Agronomic, Energetic and Environmental Aspects of Biomass Energy Crops Suitable for Italian Environments

Environmental Effects of Genetically Engineered Woody Biomass Crops

The use of genetically engineered crop plants has raised concerns about the risks these crops pose to natural and agricultural ecosystems. The potential environmental hazards of transgenic woody biomass crops is discussed, and based on the biology of these crops and their transgenes, recommend a scientific framework for assessing risk. The potential impacts of transgenes based on both character...

Biotechnology in Agriculture: Agronomic and Environmental Considerations & Reflections Based on 15 Years of Gm Crops

Genetically-modified (GM) varieties of crops, notably soybean, maize, rape (canola) and cotton were first grown commercially in 1996. In 2010 they occupied 148 million ha in 29 countries, mostly in the Americas and Asia but with an obvious absence in Europe where their introduction has been controversial due to concerns about environmental impairment and adverse impacts on human health. This pa...

Gm Crops 1996-2012: a Review of Agronomic, Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts

Valorization of Agroforest Crops for Biomass Utilization

There is a growing need to consider alternative agricultural strategies that move an agricultural industry focused on food production to one that also supplies the needs of other industrial sectors, such as paper, textiles, biofuels or added-value chemicals, in the context of the so-called lignocellulose biorefinery. Biorefineries use renewable raw materials to produce energy together with a wi...

Agronomic Approaches for Increasing Iron Availability to Food Crops

Iron availability in calcareous soils, and Fe uptake and translocation in plants are major factors limiting the agricultural use of land. The nutritional value of crops as Fe sources for humans is often reduced due to Fe-deficiency in plants. Agronomic approaches to overcome these shortcomings include: (i) methods aimed at increasing the availability of indigenous soil-Fe; (ii) soil and/or foli...