Formisano, Luigi (2022) Microclimate Factors Modulation Through the Use of Shading Nets and Anti-insect Screens Impacts the Performance and Product Quality of Protected Crops. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Item Type:	Tesi di dottorato
Resource language:	English
Title:	Microclimate Factors Modulation Through the Use of Shading Nets and Anti-insect Screens Impacts the Performance and Product Quality of Protected Crops
Creators:	Creators Email Formisano, Luigi luigi.formisano3@unina.it
Date:	8 March 2022
Number of Pages:	211
Institution:	Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Department:	Agraria
Dottorato:	Sustainable agricultural and forestry systems and food security
Ciclo di dottorato:	34
Coordinatore del Corso di dottorato:	nome email Maggio, Albino almaggio@unina.it
Tutor:	nome email De Pascale, Stefania UNSPECIFIED
Date:	8 March 2022
Number of Pages:	211
Keywords:	shading net; insect-net; vegetables; seedling; photoselective shading net;
Settori scientifico-disciplinari del MIUR:	Area 07 - Scienze agrarie e veterinarie > AGR/04 - Orticoltura e floricoltura
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2022 11:04
Last Modified:	28 Feb 2024 14:02
URI:	http://www.fedoa.unina.it/id/eprint/14543

Collection description

Farmers around the world only collect an average of 50% of the yield they would obtain under optimal conditions, known as yield potential. Closing the yield gap would increase the supply of food produced on the available farm land in order to meet the increasing global demand, as the world will need 70-100% more food by 2050. It is estimated that 60-70% of the gap is attributable to abiotic factors such as salinity, drought, suboptimal temperatures, nutritional deficiencies, while the remaining 30-40% is due to biotic factors, especially soil-borne diseases such as nematodes and soil-borne fungi. Moreover, according to climate change forecasts, these factors are expected to aggravate, posing a major threat for productivity and food security in the decades to come. Therefore, the agricultural sector requires developing sustainable cultivation techniques that can effectively reduce the impact of pressures that affect crop productivity and, especially, the quality of the produce. In this respect, shading and anti-insect nets provide an excellent eco-sustainable tool to boost crop yield and nutritional and functional quality. The research aimed to assess the change in microclimate induced through novel shading and anti-insect nets on the yield and quality of fruit and leafy vegetables in a typical Mediterranean protected environment. In zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), the improved air exchange of the AirPlus® 50 mesh anti-insect net enhanced fruit quality and physiological parameters without any negative impact on yield and biometric parameters. High light intensity and high air temperatures in Mediterranean regions pose a challenge for the production of model crops such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The use of a white shading net facilitated an appropriate microclimate during the early summer season, ensuring the optimal growth of lettuce cultivars (cv. Ballerina, Oak leaf and Romaine) sensitive to high temperatures. In perennial arugula cv. Nature, a 50% shade level increased marketable yield in July, without increasing nitrate concentration an important concern for human health. In tomato cv. Quorum, reducing solar radiation through pearl grey nets (40% shading degree) increased the phytochemical quality of fruits during summer cultivation in a Mediterranean environment. The improved light diffusion of the pearl grey shading net increased total carotenoids and phenolic compounds. In vegetable seedlings, the high light intensity and photo-selective blue shading net reduced the size of zucchini, watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.), tomato, and eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) compared with the non-photo-selective black shading net. Our results highlighted that both primary and secondary metabolism, along with phytohormone profiles, were influenced mainly by shading, resulting in a much broader biochemical modulation of photosynthesis and phytohormone profiles.

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