bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GREENHOUSE PLASTIC FILMS CAPABLE OF MODIFYING THE SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOLAR RADIATION
Authors: Schettini Evelia , Vox Giuliano
Published: June 2012

The aim of this paper was to investigate the radiometric properties of innovative covering films for protected cultivation capable of modifying the spectral distribution of the transmitted radiation and thus the vegetative activity. Two photoselective films, three photoluminescent films and one low-density polyethylene film were used as greenhouse coverings for cherry trees and peach trees, grown in pots. The photoselective films were characterised by a reduction of the R/FR ratio in comparison to the natural solar radiation. Tree growth parameters, such as the apical shoot of cherry trees and the shoot of peach trees, were monitored. Different responses to vegetative activities were observed under the films, depending on the species, with a higher shoots growth rate in the peach with respect to the cherry. The photoselective film characterised by the lowest R/FR ratio significantly enhanced the growth of cherry and peach trees in comparison to the trees cultivated under the other greenhouse films
THE MEASUREMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF WOOD DUST
Authors: Proto Andrea Rosario , Zimbalatti Giuseppe , Negri Martino
Published: June 2012

In Italy, the woodworking industry presents many issues in terms of occupational health and safety. This study on exposure to wood dust could contribute to the realization of a prevention model in order to limit exposure to carcinogenic agents to the worker. The sampling methodology illustrated the analysis of dust emissions from the woodworking machinery in operation throughout the various processing cycles. The quantitative and qualitative assessment of exposure was performed using two different methodologies. The levels of wood dust were determined according to EN indications and sampling was conducted using IOM and Cyclon personal samplers. The qualitative research of wood dust was performed using an advanced laser air particle counter. This allowed the number of particles present to be counted in real time. The results obtained allowed for an accurate assessment of the quality of the dust emitted inside the workplace during the various processing phases. The study highlighted the distribution of air particles within the different size classes, the exact number of both thin and ultra-thin dusts, and confirmed the high concentration of thin dust particles which can be very harmful to humans.
COMPARING OPTICALAND DIRECT METHODS FOR LEAFAREA INDEX DETERMINATION IN A MAIZE CROP
Authors: Facchi Arianna , Baroni Gabriele , Boschetti Mirco , Gandolfi Claudio
Published: June 2012

Leaf area index (LAI) is a crucial variable in the modelling of many hydrological processes. Destructive sampling of LAI is extremely time-consuming, thus not suitable for monitoring temporal/spatial variations of the variable. In the last fifty years optical instruments retrieving LAI from more easily measurable variables (i.e. transmitted radiation through canopies) have been developed. Several instruments are available on the market, but very few are the studies comparing LAI estimates in agricultural crops. In this paper three optical instruments are compared with destructive sampling for a maize crop located in Northern Italy. Determinations were carried out on three plots (replicates) before and after successive thinning of plant populations. Destructively sampled LAI ranged from 4.9 m2m-2 (no thinning) to 1.2 m2m- 2 (maximum thinning). Correlation analysis showed that estimates by the AccuPAR-80, the hemispherical camera (“effective” and “true” LAI) and the LAI- 2000 (in the standard configuration, i.e. five zenithal rings, and excluding the fifth ring) were well correlated with destructive measurements (R2≥0.95). Anyway, if for the AccuPAR-80 the regression line was close to the 1:1 line, the “true LAI” by hemispherical photography tended to overestimate destructively sampled LAI for low values while the “effective LAI” and the LAI-2000 to underestimate it for high values (in a minor way for the LAI-2000 when the fifth ring was removed). Results from the ANOVA and the Tukey T test for two-factor experiments with replicates showed that only the “effective LAI” retrieved by hemispherical photographs and the estimates provided by the LAI-2000 in the standard configuration (five rings) were statistically different from destructive measurements.
AN ANALYTICAL SOLUTION OF KINEMATIC WAVE EQUATIONS FOR OVERLAND FLOW UNDER GREEN-AMPT INFILTRATION
Authors: Baiamonte Giorgio , Agnese Carmelo
Published: June 2012

This paper deals with the analytical solution of kinematic wave equations for overland flow occurring in an infiltrating hillslope. The infiltration process is described by the Green-Ampt model. The solution is derived only for the case of an intermediate flow regime between laminar and turbulent ones. A transitional regime can be considered a reliable flow condition when, to the laminar overland flow, is also associated the effect of the additional resistance due to raindrop impact. With reference to the simple case of an impervious hillslope, a comparison was carried out between the present solution and the non-linear storage model. Some applications of the present solution were performed to investigate the effect of main parameter variability on the hillslope response. Particularly, the effect of hillslope geometry and rainfall intensity on the time to equilibrium is shown.
ANALYSIS OF THE FILTRATION EFFICIENCY OF WHITE WINES USING DIFFERENT FILTER AIDS
Authors: Catania Pietro , Vallone Mariangela , Planeta Diego , Pipitone Felice
Published: June 2012

