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Biostimulants represent an important category of agricultural inputs characterized by multiple functions. They are used to assist crop growth, yield and to enhance the final quality of produces. Their classification is generally based on claims (i.e., which services they provide to the crop), even though their biological effects are often species-dependent and highly influenced by external factors (i.e., the growing conditions). This review provides a survey of the available scientific literature on the use of biostimulant substances in fruit production, with the specific aim to clarify their predominant mode and time of application. An extremely varied scenario emerged where foliar treatments are common for seaweed extracts, humic and fulvic acids, and where protein hydrolysates and silicon are applied both to the soil (drench) or sprayed to the canopy. Dosages were difficult to compare between the considered studies given the wide range of tested products and the uncertainty in their actual composition. Regarding the number of applications, biostimulants are generally applied following a calendar-approach, covering most of the growing season. When their use is intended to enhance crop tolerance toward environmental stresses, biostimulants are mainly applied before the stressful event to prime plant physiological defenses. Further studies based on multiple-year research projects and standard methodological protocols are urgently needed to verify a clear compliance with biostimulant claims and to evaluate their cost-effectiveness for the fruit production sector.

Understanding vineyard spatial structure can help optimise grape production and ultimately wine quality by targeting the application of inputs through precision viticulture methods. We explored the spatially dependent variability of various soil, vine and fruit parameters, including yield and grape composition, in a South Australian Shiraz vineyard located in the Barossa Valley during the 2022/23 season. Our aim was to investigate the interdependencies between spatial structures within a vineyard block as related to soil and vine metrics, including predawn leaf water potential, midday stem water potential and leaf gas exchange under different soil moisture conditions. Maps of each parameter were produced using 114 spatially separated data points per variogram. Yield components were measured at harvest, and fruit composition was assessed at harvest across the vineyard at the same points. Soil parameters were found to have stronger spatial structure than vine parameters (e.g., leaf gas exchange, stem water potential) and were therefore deemed to be better predictors of overall vineyard variability. The pattern of spatial variability of a given soil or vine parameter was influenced by the spatial pattern of the underlying parameters that influence it.

Barley is a very important crop particularly in marginal dry areas, where it often serves as the most viable option for farmers. Additionally, barley carries great significance in the Western world, serving not only as a fundamental crop for animal feed and malting but also as a nutritious food source. The broad adaptability of barley and its ability to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses often make this species the sole cereal that can be cultivated in arid regions. The collection and utilization of barley genetic resources are crucial for identifying valuable traits to enhance productivity and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. This review aims to provide an overview of the management and exploitation of barley genetic resources. Furthermore, the review explores the relationship between gene banks and participatory breeding, offering insights into the diversity and utilization of barley genetic resources through some examples such as the initiatives undertaken by ICARDA. Finally, this contribution highlights the importance of these resources for boosting barley productivity, addressing climate change impacts, and meeting the growing food demands in a rapidly changing agriculture. The understanding and utilizing the rich genetic diversity of barley can contribute to sustainable agriculture and ensure the success of this vital crop for future generations globally.

Organic farming is an environmentally friendly management practice that excludes the use of synthetic inputs, but at the same time is associated with lower yields than conventional production. In an attempt to compensate for yield reduction, resulting from foregoing the use of synthetic fertilizers, we hypothesized that the use of biostimulant products could provide much-desired food security. In light of this, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to compare and evaluate the effects of the foliar application of three different non-microbial biostimulants (a seaweed extract, a plant protein hydrolysate, and a plant extract) on the yield, mineral profile, and physiological response of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) grown in an organic farming context. Regardless of the type of biostimulant, treated plants showed significant improvement in photosynthetic performance. Specifically, the application of plant-derived protein hydrolysate increased ACO2 by 34.5% compared with control. Despite this, only the application of plant-derived protein hydrolysate significantly increased fruit yield per unit area (+13.5%). The improved performance of plants treated with plant-derived protein hydrolysate was associated with an overall improvement in mineral profile (compared to control +49.4 and 33.0% in NO3− and Mg2+ concentration, respectively). In contrast, application of the seaweed biostimulant increased (+17.4%) fruit antioxidant activity (DPPH) compared with control plants. These results underscore how the diverse origins of non-microbial biostimulants are responsible for specific responses in crops that can be exploited by organic growers to increase productivity.

