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Considering the increase in market requests for bio-products, it is necessary to study the possibility of cultivating industrial crops in areas still untapped to extend the total cultivation surface, reducing land competition with food crops. With this aim in mind, we studied the harvesting performance and cost, and seed losses of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cultivation during two growing seasons and in three different locations: (A) an agroforestry field, (B) a marginal field and (C) a dedicated field utilized as a control. The overall efficiency of the cultivation system was higher in location C in respect to the other two fields. The yield was 12–22% and 21–26% higher in location C compared to locations B and A, respectively, while seed losses were 40–33% and 28–50% lower in C compared to locations A and B, as well as the total harvesting costs, which were 45% and 31–35% lower in location C compared to locations A and B, respectively. Despite this, the results highlighted how the reduction in cultivation efficiency given by limiting factors was lower compared to that of other crops, highlighting the possibility of cultivating Safflower for bio-products’ production on alternative lands.

Camelina is an interesting crop and producers must adopt cultural practices to achieve the highest yield and oil content possible. Considering the size of the seed, the harvesting phase is crucial to reduce losses and maximize income. Furthermore, in recent years, with the worsening of climatic conditions due to global warming, crop management can no longer follow the classic seasonality but must adapt to new climatic conditions. The possibility of double cropping, that is the process of producing two crops in a single season, allows multiple advantages such as weed control, greater remuneration, and less exposure to bare soil which determine greater resilience of the production system. To enable this, especially in recent years, even a few days of difference in the cultivation phases can guarantee the success of double cropping. For these reasons, the authors compared two different harvesting strategies: direct combining at full maturity (DC); swathing + combining at full maturity (SW). The working performance, cost, and seed losses associated with each harvesting method were calculated. The results highlighted how SW reduced the crop cycle length by 11 days, did not influence seed losses and crop yield but showed lower performance and higher cost with respect to DC.

Many climatic variables are projected to occur with more intense and frequent extreme events, possibly unpredictable patterns and negative feedback loops with other environmental processes. Agriculture has faced uncertainty regarding ground temperature and rainfall distribution during the last few years, making water availability one of the major concerns for farm management. In this scenario, rainwater harvesting could represent a powerful tool to mitigate this problem, and consequently, the research community has been fostering new technical solutions. On the other hand, a few studies on agronomic assessment of rainwater harvesting systems are present in scientific literature. The present study reports preliminary data of a long-term study on a Flexible Water Storage System (FWSS) evaluating the possibility of enhancing agriculture systems resilience, shifting from rainfed production to irrigated agriculture relying on excessive rainfall, collectible from extreme events. The idea of intercepting excess rainfall, which is generally lost, thanks to an innovative water harvesting system, and using it to mitigate drought stress for crops is in line with sustainable approaches aiming to improve the resilience of agricultural systems. The results highlighted that the system studied could potentially collect an annual average of 831.7 m3 of water, mitigating the excess of water in the ditch that can potentially cause flooding and storing fresh water to provide irrigation during dry periods.

Inulin is accumulated as a reserve carbohydrate in the roots and tubers of many plants belonging to the Asteraceae family. At present, most of the inulin for nutraceutical purposes is produced from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) and Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), and cardoon is proved to synthetize and store a high quantity of inulin in roots. Inulin in the roots of cardoon reaches the maximum content before the beginning of flowers formation in May. Due to the limited favorable period for harvesting the roots, storage plays a key role in the supply chain. The complete drying of cardoon roots before the storage has been proved to prevent the degradation of inulin up to 6 months of storage. Because drying is a costly operation, in the present study, energy-saving and the effect on percentage inulin content in cardoon roots dried at different moisture contents before storage were assessed. From 48.2% inulin retrievable at the beginning of the investigated period (100% dry matter), after 1 month of storage, about 2% reduction was recorded on average in H0 and H12.5 treatments, while about 10% reduction was shown (with no statistical differences) in treatments at higher moisture contents (TQ, H50, and H25). These values remained constant until the end of storage, except for TQ treatment, where inulin content decreased progressively up to 38.7% w/w. From an economic point of view, limiting the drying time and storing roots at a moisture content higher than 0% leads to an income loss of 2,000–3,000 €/t of roots. Therefore, full drying is the most cost-effective solution in the optic of producing the highest possible amount of inulin and could be avoided just in the case of immediate roots extraction and processing in a few days.

Opuntia spp. are crops well adapted to adverse environments and have great economic potential. Their constituents, including fruits, cladodes, and flowers, have a high nutritional value and are rich in value-added compounds. Cladodes have an appreciable content in dietary fiber, as well as bioactive compounds such as kaempferol, quercetin, and isorhamnetin. Fruits are a major source of bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids and vitamin C. The seeds are mainly composed of unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E. The flowers are also rich in phenolic compounds. Therefore, in addition to their traditional uses, the different plant fractions can be processed to meet multiple applications in the food industry. Several bakery products have been developed with the incorporation of cladode flour. Pectin and mucilage obtained from cladodes can act as edible films and coatings. Fruits, fruit extracts, and fruit by-products have been mixed into food products, increasing their antioxidant capacity and extending their shelf life. Betalains, obtained from fruits, can be used as food colorants and demonstrate promising applications as a sensor in food packaging. This work reviews the most valuable components of the different fractions of this plant and emphasizes its most recent food applications, demonstrating its outstanding value.