The global wine market, having recently entered into full crisis, is suffering some changes in its production and marketing. The reasons for these changes are mainly due to new trends in consumer demand for wine safety and quality standards at low cost. Social cellars, in order to be included in this new trend, should focus on the rationalization of the production techniques to reduce the costs and improve the quality of wine. In the case of winemaking for the production of a wine stored in a bag-in-box, filtration is a very important technique because it gives the finished product clearness and stability. The experimentation was based on the application of a low cost filtration technique on white wines in order to test the retention efficiency as a function of various filter aids used in the production of daily wines with an IGT (Typical Geographic Indication) brand. The results show that wines obtained from the different tests had no changes in terms of colour and aromas, while remarkable differences were obtained with regards to turbidity.
RADIOMETRIC PROPERTIES OFAGRICULTURAL PERMEABLE COVERINGS
Authors: Castellano Sergio , Hemming Silke , Russo Giovanni , Mohammadkhani Vida , Glam Swinkels Gert-Jan , Scarascia-Mugnuzza Giacomo
Published: June 2012

Nets are commonly used for agricultural applications. However, only little is known about the radiometric properties of net types and how to influence them. In order to investigate the influence of net construction parameters on their radiometric properties, a set of radiometric tests were performed on 45 types of agricultural nets. Laboratory tests on large size net samples was performed using a large and a small integrating sphere. Open field radiometric test were carried out by means of an experimental set up (120x120x50 cm) and a full scale shade house. Small differences (less than 5%) occurred between laboratory and open field tests. Results highlighted that the porosity and the mesh size, combined with the colour and secondarily, with the fabric and the kind of threads of the net influenced the shading performance of the net. The colour influenced the spectral distribution of the radiation passing through the net absorbing its complementary colours. Since nets are three-dimensional structures the transmissivity of direct light under different angles of incident of solar radiation changes when installed in the warp or weft direction. Transmissivity could be considered one of the main parameters involved in the agronomic performances of the netting system.
WATERSHED RUNOFFAND RIVER FLOOD MODELING IN LAND USE PLANNING
Authors: Niedda Marcello , Greppi Mauro
Published: June 2012

In land use planning along river paths it may be useful to consider the statistics of the flooding process of the river. The set of rules regulating land use planning in Italy results in the return period required being very long and, as a result, there are very high river discharge peaks which are taken into consideration and not much possibility of making experimental observations. Correct planning of land use should include some description of river flooding in these critical conditions. To do this a basin scale hydrological model and a robust numerical scheme of the 2D complete SWE have to be integrated. Knowing that experimental validation is very difficult we showed the reliability of the numerical schemes used to get consistent solutions. A watershed runoff forecast model was used to obtain the river hydrograph to apply as a boundary condition in the study of river flood inundation on the flat plain near the Olbia airport (Sardinia, Italy). A threshold of 1 cm was used as a condition to consider whether or not to include the cell in the computational field in the description of the wetting-drying process. And this seems to fit well in the model. The numerical model is conservative, ensuring preservation of water volumes with a precision of 10-4. The great surface water gradient in some sections is evident proof of the importance of the SWE inertial terms in wave front propagation. The flow peak loss during the alluvial plane flooding resulted in a reduction of about 10% of the discharge peak at the river mouth. This numerical method, which has been validated in previous similar applications, describes sufficiently well flooding in a complex area with river morphology limited by airport and road infrastructures.
CHARACTERIZATION OFWASTE BIOMASS FROM GREENHOUSE ROSE CULTIVATION AND PACKAGING
Authors: Cascone Giovanni , D'Emilio Alessandro , Buccellato Erika
Published: June 2012

In this work a characterization of the waste biomass originating from a rose cultivation under greenhouse was carried out. Two types of biomass were examined: one made of both branches and leaves, and the other made up only of branches. For each type of biomass the following properties were determined: percentage of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, content of moisture, volatile matter and ashes, gross and net calorific value. The results show that the biomass made of only branches has a better quality than the biomass with leaves for use in thermo-chemical processes.
CONSIDERATIONS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND THEIR RELATED PERSPECTIVES OFAGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
Authors: Foppa-Pedretti Ester , Riva Giovanni , Toscano Giuseppe , Duca Daniele
Published: June 2012

This paper discusses some considerations and advances a number of proposals about the potential of Agricultural Engineering to contribute to the field of renewable energy, with an emphasis on biomass. Several areas for action are identified. First, general education and teaching of students who will go on to become technicians and professionals in the sector of renewable energies, even though the characteristics of the sectors are still fuzzy. Diffusion of the energy culture, a too often neglected aspect that is however indispensable to sustain the overdue penetration of renewable energies in Italy, is an additional area for action. Another critical area, energy planning, is currently viewed mainly as involving the assessment on more or less wide areas of energy consumption and for the scope of replacing fossil resources with renewables to meet some energy requirements. A more complex, overarching issue is energy efficiency, especially of buildings, which should be a mainstay of the planning process but is in fact not so clearly addressed in development plans for renewables. At this same level, all interactions among production sectors should be assessed, to enhance the role of agriculture, one of the new potential energy-producing sectors and one of the possible prospective suppliers of renewable energy for different final users, from households to the service sector and industry. Agricultural Engineering has the skills needed to implement all these different actions. A role for it in advanced research, i.e. biotechnologies, can and should also be envisaged. Its work in the renewable energy sector should closely involve microbiological, genetic, chemical, agronomic, and animal research to define the goals to be pursued and to implement intuitions. In this way, Agricultural Engineering would increasingly be characterized as Biosystems Engineering.
CLASSIFICATION OF CROP-SHELTER COVERAGE BY RGB AERIAL IMAGES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXPERIENCES AND FINDINGS
Authors: Arcidiacono Claudia , M.C.Porto Simona
Published: June 2012

