Comparison of the Mineral and Nutraceutical Profiles of Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum L.) Grown in Organic and Conventional Fields of Valdichiana, a Traditional Cultivation Area of Tuscany, Italy

In the Valdichiana area (Tuscany, Italy) an ancient native landrace of elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum L.), locally known as “Aglione della Valdichiana”, has long been cultivated. The aim of this study was to check whether there are differences in the mineral and nutraceutical profiles of the Aglione della Valdichiana cultivated conventionally and organically. Based on the analysis by ICP-MS of a wide array of major, minor, essential, and non-essential trace elements as well as rare earth elements, and the evaluation of the content of polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidants, soluble proteins, soluble sugars, and starch, as well as the weight and water content, it was concluded that differences in the mineral and nutraceutical profiles of organically and conventionally grown bulbs were very limited. Only a statistically (p < 0.05) higher concentration of Cd (+2620%), Co (+113%), Mn (+55%), Rb (+180%), and Sb (+180%), as well as glucose (+37%) in conventionally cultivated bulbs emerged. Cadmium was the only element slightly higher than in the “reference plant,” but with a negligible risk (three orders of magnitude lower) for human health based on consumption. It is concluded that we failed to find evidence of healthier food or a higher nutraceutical quality for organically cultivated elephant garlic.

Design, Development and Testing of Feeding Grippers for Vegetable Plug Transplanters

Vegetable transplanting is an important and advantageous practice in vegetables production systems. In recent years, the development of vegetable transplanting tools has increased, as well as the interest for automatic and robotic transplanters. However, at present, the feeding of transplanting machines is often still performed by hand. This paper presents the design, development and testing of a needle gripper and a two-finger gripper for vegetable transplanting. Both grippers were self-designed and tested for picking, lifting and transplanting plug seedlings. Tests have been conducted on fennel (Foeniculum vulgare L.), leek (Allium ampeloprasum L.) chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seedlings to determine the impact that gripper typology might have on the further growth of plants after transplanting. The average success rate of the two-finger gripper in the transplanting experiment was 95% and of the needle gripper 81.75%, respectively. Although neither gripper typology affected the growth of the seedlings after transplanting, several design implications were identified in order to improve the performance of both grippers. Furthermore, the two-finger gripper is more reliable for lettuce and chicory, while the needle gripper requires root plugs with higher firmness and cohesion to prevent shattering.

Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Soils and Bulbs of Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum L.) Grown in Valdichiana, a Traditional Cultivation Area of Tuscany, Italy

The aim of this study was to provide, for the first time, data on the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils and bulbs of elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum L.) cultivated in Valdichiana, a traditional agricultural area of Tuscany, Italy. Bulbs of elephant garlic and soil samples were collected in four cultivation fields and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl, U, V, Zn. The concentrations of these PTEs in bulbs and cultivation soils were used to calculate geochemical, ecological and health risk indices. The results of this study suggest that, although bulbs of elephant garlic from the Valdichiana area may present slightly high concentrations of Cd, Ni and Pb, the associated health risk based on the daily intake is absolutely negligible. Cultivation soils had somewhat high Cu concentrations probably due to the diffuse use of Cu-based products in agriculture, but showed overall a very low ecological risk.

Collecting and regenerating populations of the Allium ampeloprasum complex from Greece

Collecting expeditions are of prime importance to acquire genetically unique material, as for many crops and their wild relatives, large gaps are present in collections worldwide. This is also true for the three species of the Allium ampeloprasum complex, native to Greece, which are considered as the crop wild relatives of cultivated leek ( ). Therefore, a collecting expedition was carried out in Greece in 2009. A total of 62 populations of A. ampeloprasum, 20 populations of A. , 19 populations of A. and three mixed species populations were sampled. The sampled populations were mostly small (less than 50 plants), but sometimes large populations (more than 10,000 plants) were encountered, especially for A. . Two different reproduction systems were observed in A. ampeloprasum, which is probably due to level differences. The sexual type was predominantly found along cultivated fields, whereas the asexual type occurred in abandoned fields together with (L). and Cistus . Regeneration protocols were developed for these species as the of cultivated leek is different from its wild relatives. Regenerating A. ampeloprasum was more difficult compared to the other two species. Ten years after the collecting mission only one-third of the collected material has been regenerated. This is partly due to the characteristics of the material and partly because the Dutch collectors and the Greek competent national authorities on Access and Benefit Sharing were not able to conclude a specific arrangement which also involved the commercial use of the material.