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A Spectroscopic Approach to Evaluate the Effects of Different Soil Tillage Methods and Nitrogen Fertilization Levels on the Biochemical Composition of Durum Wheat ( Triticum turgidum subsp. durum ) Leaves and Caryopses

Author

Listed:
  • Chiara Pro

    (Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
    These authors equally contributed to this work.)

  • Danilo Basili

    (Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
    These authors equally contributed to this work.
    Current address: Centre for Molecular Informatics, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.)

  • Valentina Notarstefano

    (Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Alessia Belloni

    (Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Marco Fiorentini

    (Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Stefano Zenobi

    (Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Sonila Alia

    (Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Biochemistry, Biology and Physics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Arianna Vignini

    (Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Biochemistry, Biology and Physics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Roberto Orsini

    (Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Elisabetta Giorgini

    (Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

Abstract

The agricultural sector is required to produce food at the same pace as population growth, while accounting for pollution and costs. For this reason, conservative agricultural practices have been employed worldwide. Attenuated Total Reflectance–Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy has the ability to provide a snapshot of the macromolecular composition of a sample in a timely and cost-effective way and it has been widely applied in the field of agriculture to assess food quality. The aim of this study was to exploit ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to assess the impact of different soil tillage methods (conventional tillage, CT; minimum tillage, MT, and no tillage, NT) and nitrogen fertilization levels (0, 90 and 180 kg N ha −1 ) on the macromolecular composition of leaves and caryopses of durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum subsp. durum ). The analysis of the spectral data revealed that the quality of durum wheat, in terms of protein content, grown on soil with no tillage was not reduced. Indeed, with regards to caryopses, the different tillage methods influenced only the lipid and hemicellulose content, whereas the macromolecular composition of leaves was sensitive to tillage methods mostly during the early stage of growth. Moreover, no relevant effects were found in leaves and caryopses when different fertilizer concentrations were used. These results provide important knowledge supporting the adoption of both no-tillage soil treatments and reduced fertilization dosage for the development of durum wheat management strategies and support the use of spectroscopy for conservative agriculture practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Pro & Danilo Basili & Valentina Notarstefano & Alessia Belloni & Marco Fiorentini & Stefano Zenobi & Sonila Alia & Arianna Vignini & Roberto Orsini & Elisabetta Giorgini, 2021. "A Spectroscopic Approach to Evaluate the Effects of Different Soil Tillage Methods and Nitrogen Fertilization Levels on the Biochemical Composition of Durum Wheat ( Triticum turgidum subsp. durum ) Leaves and Caryopses," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:4:p:321-:d:530783
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marco Fiorentini & Stefano Zenobi & Roberto Orsini, 2021. "Remote and Proximal Sensing Applications for Durum Wheat Nutritional Status Detection in Mediterranean Area," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Marco Fiorentini & Stefano Zenobi & Elisabetta Giorgini & Danilo Basili & Carla Conti & Chiara Pro & Elga Monaci & Roberto Orsini, 2019. "Nitrogen and chlorophyll status determination in durum wheat as influenced by fertilization and soil management: Preliminary results," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Benjamin Leon Bodirsky & Alexander Popp & Hermann Lotze-Campen & Jan Philipp Dietrich & Susanne Rolinski & Isabelle Weindl & Christoph Schmitz & Christoph Müller & Markus Bonsch & Florian Humpenöder &, 2014. "Reactive nitrogen requirements to feed the world in 2050 and potential to mitigate nitrogen pollution," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-7, September.
    4. Cameron M. Pittelkow & Xinqiang Liang & Bruce A. Linquist & Kees Jan van Groenigen & Juhwan Lee & Mark E. Lundy & Natasja van Gestel & Johan Six & Rodney T. Venterea & Chris van Kessel, 2015. "Productivity limits and potentials of the principles of conservation agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 517(7534), pages 365-368, January.
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