Image processing is a powerful tool apt to perform selective data extraction from high-content images. In agricultural studies, image processing has been applied to different scopes, among them the classification of crop shelters has been recently considered especially in areas where there is a lack of public control in the building activity. The application of image processing to crop-shelter feature recognition make it possible to automatically produce thematic maps that constitute a basic knowledge for local authorities to cope with environmental problems and for technicians to be used in their planning activity. This paper reviews the authors’ experience in the definition of methodologies, based on the main image processing methods, for crop-shelter feature extraction from aerial digital images. Some experiences of pixel-based and object-oriented methods are described and discussed. The results show that the methodology based on object-oriented methods improves crop-shelter classification and reduces computational time, compared to pixel-based methodologies.
AN HISTORICAL SURVEY ON THE EVOLUTION OF SOME FORESTWATERSHED MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (PART II: STREAM CHANNEL WORKS)
Authors: Bresci Elena , Preti Federico
Published: June 2012

Quotations and references, taken from old texts on stream channel works (today classified as belonging to soil bioengineering interventions), are presented and discussed. Part I of the same study previously showed a similar analysis on slope stabilization [Bresci 2002]. The selected quotations are reported in a chronologic order to highlight the historical evolution in each work description and, in particular, the instructions and adjustments to put on when carried out. Where suggestions for vegetation material selection and numerical indications are found in the analyzed texts, they have been reported translated into English. The selection of the analyzed works has been carried out among those utilized for streambank protection, a sector where more often vegetation is utilized. Also in this case (Part II) it is demonstrated that bioengineering techniques clearly originate from forest watershed management.
THE LEAN SIX SIGMAAPPROACH FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: A CASE STUDY IN A HIGH QUALITY TUSCANY WINERY
Authors: Bettini Riccardo , Giorgetti Alessandro , Cini Enrico , Citti Paolo
Published: June 2012

This paper describes the application of a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) project to a winemaking process in a high-quality, Italian winery. LSS is used to focus on the problem through a quantitative analysis of waste and quality performances. The LSS basic algorithm (called “DMAIC”) helps to detect and quantify critical aspects of the process for transferring liquid used in the cellar. The improvement solution is developed and applied through the modification of the cellar system and the process procedure. The results obtained with this solution are shown and discussed in this paper, so too the long term reliability of the improved process analyzed. The results obtained by this case study can help to understand the importance of the LSS method to drive the improvement of agricultural and agrofood productions also in terms of environmental impact which is strongly connected to waste reduction.
HOT AIR TREATMENT, IN NATURAL CONVECTION CONDITIONS, FOR EGG SURFACE DECONTAMINATION
Authors: Cevoli Chiara , Fabbri Angelo , Pasquali Frédérique , Berardinelli Annachiara , Guarnieri Adriano
Published: June 2012

In order to improve the animal welfare, the Council Directive 1999/74/EC (defining minimum standards for the welfare of laying hens) will ban conventional cage systems from 2012, in favor of enriched cages or floor systems. As a consequence an increased risk of bacterial contamination of eggshells is expected. This has lead toward the development of efficient techniques to reduce eggshell contamination by bacterial pathogens, and thus to prevent any potential or additional food safety risk for Human health. The objectives of this research were to develop and validate a numerical model useful to study the physics of treatment with hot air, in natural convection conditions, and then to assess the impact of the treatment on egg quality and Salmonella Enteritidis inactivation on the shell. As regards the decontamination effectiveness, a reduction in microbial load up to 2.6 log10 after 200 minutes was observed. A linear correlation between the time of treatment and the microbial decimal reduction (R2 0.92) was also observed. This suggests the opportunity of further study with longer treatment. Moreover the results about weak action on quality parameters suggest the practical feasibility of a transportation system for eggs, from production to sorting plant, in heated container.
GASEOUS EMISSIONS FROM FOSSIL FUELS AND BIOMASS COMBUSTION IN SMALL HEATING APPLIANCES
Authors: Dell'Antonia Daniele , Gubiani Rino , Maroncelli Daniele , Pergher Gianfranco
Published: June 2012