Future European strategies to reduce dependence on foreign markets for energy supply and energy production will rely on the further exploitation of the primary sector. Lignocellulosic feedstock for bioenergy production is a valuable candidate, and dedicated crops such as giant reed (Arundo donax L.), miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) have been proven to be suitable for extensive cultivation on marginal lands. The present review aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the mechanical strategies available for harvesting giant reed, miscanthus, reed canary grass, and switchgrass that are suitable for the possible upscaling of their supply chain. Since harvesting is the most impactful phase of a lignocellulosic supply chain in dedicated crops, the associated performance and costs were taken into account in order to provide concrete observations and suggestions for future implementation. The findings of the present review highlighted that the investigated species have a sufficient technology readiness level concerning mechanical harvesting for the upscaling of their cultivation. All the species could indeed be harvested with existing machinery, mostly derived from the context of haymaking, without compromising the work productivity.

Agricultural activities depend heavily on irrigation in arid and semi-arid climates, which are one of the most water-limited areas, reducing agricultural productivity. As the climate changes, the lack of precipitation is expected to aggravate in these areas, requiring careful management of water use. Subsurface water retention technology (SWRT) may hold promise as a management tool to save water use and improve crop drought resistance. In this context, the effect of SWRT on tomato yield, growth, physiology, and biochemical characteristics, as well as soil characteristics under two regimes of water (100% field capacity (FC) and 50% FC) in open field conditions, was investigated. The results here suggest that drought affected tomato performance. Nevertheless, SWRT application significantly increased tomato yield (38%), chlorophyll fluorescence (3%), gas exchange (39%), and chlorophyll total content (49%), as well as soil fertility characteristics, with significant increases in organic matter (23%) and assimilable phosphorus contents (25%) compared with the control. Furthermore, it resulted in a significant reduction in enzymatic antioxidant activities and polyphenol and significant improvement in fruit quality by increasing protein content. This technique should be used as a valuable strategy to save irrigation water and mitigate the negative effects of water deficiency on tomato plants in arid and semi-arid regions.

Pruning residues can have a high quality as feedstock for energy purposes and are largely available in Europe. However, it is still an untapped resource. Such scarce use is due to the need to optimize their supply chain in term of collection machines and the associate cost of collection. A modular chipper (prototype PC50) for pruning harvest was developed. Such prototype is adaptable to various harvesting logistics and may produce a higher quality woodchip compared with the one produced by shredders available in the market. In this work, we tested the performance and quality of the product delivered by the prototype PC50 in various conditions and plant species, after a modulation of the machine settings (counter-rotating toothed rollers [CRR] speed), loading systems ([LS], either big bag or container), and knife types ([KT], either discontinuous hoe shaped knives or continuous helicoidal knives). To take into account of the covariates in the experiment (Cropping season and plant species), LSmeans were computed to have an unbiased estimate of the treatments means. The modulation of LS and KT scarcely affected the performance of the machine. In particular, the choice of the KT affected the field efficiency when the LS was a Tilting box but not a Big Bag. Whereas the continuous knife resulted in a 97% higher material capacity compared to hoe shape knives, the last of which the amount of short sized (

Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is a promising industrial crop suitable for cultivation in marginal conditions in the Mediterranean area, but the mechanical harvesting of the seeds is still usually performed manually. In this manuscript, the authors present a preliminary test to assess the effectiveness of equipping a combine harvester with a sunflower header to mechanically harvest castor beans. Machinery performance, seed loss from impact (ISL) and cleaning systems (CSL), and seed cleaning were evaluated and compared with the results obtained from the same combine harvester equipped with a cereal header. According to the results, no statistically significant difference in CSL was found. Values ranged from 162. 41 kg dry matter (DM) ha−1 in the cereal header to 145.56 kg DM ha−1 in the sunflower header, corresponding, respectively, to 8% w/w and 7% w/w of the potential seed yield (PSY). Using the sunflower header significantly lowered ISL (158.16 kg DM ha−1, i.e., 8% w/w of PSY) in comparison with the cereal header (282.02 kg DM ha−1, i.e., 14% w/w of PSY). This suggests more gentle cutting and conveying capability of the sunflower header to harvest the plants without losing capsules. On the other hand, the use of different headers did not significantly affect the cleaning of the seeds which averaged at 20% of the total seeds collected in both cases. In conclusion, the study highlights that a conventional combine harvester equipped with a sunflower header could be the first step towards the development of a fully mechanized harvest phase in castor beans which triggers lower seed loss and does not negatively affect the cleaning capacity of the combine harvester. Further studies are also encouraged to confirm these findings in other hybrids.

Castor is a candidate crop that grows in marginal lands in the Mediterranean area. It can be grown by utilizing minimal resources to provide unique industrial chemicals or to serve as an energy crop. However, it can be also cultivated with intensive inputs providing higher yields. Whether a high input or a low input scheme is more sustainable depends on the economic and environmental impacts of each case. The objective of the present study, therefore, was to evaluate these impacts under the Mediterranean climate and farming conditions by examining two alternative scenarios: a castor crop grown on a low-inputs field vs. a crop grown in a high-inputs one. The environmental impacts were estimated by following a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology based on GHG emissions. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was performed by switching the functional unit from 1 Mg of castor oil to 1 hectare. The economic feasibility of the castor crop production was assessed by calculating the gross margin, which is referred to the difference between revenues and the variable costs due to the agricultural phases. In addition, the ratio between gross margin and GWP (Global Warming Potential) emissions was applied to calculate the economic performance (gross margin) per unit of environmental burden. Findings showed that the castor oil produced by high inputs resulted in a more sustainable scenario due to its higher yield than low-inputs ones. On the other hand, sensitivity analysis showed that the field management with low inputs showed GHG emissions that were 27% lower than those emitted from the field management with high inputs. Moreover, from an economic point of view, by switching the field management from low inputs to high ones, the Gross Margin increased by about 73%. Finally, the high-inputs scenario showed the best ratio between economic performance and GHG emitted into the atmosphere.

