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Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an aromatic annual plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, cultivated and utilized throughout the world. Basil has a culinary value, and pharmaceutical properties. The aromatic oil extracted from its leaves has antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Selenium (Se) is an essential element for humans, and acts as antioxidant and anticarcinogenic agent. Since healthy nutrient plant compounds are more bioavailable than compounds contained in food supplements, biofortification of fruiting and leafy vegetables with Se is a good way to increase consumption and supplementation of Se by humans. Further, Se appears to be effective in delaying fruit ripening and plant senescence, thus decreasing postharvest losses due to enhanced antioxidation. We investigated the effect of Se addition on production and quality traits of Ocimum basilicum L. 'Tigullio'. Two experiments were conducted on sweet basil seedlings hydroponically grown under greenhouse conditions at rate of 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2, 4 mg Se L‑1. Selenium was added to the nutrient solution as sodium selenate. In order to evaluate the growth, physiology, and nutritional value of basil plants the following parameters were determined at harvest time: plant biomass, antioxidant capacity, total phenols, rosmarinic acid, nitrate, macro- and micronutrients, total chlorophyll and total carotenoid. Our results showed that the addition of selenium significantly and linearly increased the Se content in basil. In general, selenium did not affect the plant biomass and the quality of product. The amount of Se accumulated in plants could provide the rational Se intake for human nutrition in accordance with the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) guidelines.

Public green areas represent a heavy burden for local Councils and they are often neglected due to a lack of resources. In fact traditional horticulture requires a large amount of agronomical and economical input to succeed. Since the 1970s in northern Europe and USA it has been common practice to manage roadsides, roundabouts and derelict urban areas with mixed plantings of annual and perennial wildflowers with a consequent large reduction in input (water and chemicals). In the Mediterranean regions very few studies have been carried out on this subject, in spite of the more serious water shortage. The Agency for the Development and Innovation in Agriculture and Forestry (ARSIA) of Tuscany, Italy, has financed the project "Production and strategic employment of wildflowers for the beautification and environmental regeneration of derelict, urban and peri-urban areas". Its aim was to study the ecology of some wildflowers and their suitability for naturalistic plantings and to promote a more sustainable urban horticulture. Twelve plantings were set up in different areas of Tuscany in cooperation with town councils, schools and motorway companies. Soils were sampled to determine their physical and chemical characteristics. The plantings were monitored up until the flowering period and sustainable management was employed. Most of the species thrived, while the soils turned out to be unsuitable for traditional ornamental plantings. Most of the species flowered in the first and second year. The use of local wildflowers in naturalistic plantings proved to be a low-cost technique for managing green areas, contributing to biodiversity, and a useful tool for the conservation of species

One approach to reduce the waste of water and chemicals in hydroponics and the resultant environmental pollution is the development of a drain nutrient solution reuse system, which is based on the cultivation of plants with successively higher salt tolerance. In a cascade cropping systems salt-tolerant crops would be cultivated with salt-enriched nutrient solutions flushed out of growing systems with less tolerant species. The drainage nutrient solution becomes progressively more saline as each successive species is grown and it is finally discarded when the salinity is too high for cropping, but the nutrient content (in particular that of nitrate and phosphate) is low and, therefore, environmentally-safe. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the feasibility to use a cascade cropping system (based on recirculating nutrient solution culture) with a round-fruit tomato as a drainage (exhausted) water-donor crop and a cherry tomato as a drainage water-user crop, in order to limit the fertiliser losses in the environment with a contemporaneous economic production. In this study, it was also included a treatment involving a tomato culture irrigated with a synthetic drainage water (prepared with fresh water and salts) with the aim to distinguish the genuine effects of high salinity of exhausted solution from those that may be related to the presence of potentially toxic root exudates. The results demonstrated that cherry tomato may be grown with exhausted nutrient solutions that are flushed out from a culture of more salt-sensitive tomato cultivar, thus reducing the environmental impact that is provoked by semi-closed soilless systems.