The importance of emission control has increased sharply due to the increased need of energy from combustion. However, biomass utilization in energy production is not free from problems because of physical and chemical characteristics which are substantially different from conventional energy sources. In this situation, the quantity and quality of emissions as well as used renewable sources as wood or corn grain are often unknown. To assess this problem the paper addresses the objectives to quantify the amount of greenhouse gases during the combustion of corn as compared to the emissions in fossil combustion (natural gas, LPG and diesel boiler). The test was carried out in Friuli Venezia Giulia in 2006-2008 to determine the air pollution (CO, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2 and CO2) from fuel combustion in family boilers with a power between 20-30 kWt. The flue gas emission was measured with a professional semi-continuous multi-gas analyzer, (Vario plus industrial, MRU air Neckarsulm-Obereisesheim). Data showed a lower emission of fossil fuel compared to corn in family boilers in reference to pollutants in the flue gas (NOx, SO2 and CO). In a particular way the biomass combustion makes a higher concentration of carbon monoxide (for an incomplete combustion because there is not a good mixing between fuel and air) and nitrogen oxides (in relation at a higher content of nitrogen in herbaceous biomass in comparison to another fuel).
EVALUATION OF TEMPORALVARIATIONS IN MOISTURE AND CALORIFIC VALUE OF VINE AND OLIVE PRUNING
Authors: Porceddu Pier Riccardo , Rosati Laura , Dionigi Marco
Published: June 2012

In Italy arboreal crops, in particular vine and olive, cover a surface area of around 19.6×109 m2 from which about 4.6×109 kg of pruning are cut. These by-products are currently ploughed into the soil or else harvested and burned in open fields. On the other hand such materials would be more useful as an energy source. If these materials are to be used as fuel, it is important to know their calorific value. The calorific value is significantly influenced by the moisture content of wood. This work has evaluated the changes in moisture content and calorific value with time for different harvesting and storage systems of vine and olive pruning. The observed decrease in the moisture content of the vine and olive pruning depended on the storage system utilized, in particular on the product compression ratio and air circulation. Some differences were observed between the results obtained for vine and olive pruning. The time required for these materials to obtain their best energetic performance was identified at 32 weeks from their harvesting. Harvesting with balers and forwarding costs are about 6.21×10-2 €/kg for vine pruning and 4.64×10-2 €/kg for olive pruning. They are very similar to the price currently offered for energy biomass in Italy (5.00×10-2 €/kg). While the cost actually paid to plough pruning into the soil amounts to about 2.50×10-2 €/kg. Therefore the energy chain encourages a cost-and-benefit analysis.
LINEAR INFRASTRUCTURES THAT CHARACTERIZE A PAST LAND MANAGEMENT: THE MONTAGNOLA SENESE DRY STONE WALLS. A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH OF ANALYSIS
Authors: Vazzano Emanuele , Bonavita Amato , Pellegrini Paolo
Published: June 2012

The aim of this paper is to highlight the development of a methodology for studying linear infrastructures such as dry stone walls, characteristic of an earlier land management in the Siena countryside. The study area on which this methodology was tested is located in the Site of Community Importance (SCI) “Montagnola Senese”. It was chosen as an example of a historical form of agricultural and forest land management, partly related to the key presence of the above mentioned artifacts. This methodology was based on the analysis of a historical cadastre and the concurrent construction and updating of a L.I.S. (Land Information System) processed in a GIS environment. In order to compare 1825 data about land use, land ownership and parcel boundaries of the current walls were surveyed during fieldwork through GPS handheld equipment. The results show quite a good correspondence between wall lines and cadastral parcel boundary lines, mostly in the woodland. The analysis of the study area brings out that the walls were designed to carry out different functions such as property boundary, to enclose fields and defend them from the entrance of livestock grazing in the woodland, and subdivide a same land property in different management portions both as cultivated fields and as woodland.
GREENWAY IN ITALY: EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Authors: Dal Sasso Pasquale , Ottolino Maria Antonella
Published: June 2012

The study analyses the greenway projects implemented in Italy, summarising their characteristics in a table that contains basic information concerning the geographical location, year of implementation, the type of layout and size, the state of implementation; the Institution that proposed the implementation, the official name, the territorial feature, the socio-economic and cultural aims, references to bibliographic and web resources and to their inclusion in plans and projects. The analysis has allowed to verify the compliance of individual contributions to the definitions attributed to the greenway from national and international associations. It has been possible to verify the use of greenways as physical support to spatial planning and the promotion of economic and productive development of rural areas.
ASSESSMENT OF THE TOTAL SOLIDS AND FAT CONTENTS IN WHOLE LIQUID EGG PRODUCTS BY ELECTRICAL AND THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENTS
Authors: Berardinelli Annachiara , Ragni Luigi , Cevoli Chiara , Guarnieri Adriano
Published: June 2012