This paper focused on eggs enriched with omega-3-fatty acids with the aim of understanding if functional eggs were of interest to Italian consumers, and analyzing which characteristics of table egg quality, consumers’ attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics affect the consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for eggs enriched with omega-3-fatty acids. We performed an online survey on 312 Italian consumers. The analysis was based on the Tobit regression model. The findings showed that unmarried females were more willing to pay a premium price for functional eggs than male consumers. Furthermore, the probability of showing a higher WTP for functional eggs increased among consumers reporting a higher income. Moreover, the WTP for functional eggs increased with the growing importance that people attributed to items such as the size of eggs, rearing type, feed given to chickens, and the provenience and brand of eggs. These results suggested that consumers need to have clear information about functional eggs. As expected, WTP for functional eggs decreased with increasing neophobia and food techno-neophobia factors. In conclusion, the findings showed an interesting potential for eggs enriched with omega-3-fatty acids, which seems to be a product with high possibility to be greatly appreciated on the market, especially if accompanied by a good, informative campaign for increasing people’s knowledge level.

The potential to use Subsurface Water Retention Systems (SWRSs) to combat desertification and improve agriculture in arid and semiarid areas has already been investigated and proved promising. Nevertheless, a lack of specific machinery has prevented this technology from demonstrating its effectiveness on vast areas. In the present study, a specific prototype is presented along with the results obtained from a preliminary study conducted to assess effectiveness, performance and associated cost. During the test, the machinery permitted the construction of a SWRS 100 cm belowground using a 140 kW tractor. The effective field capacity (EFC) averaged at 0.19 ha h−1 whilst total cost was estimated to be as high as 4800.00 € ha−1. However, 93% of the cost was associated with the purchase cost of the removable impermeable film. A removal operation was also investigated using a 42 kW excavator for evaluating the EFC and cost which averaged at 0.2 ha h−1 and 655.79 € ha−1, respectively.

After many decades when its cultivation was prohibited, hemp is regaining its position as one of the most versatile cultivated crops. Multiplication of monoecious hemp varieties requires manual male plants rouging to keep a high share of monoecious plants in the population. It forces relatively small multiplication fields usually oscillating around 5 ha, where the use of big harvesting machines is not economically feasible. The B-800 mower prototype for hemp panicles proved to be a good alternative to harvest seeds of tall fibrous hemp. The test results of the mower analyzed in this study show that although seed loss on a moderate slope (0.37%) was significantly higher than on a flat slope (0.13%), it was still much lower than in the case of harvesting hemp seed with a combined harvester. Moreover, the field efficiency of 93% is very satisfactory as it is reported for much bigger machines. Finally, the harvesting costs proved to be much lower than most of the machines used for harvesting hemp seed.

The contribution of castor oil for reaching the targets set by RED1 and RED2 in Europe can be tangible if the problem related to the mechanical harvesting is overcome. Dwarf hybrids suitable for mechanical harvesting are already available on the market but the residual moisture of plants and capsules has to be lowered in order to allow mechanization. In the present case of study, three common terminating products (Glyphosate GLY, Diquat DIQ and Spotlight DEF) were tested on Kaiima C1012 hybrid in a complete randomized block design to assess the effectiveness of using chemical products to decrease residual moisture in castor plants. Plants were harvested via combine harvester equipped with cereal header to evaluate seed loss (due to dehiscence, impact and cleaning shoe) and the dehulling capacity of the combine harvester’s cleaning shoe. DIQ decreased significantly moisture content of capsules (7.32%) in comparison to the other treatments, while the lowest plant moisture was recorded in DIQ (62.38%) and GLY (59.12%). The use of DIQ triggered the highest impact seed loss (61.75%) in comparison with GLY (46.50%) and DEF (29.02%). Control plants could not be harvested mechanically due to the high residual moisture content and high density of weeds. The present case of study provides highlights regarding the need to further investigate the best practice to terminate castor plants and to develop a specific combine header to reduce seed loss from impact.

Castor is a crop with an evergreen habit so artificially-induced ripening is an essential precondition for mechanical harvesting of new dwarf annual hybrids. Plants’ moisture imposes a determinant effect both on pre-harvest and post-harvest seed loss, so frequent monitoring of crop ripening is crucial for identifying the optimum moisture for harvest. Remote sensing information from Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) along with field measurements were utilized in the present study in order to evaluate three harvest aid chemicals, herbicides glyphosate (GLY) and diquat (DIQ) and the defoliant Spotlight® (DEF) for terminating the castor crop and identifying opportunities for using remote sensing as a tool for monitoring crop ripening. The results showed that glyphosate required more than two weeks to dry out the crop while diquat and spotlight® presented a rapid action within two to four days. Nineteen vegetation indexes (VIs) were derived from a multispectral and an RGB camera mounted on two UAS and were plotted against field measurements. NDVI presented a higher accuracy (R2 = 0.67) for predicting the castor stems’ and leaves’ moisture content while OSAVI and SIPI2 were more powerful in predicting moisture of capsules (R2 > 0.76). High efficiency was also obtained with VARIgreen, an index estimated from the common bands of a conventional RGB camera. The best performing VIs were further utilized in multiple linear regression models also incorporating the date of spraying as information. The VI models further improved the predicting power with an R2 of up to 0.73 for stems and leaves and 0.81 for capsules.

