wood traits, e.g., wide vessels, which favour the efficiency of water flow, while at the drier sites, they developed plant traits, e.g., small vessels, which favour safety against embolism. However, the robustness of such main trends is trait-specific and is influenced by interannual climatic variability.