The total solids and fat contents of nine whole liquid egg products were assessed by means of electrical and thermal conductivity measurements. Linear correlations between conductivity values and total solids and fat contents were obtained with R2 values up to 0.995 and 0.990 and maximum errors of predic- 46 TABLE 6 - Linear regression models for the total solids (TS, %) and fat (FC, %) contents estimation from electrical (Ec, mS/cm) and thermal (Tc, W/mK) conductivity measurements. SE: Standard Error. Linear regression equation R2 p-level SE (%) TS=-6.857*Ec+65.373 0.995 0.000 0.27 FC=-4.993*Ec+40.070 0.985 0.000 0.33 TS=-172.967*Tc+109.605 0.992 0.000 0.33 FC=-126.449*Tc+72.521 0.990 0.000 0.27 tion up to 0.41% and 0.42%, respectively. The electrical conductivity of the albumen, yolk and egg mixtures linearly increased with temperature; at 20°C, temperature coefficients of 2.1%/°C, 2.1%/°C and 1.9 %/°C were respectively calculated. On the contrary, the thermal conductivity of the analysed products did not appear to be substantially influenced by the temperature of the liquid.
TEST OF GROUND-SENSING DEVICES FOR MONITORING CANOPY VIGOUR AND DOWNY MILDEW PRESENCE IN VINEYARDS: FIRST QUALITATIVE RESULTS
Authors: Mazzetto Fabrizio , Calcante Aldo , Mena Aira , Sacco Pasqualina
Published: June 2012

This paper considers the possibility to use ground sensing technologies that can be employed directly in vineyards. The aim of this work is to evaluate contemporarely the canopy health and vigour status of vines through the use of a mobile monitoring system; this, in order to investigate the possibility to realize a pathological diagnosis in vineyards. To achieve this objective optical and analogue devices were tested: a) GreenSeeker RT100, a commercial optical device calculating NDVI in real time; b) ultrasonic sensors for canopy thickness estimation. A DGPS receiver was employed for geo-reference data collected while travelling in the vineyards. Tests were conducted in a commercial vineyard which included rows treated and non-treated with agrochemicals. Data coming from the automatic monitoring were compared to manual morphological and physiological observations carried out to characterize the phytosanitary status of the canopy. Optical data were processed in order to obtain NDVI maps. They clearly showed differences in canopy vigour evolution in the two examined groups, and low vegetative vigour in areas infected by Plasmopara viticola (as confirmed by manual assessment). Maps of percentage infection index (I%I) were produced according to pathological manual survey results. The comparison between I%I and NDVI maps confirmed, at a qualitative level, the real vine phytosanitary status. The integration of UCT and NDVI values allows the identification of diseased vineyard areas among zones presenting critical vegetation conditions.
BASIC PARAMETERS FOR DESIGNING PHYSICAL SEPARATION TREATMENTS FROM AN INTENSIVE ON-SHORE FISH FARM
Authors: Bianchi Biagio , Centoducati Gerardo , Toteda Francesco , Nardomarino Onofrio
Published: June 2012

The pollutant load was monitored in an intensive on-shore plant; evaluation especially concerned one basin,during a period of time in which the water temperature (21-23°c), the stocking density (25 kg/m3), the loading and unloading flow (40 dm3/s) remained steady at the highest values. The results show that the maximum pollution levels are characterized by high concentrations of suspended organic materials, as well as by high BOD5/COD rates; moreover, more than 60% of the suspended solid waste consists of particles with a maximum dimension ranging from 200 μm to more than 500 μm. Tests show that an effluent channel is not efficient in reducing the pollutant load of waste water. The laboratory sedimentation trials showed – for a period of about 3 hours – minimum and maximum solid particle sedimentation speeds of 2.56 mm/s and 46.8 mm/s respectively, which should be considered when deciding the turbid speed and the dimensions of basins for this type of effluent. In any case, the sedimentation process carried out in the laboratory was only just sufficient to bring the farm effluent within the legal limits. Therefore a mechanical filtration treatment may suit the specific requirements of the farm waste water used for the experimental trials. A 50 μm mesh would be considered sufficient for any critical situation.
COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO TYPES OF WINEMAKING TANKS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF QUALITY WINES CV. NERO D’AVOLA
Authors: Catania Pietro , Pipitone Felice , Vallone Mariangela
Published: June 2012

The aim of this work is to compare two types of winemaking tanks, horizontal and vertical, using Nero d’Avola grapes, in order to assess the capacity of extraction of phenolic compounds that determine the quality of red wines. The study shows that in wine made by horizontal winemaking tanks, both anthocyanins and polyphenols have a higher decrease in time compared to wine made by the vertical type. The higher values of polyphenols found in the horizontal type appear to show that wines produced by this type of winemaking tank have a better quality in terms of health for antimicrobial, antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties of these molecules.
CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE PLANNING OF PROTECTED AREAS ARISING FROM A STUDY OF THE TUSCANIA NATURAL RESERVE (CENTRAL ITALY)
Authors: Leone Antonio , Ceccarelli Luca , Ripa M. Nicolina , Recanatesi Fabio
Published: June 2012