Opuntia ficus indica is a source of vitamins and minerals, and recently, it has been used as ingredient to make a new functional pasta. Italy produces the highest amount of pasta in the world and it is also the second-highest producer of opuntia globally. This study sought to identify the consumer willingness to pay for pasta featuring Opuntia ficus indica and to understand what factors influence their choice. This study is the first in food research to analyze consumers’ willingness to pay for a new functional pasta featuring Opuntia ficus indica. Data were collected by using a web-based survey; the sample was composed of 342 consumers and an ordered logistic regression model was applied. The findings showed that the educational and higher income levels of respondents play important roles in the willingness to pay for functional pasta. Moreover, the healthy and nutritional features of functional pasta together with the respondents’ willingness to eat it, their curiosity towards this new food and their need to get more information about functional pasta should improve consumers’ willingness to pay for it. The findings should be useful for firms to draw marketing strategies considering the positive consumers’ attitude toward the use of Opuntia ficus indica in pasta production.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis L.) is an industrial crop-producing seed with high oil concentration characterized by high gamma-linoleic acid. However, limited information is available on its response to the nutrient supply, especially P and K. The aim of this work was to compare the response of Evening Primrose to the application of N, P, and K alone or in combination in a P and K deficient soil in terms of grain yield, yield components, and oil composition in comparison to Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Evening Primrose yielded 54.4% less seed and 67.3% less oil than Rapeseed. Such differences were reduced when nutrients, especially N or P, were applied. N stimulated Evening Primrose more than Rapeseed. Application of K favored Evening Primrose oil yield when no N or P were added, and this especially occurred by an enhancement of the pod number. P favored yield per pod and oil yield in the Evening Primrose more than Rapeseed in almost all conditions. Fertilization scarcely affected lipid composition. In particular, an increase in the oleic acid concentration was found only when N + K or N + P + K were applied compared to the sole N or sole K applications. These results suggest that P and K differentially influenced yield components of both species and that Evening Primrose was less adapted than Rapeseed to a scarce nutrient supply.

Opuntia ficus-indica is a source of minerals and vitamins and has recently been used as ingredient to make a new functional variety of pasta. Italy was the first country in the world to produce pasta and is also the second largest producer of Opuntia in the world. According to an Italian sample, this study considers the main factors that could influence consumers when choosing functional pasta (featuring Opuntia) and characterizes distinct hypothetical consumer segments in terms of their food habits, pasta choices, and perceptions toward functional pasta featuring Opuntia. Data were collected using a web-based survey and with 328 respondents. Factor analysis (FA) with orthogonal rotation (varimax) was used to simplify the observed variables and hierarchical cluster analysis was performed with the FA results. Seven clusters were identified and the main results show that the level of education plays an important role in the perception of functional pasta. In fact, the perceptions of well-educated people differed from poorly-educated people. Moreover, the results showed significant respondent interest regarding health benefits and the nutritional and environmental aspects of functional pasta, which should encourage people’s acceptance and consumption of this new functional food. In addition, the respondent preferences reflect a value of experience towards the pasta, i.e., the belief of cooking typical Italian pasta. This means that Opuntia used for the production of functional pasta should maintain the organoleptic and physical properties of durum wheat-based pasta. In addition, respondent preferences for pasta featuring Opuntia could also be driven by its price.

Cardoon seeds have been proved to thrive in the Mediterranean region, even under low input management and its biomass is suitable for several food and industrial uses. Despite that, a proper value chain has not been set properly and uncertainty still lays among producers and industries, particularly concerning the harvesting stage. The present study supports, via field trials, the hypothesis that cardoon seeds can be harvested using a conventional combine harvester equipped with the sunflower header. Theoretical field capacity (TFC), effective field capacity (EFC), and field efficiency (FE) were 2.36 ha h−1, 2.05 ha h−1, and 1.82 Mg h−1, respectively, while harvesting costs were calculated as 69.52 € ha−1. Seed loss was only 3.2% w/w of the potential seed yield. The machinery’s performance, costs, and seed loss are comparable with sunflower harvesting, underlying the possibility to use the available technology directly to harvest cardoon seeds.

Camelina is a low input crop than can be cultivated in rotation with cereals to provide vegetable oil suitable for bioenergy production, industrial applications and even as source of food for livestock. At large scale farming, camelina seeds are currently harvested using a combine harvester, equipped with a cereal header, but the literature still lacks the knowledge of the performance of the machine, the harvesting cost and the related loss of seeds. The present study aims to fulfill that gap by reporting the results obtained from an ad hoc harvest field test. Camelina seed yield was 0.95 Mg ha−1 which accounted for the 18.60% of the total above ground biomass. Theoretical field capacity, effective field capacity and field efficiency were 3.38 ha h−1, 3.17 ha h−1 and 93.7% respectively, albeit the seed loss was 80.1 kg ha−1 FM (7.82% w/w of the potential seed yield). The presence of material other than grain was rather high, 31.77% w/w, which implies a second step of cleaning to avoid undesired modification of the seed quality. Harvesting cost was estimated in 65.97 € ha−1. Our findings provide evidence on the suitability to use a conventional combine harvester equipped with a cereal header for the harvesting of camelina seeds, although some improvements are required to reduce both seed loss and impurities.

Italy is one of the world’s major importers of firewood, despite the large amount of Italian eucalyptus plantations that could satisfy part of the country’s internal demand. The demand is critical for farmers to understand developing market dynamics and people’s willingness to buy a product is related to several parameters, including different supply methods. This study aimed to analyse the willingness to consume domestic eucalyptus firewood, and the related motivations of consumers considering the preferred supply method. Data was collected through a web-survey and analysed applying a multilevel regression. In general, the sample showed that attention is paid to both the type of wood and its origin, and that there is a preference for loose firewood as a supply method. Our findings suggest that factors such as age, experience, and familiarity with a product, the supply method, attitude towards novelty, provenience, and energetic density of firewood have an important role in shaping individual inclination towards consuming domestic eucalyptus firewood. This implies that the owners of eucalyptus plantations should target mostly young and detail-oriented consumers, and should also try to clearly give information regarding the origin of the product and its technical characteristics.