The demand for high-quality strawberries continues to grow, emphasizing the need for innovative agricultural practices to enhance both yield and fruit quality. In this context, the utilization of natural products, such as biostimulants, has emerged as a promising avenue for improving strawberry production while aligning with sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural approaches. This study explores the influence of a bacterial filtrate (BF), a vegetal-derived protein hydrolysate (PH), and a standard synthetic auxin (SA) on strawberry, investigating their effects on yield, fruit quality, mineral composition and metabolomics of leaves and fruits. Agronomic trial revealed that SA and BF significantly enhanced early fruit yield due to their positive influence on flowering and fruit set, while PH treatment favored a gradual and prolonged fruit set, associated with an increased shoot biomass and sustained production. Fruit quality analysis showed that PH-treated fruits exhibited an increase of firmness and soluble solids content, whereas SA-treated fruits displayed lower firmness and soluble solids content. The ionomic analysis of leaves and fruits indicated that all treatments provided sufficient nutrients, with heavy metals within regulatory limits. Metabolomics indicated that PH stimulated primary metabolites, while SA and BF directly affected flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis, and PH increased fruit quality through enhanced production of beneficial metabolites. This research offers valuable insights for optimizing strawberry production and fruit quality by harnessing the potential of natural biostimulants as viable alternative to synthetic compounds.

Environmental and economic costs demand a rapid transition to more sustainable farming systems, which are still heavily dependent on chemicals for crop protection. Despite their widespread application, powdery mildew (PM) and downy mildew (DM) continue to generate serious economic penalties for grape and wine production. To reduce these losses and minimize environmental impacts, it is important to predict infections with high confidence and accuracy, allowing timely and efficient intervention. This review provides an appraisal of the predictive tools for PM and DM in a vineyard, a specialized farming system characterized by high crop protection cost and increasing adoption of precision agriculture techniques. Different methodological approaches, from traditional mechanistic or statistic models to machine and deep learning, are outlined with their main features, potential, and constraints. Our analysis indicated that strategies are being continuously developed to achieve the required goals of ease of monitoring and timely prediction of diseases. We also discuss that scientific and technological advances (e.g., in weather data, omics, digital solutions, sensing devices, data science) still need to be fully harnessed, not only for modelling plant–pathogen interaction but also to develop novel, integrated, and robust predictive systems and related applied technologies. We conclude by identifying key challenges and perspectives for predictive modelling of phytopathogenic disease in vineyards.

Nowadays, there is a large demand for nutrient-dense fruits to promote nutritional and metabolic human health. The production of commercial fruit crops is becoming progressively input-dependent to cope with the losses caused by biotic and abiotic stresses. A wide variety of underutilized crops, which are neither commercially cultivated nor traded on a large scale, are mainly grown, commercialized and consumed locally. These underutilized fruits have many advantages in terms of ease to grow, hardiness and resilience to climate changes compared to the major commercially grown crops. In addition, they are exceptionally rich in important phytochemicals and have medicinal value. Hence, their consumption may help to meet the nutritional needs of rural populations, such as those living in fragile arid and semi-arid regions around the world. In addition, local people are well aware of the nutritional and medicinal properties of these crops. Therefore, emphasis must be given to the rigorous study of the conservation and the nutritional characterization of these crops so that the future food basket may be widened for enhancing its functional and nutritional values. In this review, we described the ethnobotany, medicinal and nutritional values, biodiversity conservation and utilization strategies of 19 climate-resilient important, underutilized fruit crops of arid and semi-arid regions (Indian jujube, Indian gooseberry, lasora, bael, kair, karonda, tamarind, wood apple, custard apple, jamun, jharber, mahua, pilu, khejri, mulberry, chironji, manila tamarind, timroo, khirni).