Following the increase in protected territories over recent years, emphasis has been laid on improving nature conservation and management effectiveness. In particular, special attention has been given to areas where the interaction between people and the environment has produced a distinct character, rich in both ecological and cultural values. Such areas are known as Protected Landscapes and require a special planning and management focus, in which relevant weight is given to local people. The aim of this research is to present a planning process case study in central Italy (Tuscania, north of Rome), where the protected area plan tackles nature conservation and environmental concerns (i.e. water quality, soil conservation, landscape restoration etc.). The results are of general interest because they are the fruit of an experience in debating and improving both the plan’s contents and planning methods. In particular, they show: i) the primary role of local people in the various phases of planning, including delicate decisions such as the park’s limits and its buffer area; ii) that a protected area plan should not be strictly prescriptive, but should have the role of a strategic master plan; iii) that the protected area policy should be emphasised in the park regulations document, rather than in rigid territorial zoning.
LABORATORY-SCALE STUDY ON REACTIVE CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT IN SOIL BY MEANS OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL ADVECTIVE DISPERSIVE MODELS
Authors: Comegna Vincenzo , Coppola Antonio , Comegna Alessandro
Published: June 2012

We measured adsorption and transport of cadmium (Cd) in the presence of Ca2+ and Na+ salts of varying ionic strengths and pH by using batch and miscible displacement experiments, carried out on undisturbed and homogenized soil columns. A fluvent-vertic soil was used in this study. In the column experiment a clear effect of ionic strength on breakthrough curves (BTCs) of Cd2+ was observed when the Na+ concentration was increased from 0.02 to 0.2 M. The effect of increasing the Ca2+ concentration on Cd2+ absorption and transport was relatively less pronounced than that recorded for the Na+ solution. At low pH values, H+ ions competed strongly with Cd2+ ions and, at a high pH, precipitation was the main process taking place for Cd2+ sorption. The reliability of the advection- dispersion equation (ADE) was tested. When implemented within the least-squares method, the model produced a sufficiently precise space-time distribution of Cd2+ ion concentrations. The results of this study demonstrated also, that laboratory leaching experiments, when performed on homogenized soil columns, can greatly underestimate Cd2+ ions transport in the field and that preferential flow can increase the mobility and velocity of cadmium movement to the groundwater.
PLASTIC MATERIALS IN EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE: ACTUAL USE AND PERSPECTIVES
Authors: Scarascia-Mugnozza Giacomo , Sica Carmela , Russo Giovanni
Published: June 2012

The world consumption of plastics in agriculture amounts yearly to 6.5 million tons. In addition to conventional polymers used in agriculture for greenhouses and mulches such as PE, PVC, EVA, photo-selective and luminescent polymers have been used, in order to improve the quality of crops. For the same reason plastic nets are used mainly in countries with tropical and Mediterranean climates. For an environmentally friendly agricultural activity, an alternative strategy can be represented by bio-based agricultural raw materials. For low environmental impact applications, biodegradable materials for agricultural films are nowadays produced. An overview of the main methods for the disposal and recycling of plastic materials are presented with the results of mechanical and radiometric tests on recycled plastics. The strategies to reduce the burden of plastics in agriculture are: a correct procedure for the collection, disposal and recycling of post-consumption plastics; the increase of lifetime duration and performance; and the introduction and promotion of bio-based materials.
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ARUNDO DONAX BIOMASS PRODUCTION IN A MEDITERRANEAN EXPERIMENTAL FIELD USING TREATED WASTEWATER
Authors: Arcidiacono Claudia , Porto Simona M.C.
Published: June 2012

In this study the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the Arundo donax production process for energy purpose is proposed. The cultivation of this type of herbaceous biomass, irrigated with urban wastewater, was carried out in an experimental field, sited in eastern Sicily (Italy). The analysis by LCA makes it possible, among other things, to evaluate the potential environmental impacts related to each phase of the process. In this study a sensitivity analysis of the LCA results were carried out by varying the process stages. Furthermore the incidence of each process stage on the damage categories by varying the cultivation- cycle length was evaluated. The stages constituting the Arundo donax production process, considered in this assessment, regard seedling production, agronomic practices, irrigation, and transport to boiler. The functional unit used in the analyses was 1 ton of biomass and crop productivity values were derived from literature. The analyses allowed to identify the most significant stages of the Arundo donax production process related to the experimental field. In detail, this study highlights that seedling production and irrigation stages contributed most of all to the overall environmental burden, whereas agronomic practices stage showed a minor influence on the process.
A NEW SMALL POTATO PLANTER FOR EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE
Authors: Ebrahem Ismail Z. , Ayman Amer Eissa , Guidetti Riccardo
Published: June 2012