Irrigation with wastewater can strongly contribute to the reduction of water abstraction in agriculture with an especial interest in arid and semiarid areas. However, its use can have drawbacks to both soil and micro-irrigation systems, especially when the total solids in the wastewater are high, such as in digestate liquid fractions (DLF) from plant material. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the performances of a serpentine shaped micro-emitter injected with a hydrocyclone filtered DLF (HF-DLF) from corn + barley biomass and evaluate the traits of the liquid released within a 8-h irrigation cycle. HF-DLF was injected at 10%, 25%, and 50% dilution compared to tap water (at pH = 7.84) and the system performances were measured. No clogging was found, which likely depended on both the shape of the emitter and the high-pressure head (200 kPa). HF-DLF dilution at 10%, 25%, and 50% consisted in +1.9%, +3.5, and −4.9% amount of liquid released compared to the control. Fluid temperature during irrigation (from 9:00 to 17:00) did not explain the difference in the released amounts of liquid. In 10% HF-DLF % and 25% HF-DLF, a pH difference of + 0.321 ± 0.014 pH units compared to the control was found, and such difference was constant for both dilutions and at increasing the time. In contrast, 50% HF-DLF increased pH by around a half point and such difference increased with time. Similar differences among treatments were found for the total solids in the liquid. These results indicate that 50% HF-DLF was accumulating materials in the serpentine. These results suggest that a low diluted HF-DLF could directly be injected in irrigation systems with few drawbacks for the irrigation system and contribute to water conservation since such wastewater are available from the late spring to the early fall, when water requirements are high.

The valorization of agricultural residues plays a fundamental role in renewable energy production. Particularly, the management of olive orchards in Lazio region generates a considerable amount of biomass that is currently unexploited, but it could represent a valid source of solid biofuel for energy production in the Lazio region (Italy). Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach entirely based on open source software, five suitable areas (A, B, C, D and E) have been selected as eligible for hosting and feeding a 1 MWe power plant. Harvesting and transportation costs were also calculated. The harvesting operation costs were EUR 96.79 Mgfm−1 in A, while they ranged from EUR 49.83 Mgfm−1 (E) up to EUR 56.51 Mgfm−1 (D) for the other sub-areas. Sub-area A showed also higher transport costs, EUR 21.55 Mgfm−1 while the same value ranged from EUR 14.75 Mgfm−1 (E) to EUR 16.59 Mgfm−1 (B) in the other sub-areas. However harvesting costs resulted higher than those reported in the literature, mainly due to the low pruning yield per surface unit, an aspect which is directly related to the olive grove’s management in the region where annual pruning is the usual practice. Future developments of the present study should encompass the social and environmental aspects of residual biomass supply chains herein proposed.

The sustainable production of renewable energy is a key topic on the European community’s agenda in the next decades. The use of residuals from agriculture could not be enough to meet the growing demand for energy, and the contribution of vegetable oil to biodiesel production may be important. Moreover, vegetable oil can surrogate petroleum products in many cases, as in cosmetics, biopolymers, or lubricants production. However, the cultivation of oil crops for the mere production of industrial oil would arise concerns on competition for land use between food and non-food crops. Additionally, the economic sustainability is not always guaranteed, since the mechanical harvesting, in some cases, is still far from acceptable. Therefore, it is difficult to plan the future strategy on bioproducts production from oil crops if the actual feasibility to harvest the seeds is still almost unknown. With the present review, the authors aim to provide a comprehensive overview on the state of the art of mechanical harvesting in seven herbaceous oil crops, namely: sunflower (Heliantus annuus L.), canola (Brassica napus L.), cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.), camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), crambe (Crambe abyssinica R. E. Fr.), and castor bean (Ricinus communis L.). The review underlines that the mechanical harvesting of sunflower, canola and cardoon seeds is performed relying on specific devices that perform effectively with a minimum seed loss. Crambe and safflower seeds can be harvested through a combine harvester equipped with a header for cereals. On the other hand, camelina and castor crops still lack the reliable implementation on combine harvesters. Some attempts have been performed to harvest camelina and castor while using a cereal header and a maize header, respectively, but the actual effectiveness of both strategies is still unknown.

Eucalyptus spp. are among the most suitable species for biomass production, even for the firewood derived from medium-rotation coppice (MRC). The general problem of wood is that it cannot be utilized immediately because of the high moisture content, which in the combustion process would reduce remarkably the yield of energy. In this context, outdoor storage of whole stems without branches (WS), outdoor storage of whole stems with branches (WSB), open shed storage of firewood logs in mesh bags (OSF), and outdoor firewood logs in mesh bags (ODF) of Eucalyptus spp woody biomass were compared in term of moisture and dry matter loss to evaluate the most convenient form of storing biomass deriving from a medium-rotation coppice. During the storage period, ODF showed higher moisture values than OSF, WSB, and WS, underlining that moisture reduction is related to local climatic conditions, pile size and permeability (compaction). However, at the end of the storage period, the four options reached a similar moisture to the commercial one of fuel wood (around 15%). WSB showed the highest loss of dry matter (18%), which can be ascribed to the drying and falling process of the leaves. In conclusion, the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the biomass were similar after the different storage systems, producing firewood suitable for new market opportunities.