Traditional crop varieties are receiving increasing attention in sustainable agriculture, conservation genetics, and plant science because they offer significant and largely unexplored diversity. The DNA profiling of landraces is being applied to numerous crops, yet a detailed knowledge of morphological diversity is often needed to increase the efficiency of both the conservation and exploitation of local germplasm. In this work, morphological, pomological, and fruit-quality traits (16 qualitative and 16 quantitative) were collected from 44 traditional apricot landraces cultivated in Campania, the Italian region with the highest number of traditional varieties. The aim was to assess varietal diversity and to highlight possible trends and phenotypes that may have driven the morphological differentiation. All traits were polymorphic, and each variety had a distinctive phenotype. The qualitative and quantitative traits provided different classifications of the varieties. Nonetheless, the Factorial Analysis of Mixed data indicated that, for both categories of variables, the fruit traits were the most influential for landrace classification. Interestingly, some easily discernible color phenotypes of the fruits mostly contributed to the discrimination of the analyzed apricot germplasm. We conclude that these specific, commercially relevant features of the fruit were important drivers of the differentiation of the cultivated apricot material at regional scale.

‘Oliva di Gaeta’ is almost certainly the most important and well-known PDO denomination for table olives in Italy. Their production is based on a specific two-stage trade preparation called the ‘Itrana’ method. In this work, we investigated how variations in the duration of the initial water fermentation (i.e., 15 and 30 days) and the salt concentration (i.e., 6% and 8% NaCl) influence the chemical features, microbial dynamics, polyphenols, volatile organic compounds, and sensory features of ‘Oliva di Gaeta’. The time of the addition of salt did not affect the final concentration in the brine, but a longer initial water fermentation (before salt addition) led to lower pH values. The bacterial count constantly increased until the salt addition (i.e., either 15 or 30 days), while the yeast population peaked on day 30. Generally, the two different salt concentrations did not affect the count of microorganisms at the end of fermentation, with the only exception being a higher lactic acid bacteria count for the treatment with 6% salt added at 30 days. At commercial maturity, the crucial bitter tastant oleuropein was not completely removed from the drupes, and differences in salt concentration and the length of the first-stage water fermentation did not influence its content at the end of olive curing. Richer volatile profiles of olives were detected with higher-salt treatments, while the combination of low salt and early saline treatment provided a more distinct profile. Longer initial water fermentation caused a small increase in some phenolic compounds (e.g., iso-verbascoside, verbascoside, and hydroxytyrosol-glucoside). A panel test indicated that salt application at 30 days resulted in a more “Sour” and “Bitter” taste, irrespective of the salt concentration. The low salt concentration coupled with the late saline treatment resulted in more “Fruity” notes, probably due to the higher production of esters by lactobacilli. The slightly bitter perception of the olives was consistent with the partial removal of oleuropein. Our work revealed the characteristics of the ‘Itrana’ method and that the variation in salt concentration and its time of application changes parameters ranging from the microbial dynamics to the sensory profile. Specifically, our data indicate that 6% NaCl coupled with a longer initial water fermentation is the most different condition: it is less effective in blocking microbial growth but, at the same time, is more potent in altering the nutritional (e.g., polyphenols) and sensorial qualities (e.g., bitterness and fruitiness) of ‘Oliva di Gaeta’.

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an economically important tree species globally cultivated in temperate areas. Italy has an ample number of traditional varieties, but numerous landraces are abandoned and at risk of extinction because of increasing urbanization, agricultural intensification, and varietal renewal. In this work, we investigated the morphological and genetic diversity present in an ex-situ collection of 28 neglected varieties belonging to the so-called “Vesuvian apricot”. Our aim was to understand the level of diversity and the possible link between the promotion of specific fruit types (e.g., by public policies) and the intraspecific variation in apricot. The combination of five continuous and seven categorical traits allowed us to phenotypically distinguish the varieties; while fruit quality-related attributes displayed high variation, both apricot size and skin colour were more uniform. The twelve fluorescent-based Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) markers identified cultivar-specific molecular profiles and revealed a high molecular diversity, which poorly correlated with that described by the morphological analysis. Our results highlighted the complementary information provided by the two sets of descriptors and that DNA markers are necessary to separate morphologically related apricot landraces. The observed morphological and genetic differences suggest a loss of diversity influenced by maintenance breeding of specific pomological traits (e.g., skin colour and size). Finally, our study provided evidence to recommend complementary strategies to avoid the loss of diversity in apricot. Actions should pivot on both the promotion of easily identified premium products and more inclusive biodiversity-centred on-farm strategies.