Reducing the tuber period for potato plants by planting previously grown sprouts is a new technique. Applying this new agricultural methodology requires modification of the potato planter. The theoretical analysis was carried out to obtain information that can help avoid tuber damage during feeding and until it exits the feeding system. Starting from these considerations, a new potato planter with a spoon-based feeding system was designed and built. The tests conducted verified that the new system performed well when dividing tuber pieces into rows: considering the best growth spacing for potatoes is 20÷30 cm, the new system has a 68% distribution versus the 50,62 % of the old one. The tubers’ spacing in rows are evaluated based on tuber voids and tuber doubles. The results show that there is no difference between the two systems’ configurations, while a general consideration about our machine is that it is better at managing small tuber pieces. The void ratios are largely valid within the range of 0.4 up to 0.8 m/s of planted speeds; moreover, the results revealed that the tuber doubles decrease by increasing planting speed and vice versa with tuber voids. The quality of the potatoes planted is evaluated using the Shatter Index (SI %), which shows how the new configuration is more delicate with the tuber pieces (1.5 % against 17.5 % at 10 rpm or 46 % against 94 % at rpm 20). The new configuration could be an interesting improvement for potato quality and Egyptian potato production.
PRELIMINARY STUDY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OFAN IMAGE ANALYSIS ALGORITHM TO DETECT DAIRY COW PRESENCE AT THE FEED BARRIER
Authors: Porto Simona M.C. , Arcidiacono Claudia , Guarnera Giuseppe C. , Cascone Giovanni
Published: June 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate the applicability of the Viola-Jones algorithm for continuous detection of the feeding behaviour of dairy cows housed in an open free-stall barn. A methodology was proposed in order to train, test and validate the classifier. A lower number of positive and negative images than those used by Viola and Jones were required during the training. The testing produced the following results: hit rate of about 97.85%, missed rate of about 2.15%, and false positive rate of about 0.67%. The validation was carried out by an accuracy assessment procedure which required the time-consuming work of an operator who labelled the true position of the cows within the barn and their behaviours. The accuracy assessment revealed that among the 715 frames about 90.63% contained only true positives, whereas about 9.37% were affected by underestimation, i.e., contained also one or two false negatives. False positives occurred only in 2.93% of the analyzed frames. Though a moderate mismatch between the testing and the validation performances was registered, the results obtained revealed the adequacy of the Viola-Jones algorithm for detecting the feeding behaviour of dairy cows housed in open free-stall barns. This, in turn, opens up opportunities for an automatic analysis of cow behaviour.
NETS FOR PEACH PROTECTED CULTIVATION
Authors: Schettini Evelia
Published: June 2012

The aim of this paper was to investigate the radiometric properties of coloured nets used to protect a peach cultivation. The modifications of the solar spectral distribution, mainly in the R and FR wavelength band, influence plant photomorphogenesis by means of the phytochrome and cryptochrome. The phytochrome response is characterized in terms of radiation rate in the red wavelengths (R, 600-700 nm) to that in the farred radiation (FR, 700-800 nm), i.e. the R/FR ratio. The effects of the blue radiation (B, 400-500 nm) is investigated by the ratio between the blue radiation and the far-red radiation, i.e. the B/FR ratio. A BLUE net, a RED net, a YELLOW net, a PEARL net, a GREY net and a NEUTRAL net were tested in Bari (Italy), latitude 41° 05’ N. Peach trees were located in pots inside the greenhouses and in open field. The growth of the trees cultivated in open field was lower in comparison to the growth of the trees grown under the nets. The RED, PEARL, YELLOW and GREY nets increased the growth of the trees more than the other nets. The nets positively influenced the fruit characteristics, such as fruit weight and flesh firmness.
COLOR DEGRADATION KINETICS OF REHYDRATED ‘BORLOTTO’ BEANS STORED IN DIFFERENT GAS ATMOSPHERES AS MEASURED BY IMAGE ANALYSIS
Authors: Amodio Maria Luisa , Cornacchia Rosaria , Colantuono Fedele , Colelli Giancarlo
Published: June 2012

Rehydrated legume seeds represent an important ingredient for ready-to-cook fresh soups packaged in a modified atmosphere. The aim of this work was to define an image analysis system for the evaluation of ‘Borlotto’ bean color changes during storage in different gas compositions. ‘Borlotto’ bean seeds were rehydrated in water for 12 hours and stored at 5 °C in controlled atmosphere using 4 different gas compositions: 3 % O2, 10 % CO2 in air, 3 % O2 + 10 % CO2, and air as control. An algorithm in Matlab was codified to measure color of the seed red stripes and ground color (L*, a*,b*, Hue angle and Chromaticity). Sensorial analyses based on the hedonic scale (from 5=excellent to 1=very bad) of the seed appearance were also carried out. Seed color and appearance changes over time were monitored initially and after 5, 10 and 15 days of storage at 5 °C. The obtained data were used to model the quality of degradation attributes over time, that were fit into first order kinetics. A gas composition with 3 % O2 + 10 % CO2 induced the least modification on the seed ground color, which received a highest appearance evaluation up to 10 days of storage, also showing that visual appearance changes were mostly affected by the variation of the seed ground color.
IMPROVING PER-PIXEL CLASSIFICATION OF CROP-SHELTER COVERAGE BY TEXTURE ANALYSES OF HIGH-RESOLUTION SATELLITE PANCHROMATIC IMAGES
Authors: Arcidiacono Claudia , Porto Simona M.C.
Published: June 2012