Forest and agricultural biomass are important sources of renewable and sustainable fuel for energy production. Their increasing consumption is mainly related to the increase in global energy demand and fossil fuel prices but also to the limited availability of petroleum and the lower environmental impact of these biomass compared with other non-renewable fuels. In particular, the pellet sector has seen important developments in terms of both production and the number of installed transformation plants. In addition, pellet production from non-woody biomass is increasing in importance. One of the fundamental aspects for the correct and sustainable use of a biofuel is evaluation of its quality. This is even more important when dealing with pellet production, considering the broad spectrum of possible raw materials for pelletizing. Considering the significant number of papers dealing with pellet quality evaluation and improvement in the last decade, this review aims to give the reader an overall view of the most current knowledge about this large and interesting topic. We focused on pellets of agricultural and forestry origin and analyzed papers regarding the specific topic of pellet quality evaluation and improvement from the last five years (2016–2020). In particular, the review findings are presented in the following order: the influence of different agro-forest management systems on pellet quality; analysis of pellets from pure feedstocks (no blending or binders); the influence of blending and binders on pellet quality; and the influence of pre and post treatments. Finally, a brief discussion about actual research lacks in this topic and the possibilities for future research are presented. It is important to underline that the present review is focused on the influence of the biomass characteristics on pellet quality. The effects of the process parameters (die temperature, applied pressure, holding time) on pellet features are not considered in this review, because that is another very large topic deserving a dedicated paper.

Eucalyptus spp. has received attention from the research and industrial field as a biomass crop because of its fast growth and high productivity. The features of this species match with the increasing demand for wood for energy production. Commonly, the wood used for energy production is converted in chips, a material susceptible to microbial degradation and energy losses if not properly stored before conversion. This study aims at investigating two outdoor storage systems of Eucalyptus wood chips (covered vs. uncovered), assessing the variation in moisture content, dry matter losses and fuel characteristics. The class size of the material was P16, which was obtained using a commercial chipper appositely searched to conduct the study. The results highlighted how the different storage methods were influenced by the climatic condition: the woody biomass covered showed the best performances in terms of dry matter losses achieving 2.7% losses vs. the 8.5% of the uncovered systems. However, fuel characteristics displayed minor changes that affected the final energy balance (∆En = −0.2% in covered; ∆En = −6.17% in uncovered). Particle size varied in both methods with respect to the start conditions, but the variation was not enough to determine a class change, which remained P16 even after storage.

Pruning residues from olive groves represent an important biomass source. Until now, the management of pruning residue has generally represented a disposal problem rather than an opportunity for additional revenue. The main problem is the lack of a well-organized pruning biomass supply chain. In particular, harvesting is a key stage that influences the product quality, the type of logistics chain, and the economic sustainability of the pruning supply chain. The aim of the present paper was the evaluation of the machine performance of the Facma Comby TR200 towed shredder. The harvesting tests took place in Agios Konstantinos, Fthiotida, Central Greece. Two different experimental fields were used for the evaluation of this harvesting system; these fields were characterized by different slopes to check the convenience of using such a towed shredder on both hilly slopes and flat terrains. Analysis was conducted focusing on both the work productivity and costs. Moreover, an evaluation of the obtained hog fuel quality was performed. The Facma Comby TR200 showed good work performances on both flat (2.60 tdm·h−1) and hilly (2.74 tdm·h−1) land, even if a consistent influence of the pruning biomass yield on the work performances was reported. The biomass quality could be consistently improved by modifying the pick-up systems to avoid the collection of inert materials (soil and rocks). In fact, the analysis showed a high ash content in the comminuted material (4% dry basis). Finally, the economic aspects of this study’s results were in line with those reported in the literature. The applied harvesting system showed a cost equal to 29.88 and 16.59 €·tfm−1 on flat and hilly land, respectively.

The collection of residues from staple crop may contribute to meet EU regulations in renewable energy production without harming soil quality. At a global scale, chaff may have great potential to be used as a bioenergy source. However, chaff is not usually collected, and its loss can consist of up to one-fifth of the residual biomass harvestable. In the present work, a spreader able to manage the chaff (either spreading [SPR] on the soil aside to the straw swath or admixed [ADM] with the straw) at varying threshing conditions (with either 1 or 2 threshing rotors [1R and 2R, respectively] in the combine, which affects the mean length of the straw pieces). The fractions of the biomass available in field (grain, chaff, straw, and stubble) were measured, along with the performances of both grain harvesting and baling operations. Admixing chaff allowed for a slightly higher amount of straw fresh weight baled compared to SPR (+336 kg straw ha−1), but such result was not evident on a dry weight basis. At the one time, admixing chaff reduced the material capacity of the combine by 12.9%. Using 2R compared to 1R strongly reduced the length of the straw pieces, and increased the bale unit weight; however, it reduced the field efficiency of the grain harvesting operations by 11.9%. On average, the straw loss did not vary by the treatments applied and was 44% of the total residues available (computed excluding the stubble). In conclusion, admixing of chaff with straw is an option to increase the residues collected without compromising grain harvesting and straw baling efficiencies; in addition, it can reduce the energy needs for the bale logistics. According to the present data, improving the chaff collection can allow halving the loss of residues. However, further studies are needed to optimise both the chaff and the straw recoveries.

Pruning residues could represent an important biomass resources for energy production. Only in Italy it has been estimated that an annual quantity of biomass of over 2600 kt of dry matter could be obtained from olive residues. Several machines developed for pruning harvesting are available in the market, most of which are tractor-driven, while limited knowledge is available on performance, quality of work and costs of harvesting logistics based on stationary chippers. The aim of the present paper is to analyze machine performance of a forestry stationary chipper applied to pruning harvesting for what concerns work productivity, quality of the comminuted product and harvesting operating costs. This system is actually applied by Fiusis Company, an Italian enterprise which manages a biomass power plant exclusively powered by olive trees’ pruning residues, and it has never been analyzed in literature. The results obtained showed consistent work productivity, which resulted the highest ever found in olive pruning harvesting systems and equal to 5.23 ± 0.81 tdm·h−1. This high work productivity allowed also to obtain a little economic gain from a matter, which is actually considered a problem for olive groves’ owners and not a potential source of income. In particular, the use of a stationary chipper seemed very efficient in olive groves with a consistent amount of wooden residues to be processed and with big branches not harvestable by the most common towed pruning harvester. In addition, the stationary chipper has the advantage of avoiding the preliminary raking operation, which results in reduced costs for the farmer.

