Different fertilisation scenarios were investigated in open field experiment to assess their effects on production and quality of processing tomato and soil chemical properties – as holistic approach, under organic farming in Mediterranean conditions of Southern Italy. Treatments involved application of amendments produced from on-farm and food-industry wastes compared with a fertilisation scenario based completely on external inputs (organic fertilisers) and a control, where no inputs were applied. Our study revealed that integrated nutrient management could serve to maintain soil fertility and sustain high yields and/or better quality.

We study the Soil Penetrometer Resistance (SPR) in two different plots: conventional tillage and no tillage. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) highlighted that tillage system, soil depth and their interaction were statistically significant to explain the variance of SPR data from soil depth. Multifractal scaling was evident and added information to describe the spatial arrangement of depth-dependent penetrometer datasets in all soil layers, which was complementary to ANOVA results.

Laboratory and field experiments were carried out to evaluate nitrogen mineralisation from wine-distillery waste compost, applied at different doses. The nitrogen mineralisation pattern of this compost suggests that it is a mature compost very resistant to mineralisation, with a slow release of inorganic nitrogen. Laboratory data were fitted to a non-linear regression to obtain N mineralisation constants that allows to predict N mineralisation under field conditions.

In persimmon plantations under simulated rainfall experiments a 60% straw cover (75 g m^–2) reduced water losses from 60% to 13%, sediment detachment from 1014 to 47 g and erosion from 5.1 to 0.2 Mg ha^–1 h^–1.

This paper introduces the importance, state of the art and the objectives of the present study. It also explains in details the methodology used as the Net Carbon Flux assessment. The obtained results are illustrated and discussed and finally, the conclusions gather in brief the considerations and recommendations resulting from this study.

Green manure improves soil fertility, but nutrient availability and potential losses depend on the quality of cover crop used. The fate of N derived from decomposing ¹⁵N-labelled winter cereals, with or without the supply of an organic N fertiliser, was studied in a mesocosm field experiment. The stabilisation in soil aggregates of residue N and the portion lost from the system differed in the cereals studied. Knowledge of these mechanisms can be helpful for sustainable land management.

The hypothesis was the decomposition differs not only between organic materials, but was influenced by the soil clay and calcium carbonate contents. To test it, two decomposed products (olive mill waste compost, goat manure) and one fresh legume residue (alfalfa shoots) were selected. The carbon and macro-nutrients (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) were followed during one year of in-situ incubation in three Lebanese soils in comparable sub-humid Mediterrranean conditions.

The effects of organic amendments (OA) applied through biofumigation and biosolarisation in the first season on soil nitrate concentration and tomato fruit yield and quality were evaluated. Addition of OA increased soil nitrate concentration, more so with biosolarisation. Fuit yield was higher in the biosolarised plots in the first crop after treatments, while no effects were observed in the second crop after treatments. Quality attributes improved with some OA treatments.

This work assessed the thermal and productive responses of different mulches in two places during a 3-year field study on processing tomato. Thermally, polyethylene could be considered an atypical mulch causing higher temperatures in the soil, but it is not associated with a higher yield. Oxo-degradable and biodegradable plastic mulches had similar responses, making them interchangeable in each environment. Tomato yield was correlated positively only with the minimum soil temperature

Polyethylene mulches used to improve agricultural production remain polluting the environment after harvest. As an alternative, the degradation of five potentially biodegradable plastic films for mulching was analysed during 6 months under laboratory conditions in soil. Chemical changes in the films, increased soil microbial activity was noticed and the films visually disappeared in less than 6 months at different rates. We concluded that biodegradable films are an alternative to polyethylene.

Agronomic performance of biodegradable instead of polyethylene mulches requires the integrity of the material during the crop grow, followed by fast degradation after harvest. We provide a degradation scale as a methodological tool to evaluate mulch degradation. The scale is proved to conveniently determine and compare the above-soil and in-soil degradation of a diversity of degradable mulches in a processing tomato crop cultivated for three seasons in five Spanish locations. Finally, to standardise parameters and criteria a unified degradation qualitative scale is suggested.

Can mycorrhizal plants be used in a revegetation process? Are mycorrhizal plants better than ordinary plants? Based on the finding of this study, we concluded that mycorrhizal plants are suitable for soil protection and revegetation under field conditions, but the success of the revegetation depends on the environment and species.

Humus, nitrogen (N) and energy balances, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were calculated for a 14-year field experiment using the model software REPRO. Compost fertilisation at a rate of 8 t/ha.year resulted in a positive humus balance of 115 kg carbon (C)/ha.year. With mineral fertilisation, humus balances were moderately negative (–169 to –227 kg C/ha.year). GHG balances indicated negative GHG emissions with compost rates >14 t/ha.year.