Actual research challenges in automated recognition of crop shelters regard, among other issues, the accuracy of classification, contour detection and typology identification. In this field the use of high-resolution multispectral images has been found to improve the feature recognition in comparison to RGB images or low resolution multispectral ones. As for classification methodologies, per-pixel and object-oriented ones offer different tools to cope with image recognition and feature extraction. In this study, to improve the classification of cropshelter coverage, the per-pixel method was applied to high-resolution multispectral images, coupled with a texture analysis of high-resolution panchromatic images. In detail, the results of the classification accuracy assessment achieved by the use of native high-resolution panchromatic images and RGB-band images resampled accordingly, were compared with those found in a previous study in which panchromatic images degraded to the RGB-band image resolution were used. The results show that the proposed methodology is suitable to improve crop-shelter classification quality and contour detection of parcels.
The role of agroforestry areas of the province of Bari in the absortion of carbon dioxide
Authors: Dal Sasso Pasquale , Ruggiero Giuseppe , Ottolino Maria Antonella , Verdiani Giuseppe
Published: June 2012

Agroforestry areas have a significant and recognized productive, socio – economic, environmental and landscape role. An important ecological function performed by these areas is the net absorption of considerable quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The scientific knowledge of the CO2 assimilation capacity of agroforestry ecosystems in a territory, is a useful and innovative means to support territorial planning. In the interests of environmental sustainability, emissions from human activities carried out in a specific local context, must be adapted by the simultaneous capacity of CO2 sequestration. For the protection of environmental quality, the choice of land use should therefore optimize the circuit of interaction between emissions and absorption. This work takes into account the agroforestry areas of the Province of Bari to estimate the potential capacity to absorb CO2 and compare it, with the current emission levels.
Influence of the trajectory angle and nozzle height from the ground on water distribution radial curve of a sprinkler
Authors: Friso Dario , Bortolini Lucia
Published: June 2012

In order to evaluate the effects of the variation of two factors of the working condition, the trajectory angle and the nozzle height from the ground, on the water distribution radial curve of a sprinkler, a mathematical model, able to elaborate with a very good accuracy the size spectrum of droplets generated by a nozzle starting from experimental water distribution radial curves, was used and applied in reversed form. In a previous paper, 37 dimensional droplet spectra were obtained, generated by four sprinklers under varying conditions of operating pressure and nozzle size, but with a single value of trajectory angle and a single value of the nozzle height from the ground level. The application of the mathematical model to the 37 dimensional spectra of the droplets has led to new water distribution radial curves on varying the trajectory angle and the nozzle height. The evaluation of these curves, along with original and experimental ones, has been made using the uniformity of distribution, by means of Christiansen's coefficient CU. Increasing values of pressure and nozzle size provide the best CU. This is applied to all heights of the nozzle from the ground and to almost all trajectory angle values. In all cases, different nozzle heights do not show significant differences in CU values. This also occurred in the comparison of three different trajectory angles, unless the larger diameter and lower height of the nozzle where the CU coefficient gets worse with decreasing the trajectory. The evaluation of the new water distribution radial curves was also made in relation to the produced radius of throw R (m), and it was found that R is positively influenced by all the variables involved. Considering this relationship, two monomial type equations (one for nozzle discharge up to 120 dm3/min and radius of throw less than 30 m and one for nozzle discharge above 120 dm3/min and higher throw radii) were found that can predict R compared to the discharge of the nozzle, the operating pressure, the trajectory angle, and the height of the nozzle from the ground level. The comparison between the calculated and actual values of R shows a relative error, for all sprinklers and all operating conditions, respectively equal to 6.9% in the first case and 4.1% in the second case.
Evaluation of the efficiency of systems to reduce vibration on modern tracklaying tractors
Authors: Pessina Domenico , Facchinetti Davide , Bonalume Valentina
Published: June 2012

Agricultural operators run a very high risk of exposure to mechanical vibration. To improve comfort, many different devices have recently been fitted to agricultural self-propelled machinery, especially on the most modern high-powered wheeled tractors. In contrast, agricultural tracklaying tractors are not equipped with a suspended cab floor and frequently poor or no seat suspension is fitted. Consequently, the levels of vibration measured in the driving seat of tracklaying tractors often widely exceed the limit stipulated by official national standards. The manufacturers of tracklaying tractors are currently trying to improve the level of comfort at the driver’s place by reducing both the production and the transmission of vibration. The vibration levels at the driving seat of a group of tracklaying tractors produced by some leading Italian manufacturers were so measured. The models examined in the study differed in having either 5- or 6-roller track support, different types and stiffness of seat suspension, and in whether or not they were coupled to an implement. The type of seat suspension, and above all its correct adjustment, dramatically influenced the level of vibration, as did the increase in the number of track rollers. In contrast, whether or not the tractor was coupled to an implement at the rear 3-point linkage did not make any significant change to the vibration comfort during transport. Also on the best modern trackalying tractor models, vibration levels frequently exceed stipulated limits, so that a further reduction is urgently required. Possible solutions that could be developed may involve the universal adoption of rubber tracks and/or the fitting of silent blocks on the cab floor and suspension devices on one or both axles.