Maize and wheat are two of the most widespread crops worldwide because of their high yield and importance for food, chemical purposes and livestock feed. Some of the residues of these crops (i.e., maize cob and wheat chaff) remain in the field after grain harvesting. In Europe, just maize cob and grain chaff could provide an annual potential biomass of 9.6 Mt and 54.8 Mt, respectively. Collecting such a biomass could be of interest for bioenergy production and could increase farmers’ income. Progress in harvest technology plays a key role in turning untapped by-products into valuable feedstocks. This article presents a study of the performance and the quality of the work of Harcob, an innovative system developed for maize cob collection. Furthermore, the feasibility of using the Harcob system to also harvest wheat chaff during wheat harvesting was also verified. The results showed that it was possible to harvest 1.72 t ha−1 and 0.67 t ha−1 of cob and chaff, respectively, without affecting the harvesting performance of the combine. The profit achievable from harvesting the corn cob was around 4%, while no significant economic benefits were observed during the harvesting of wheat chaff with the Harcob system. The use of cereal by-products for energy purposes may allow the reduction of CO2 from fossil fuel between 0.7 to 2.2 t CO2 ha−1. The Harcob system resulted suitable to harvest such different and high potential crop by-products and may represent a solution for farmers investing in the bioenergy production chain.

In cereal crops, chaff is a valuable lignocellulosic by-product that accounts for more than 50 Mt y−1 in Europe and is suitable for bioenergy purposes. Chaff is usually not collected due to the lack of combine harvesters that have the capability to handle it properly. The present two years experimental study investigated the hypothesis that the overall biomass collected in wheat crop can be increased by equipping the combine harvester with an aftermarket device. Chaff, discharged from the combine harvester-cleaning system, is collected by the turbine that delivers it either on the swath or on a lateral trailer towed by a tractor. The performance of all machines involved in the harvesting (combine harvester, tractor, baler, and trailer) were assessed. The chaff was collected in bales with the straw (A mode) and separately on a trailer (C mode). Comparisons with non-collected treatment (B mode) were performed in order to estimate the total chaff collected and the biomass losses. The results showed that 1.79 t FM ha−1 per year of chaff could be collected when baled with the straw, whereas 1.27 t FM ha−1 were collected separately on a trailer. Both field and material capacity were not negatively affected by the chaff collection. Therefore, our study confirmed the hypothesis that turbine technology is a valid solution for increasing the total residual biomass collected in cereal cropping for energy purposes.

In Italy, there has been a significant increase of the areas cultivated with short-rotation forestry (SRF) poplar (Populus spp.) for the production of lignocellulosic biomass. This species has been generally introduced on soils managed with conventional farming practices that led to the formation of a hardpan. This constitutes a serious obstacle for root development and water availability, which affect the successful establishment of the plantation. To this end the Unit of Agricultural Engineering of the Agricultural Research Council (CRA-ING) has developed a new system for reduced tillage (RT), to be used during the establishment of SRF poplar. This new system aims at breaking the tillage pan and at reducing both traffic intensity and site preparation cost. A new machine has been developed, which is based on a commercial rotary plough, suitably modified by adding a shank subsoiler. This machine can perform both deep soil ripping and surface ploughing in a single pass, treating narrow strips where poplar cuttings are to be planted. The study compared conventional tillage (CT) with RT, showing that latter allowed a dramatic reduction of the number of field operations and of all related problems, while creating better conditions for poplar rooting without meaningful effects on yield.

A big amount of agricultural residues are generated from crop production and partially remain in the field after harvest. Removing the excess of residues after crop harvesting can increase farmer income, providing feedstock that could be used for industrial and energy purposes. The costs for collection and transport of straw and stalks are site- and region-specific and depend on the availability of agricultural residue and on how much of the residue is removed from any specific field or location. If the biomass is baled then it is required to upload the bales on a trailer, transport and unload all the baled biomass to the storage center. On the other hand, if a self-loading wagon is used the loose biomass collected, it must be unloaded every time the wagon is completely full. The distance and the harvesting system used influence the costs and should be analytically studied to avoid turning a possible profit into a disadvantageous business. The research represents a real case study to evaluate, which is the maximum distance to the biomass logistic center from which it is more economically convenient to gather the wheat and corn residues in bales instead of using a self-loading wagon. The results show a lower harvesting unitary cost for the self-loading forage wagon respect to the baling system. Although the study showed delivery distances over 11.4 km for wheat straw and 16.0 km for maize stalks, the use of the self-loading forage wagon is no longer convenient, and baling is the preferred harvesting system.

Drying is a critical point for the exploitation of biomass for energy production. High moisture content negatively affects the efficiency of power generation in combustion and gasification systems. Different types of dryers are available however; it is known that rotary dryers have low cost of maintenance and consume 15% and 30% less in terms of specific energy. The study analyzed the drying process of woody residues using a new prototype of mobile rotary dryer cocurrent flow. Woodchip of poplar (Populus spp.), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), and grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) pruning were dried in a rotary drier. The drying cycle lasted 8 h for poplar, 6 h for black locust, and 6 h for pruning of grapevine. The initial biomass had a moisture content of around 50% for the poplar and around 30% for grapevine and black locust. The study showed that some characteristics of the biomass (e.g., initial moisture content, particle size distribution, bulk density) influence the technical parameters (i.e., airflow temperature, rate, and speed) of the drying process and, hence, the energy demand. At the end of the drying process, 17% of water was removed for poplar wood chips and 31% for grapevine and black locust wood chips. To achieve this, result the three-biomass required 1.61 (poplar), 0.86 (grapevine), and 1.12 MJ kgdry solids−1 (black locust), with an efficiency of thermal drying (η) respectively of 37%, 12%, and 27%. In the future, the results obtained suggest an increase in the efficiency of the thermal insulation of the mobile dryer, and the application of the mobile dryer in a small farm, for the recovery of exhaust gases from thermal power plants.

