Exploitability of cultivated and wild cardoon as long-term, low-input energy crops

Submitted: 29 November 2014
Accepted: 12 January 2015
Published: 11 March 2015
Abstract Views: 2312
PDF: 636
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Authors

  • Rosario Paolo Mauro rosario.mauro@unict.it Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
  • Orazio Sortino Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
  • Gaetano Roberto Pesce Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
  • Michele Agnello Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
  • Sara Lombardo Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
  • Gaetano Pandino Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
  • Giovanni Mauromicale Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università di Catania, Italy.
The potential ability in terms of biomass, achenes, oil and energy yield of two Cynara cardunculus L. genotypes (one cultivated cardoon and one wild cardoon) was evaluated along a 7-year experiment. It was carried out in a marginal farmland of Southern Italy, with low soil fertility and minimal external inputs. Under these conditions, they reached an annual harvestable biomass ranging from 0.74 (wild cardoon) to 1.46 kg m−2 (cultivated cardoon) and an energy yield ranging from 13.8 to 27.5 kJ m−2. The lower heating value of biomass (including achenes) was on average 18.2 kJ kg−1, while the oil yield from achenes varied between 25.1 and 25.7 g 100 g−1 of dry matter. The cultivated cardoon was able to produce high yields until the fifth season and therefore is prone for medium long-time cropping systems. Conversely, wild cardoon showed a most stable yield pattern and plant survival over seasons, suggesting its particular suitability for perennial cropping systems in Mediterranean marginal areas.

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Mauro, R. P., Sortino, O., Pesce, G. R., Agnello, M., Lombardo, S., Pandino, G., & Mauromicale, G. (2015). Exploitability of cultivated and wild cardoon as long-term, low-input energy crops. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 10(1), 44–46. https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2015.638