Sesto Fiorentino Unit

PRIN 2017: A multidisciplinary approach to gain sustainable improvement of rice productivity through the co-cultivation with the fern Azolla and its cyanobacterial symbiont

This project focuses on the development of a sustainable innovative way to enhance the productivity of rice (Oryza sativa) under resource-limiting, sub-optimal environmental conditions. The research activity aims at investigating the co-cultivation of rice with Azolla spp., an aquatic pteridophyte that has co-evolved with Anabaena azollae, a symbiotic nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria inhabiting the fern leaflets. The benefits of Azolla spp. have been already well documented through decades of agronomic studies. However, the nature of molecular interactions, particularly the effects of volatile organic compounds (VOC)released by Azolla–Anabaena on rice remain unknown…

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Aurumfolium

The AURUMFOLIUM project aims to identify, enhance and optimize alternative sources of income for Tuscan farms, using by-products that are currently scarcely utilized such as leaves, flowers or fruits of  species native of Mediterranean coastal environment. This aim can be achieved by transferring the scientific knowledge acquired by IPSP (Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection)-CNR and by the University of Florence (DAGRI) on the cultivation of Mediterranean  shrubs to two Tuscan farms, that have the main objective to obtain plant material enriched in secondary metabolites with nutraceutical actions through low environmental…

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