The goal of this work was to test a patented pruning harvester and a mobile pelleting system specifically designed for the vineyard agripellet chain. Biomass was characterized before and after storage and after the pelleting stage. The performance, the fuel consumption, and the work quality of the harvester were assessed together with the productivity and the power consumption of the mobile pelleting system. Production costs of pellet were estimated for the whole logistic chain, considering two scenarios: Storage and pelleting directly at the farm site or at a dedicated location at variable distance from the fields. For comparison, the direct production of chips without pelleting was considered. Results indicate that harvester performance was quite good and comparable with commercial solutions; the chips produced exhibited excellent storage performance, allowing direct pelleting without forced drying; the pellet quality was good comparable with that produced from forestry biomass. From an economic point of view, in-field pelleting was the most cost-effective solution, with a good margin of profit up to 57€ t−1; on the other hand, when transport to an intermediate storage center is necessary, profit margin reduces gradually and fades off at an average 50 km distance from the fields.

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas, L.) is an energy crop mainly cultivated for the oil-seed, and the oil is usually used as bio-fuel. However, few studies have reported information about the utilization of the wood as a fuel for boiler heating systems. With 2500 jatropha trees per hectare, it is possible to produce about 3 t·ha−1·y−1 of woody biomass from pruning. In addition, jatropha trees are commonly cut down to a height of 45 cm once every 10 years, with a production of 80 t·ha−1 of dry matter of woody biomass. The use of this biomass has not yet been investigated. During the European project JatroMed, woody biomass from jatropha pruning was collected in Morocco. Chemical and physical characteristics of the wood were conducted according to UNI EN ISO standards. The following jatropha wood characteristics have been analyzed: Moisture and ash contents, the ash melting point, heating value, and concentrations of C, H, N, and S. This research focused on the evaluation of the potential use of jatropha pruning for energy production, and the results represent critical data that is useful for future studies and business potential.

This work, developed under the EuroPruning Project, aims to look at relations between pruning biomass production and several factors related both to crop species and management. The aim is to find out mathematical relations that allow improvement of the biomass potential assessment. This is generally calculated using biomass production ratios. These ratios are variable due to the influence of several aspects. On the one hand there are crop characteristics—such as species, cultivar, and age—and on the other, crop management, which is often associated to local habits and conditions such as the training system, planting pattern, density, pruning methods, irrigation and climate. This work has been produced by gathering data from literature reviews and surveying. The subset of Italian records in the EuroPruning database consists of 70 records. Each record contains the biomass production ratio and eight agronomic variables. Additionally, a set of six climatic and agro-climatic groups of variables (in total 28 variables) have been added to each record. Moderate to good correlations have been found, especially with few climatic factors. As a result, two regression models are proposed for the evaluation of the vineyard and olive tree pruning biomass ratios for Italy, and applied to assess pruning biomass potential.

When orchards reach the end of the productive cycle, the stumps removal becomes a mandatory operation to allow new soil preparation and to establish new cultivations. The exploitation of the removed stump biomass seems a valuable option, especially in the growing energy market of the biofuels; however, the scarce quality of the material obtained after the extraction compromises its marketability, making this product a costly waste to be disposed. In this regard, the identification of affordable strategies for the extraction and the cleaning of the material will be crucial in order to provide to plantation owners the chance to sell the biomass and offset the extraction costs. Mechanical extraction and cleaning technologies have been already tested on forest stumps, but these systems work on the singular piece and would be inefficient in the conditions of an intensive orchard, where stumps are small and numerous. The objective of this study was to test the possibility to exploit a natural stumps cleaning system through open-air storage. The tested stumps were obtained from two different vineyards, extracted with an innovative stump puller specifically designed for continuous stump removal in intensively-planted orchards. The effects of weathering were evaluated to determine the fuel quality immediately after the extraction and after a storage period of six months with respect to moisture content, ash content, and heating value. Results indicated interesting storage performance, showing also different dynamics depending on the stumps utilized.

This paper addresses the critical need to characterize traffic flow driven by the reaction time of evolving Intelligent Vehicles (IVs). Macroscopic traffic models play a vital role in understanding traffic conditions, however, the IVs behavior is ignored. Thus, a new traffic model for IVs based on safe reaction velocity, reaction time, and braking time is proposed, incorporating the IVs reaction times. The findings demonstrate a trade-off between the reaction time and braking time, significantly explaining traffic dynamics. Specifically, reducing the reaction time improves traffic operations. Results from three distinct traffic scenarios highlighted the significance of reaction time in shaping traffic safety. In the first scenario, smoother traffic flow demonstrates the impact of reaction time on safety. The shorter reaction time showed improved outcomes. In the second scenario, changes in traffic patterns near the ramp highlighted the importance of smaller reaction times in mitigating safety risks. In the third scenario, chaotic traffic conditions emphasized the role of reaction time in ensuring overall safety. The proposed traffic model offers a more realistic characterization of traffic flow. By understanding the relation between reaction time and braking time, this approach contributes to the development of safer and more efficient automated traffic mobility.