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Rubber and resin are potentially important products of guayule (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) that can assure the profitability of this crop as an agricultural alternative for the semi-arid areas of central and eastern Spain. This study analyzes, for the first time, the changes in rubber and resin production across 27 guayule accessions (traditional and modern) and along three cycles under the agroclimatic conditions of Castilla-La Mancha, simulating industrial management with a biannual harvest. The rubber content (% of dry mass) increased from 4.2% in one-year-old plants to 6.6% in two-year-old plants, but decreased after harvesting. Contrastingly, the rubber yield doubled in contiguous sampling, reaching a mean of 303.6 kg ha−1, with a maximum yield of 341.2 kg ha−1 after the first harvest. Three patterns of rubber production were established based on the production periods. A similar analysis was performed for resin production, which was heterogeneous across accessions belonging to the same rubber groups. In this case, three independent groups were established to classify the resin accumulation profiles following the same criteria of production periods. Here, we demonstrate that biannual harvesting has the potential to enhance rubber accumulation in summer, although more research is needed for its adaption to current harvesting techniques in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public paths network in Spain constitutes state property in the public domain which is endangered by disappearance or misappropriation. This exploratory article asks how this situation has an impact on the right to the landscape. We provide an overview of the situation of public paths in Spain, as well as examples from six case studies, which reveals that much conflict stems from changes in their use and the practices related to them. Public pathways play a key role in the perception of the territory, and their disappearance entails landscape injustices which we need to distinguish from landscapes of injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition of Hyssopus officinalis (Lamiaceae) essential oil grown in southeastern Spain was analyzed by GC-MS. Due to the high relevance of this species in the world market, the study is focused on chemical heterogeneity of different oil batches and their extraction yield, cultivated under irrigation and non-irrigation conditions and with different harvesting dates. All essential oil samples have two main terpene compounds which are pinocamphone and iso-pinocamphone, accounting for approximately 35-40% of the total oil content. Other relevant compounds were identified, with β-pinene, which accounted for 10-17% contribution to the total composition, standing out. Significant differences between their volatile composition have been observed between treatments, being limonene, (E)-β-ocimene, pinocarveol, α-pinene and β-phellandrene the compounds that contributed most to the discrimination. It was also observed that the irrigation period is the most favourable for the cultivation of hyssop in this region, specially for batch 7 which gives the highest extraction yield and the best EO quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guayule, a plant native to the Mexican deserts of Chihuahua and southern USA, has attracted interest as a substitute source of natural rubber and other bioproducts, and is a promising alternative crop for the semi-arid regions of central and eastern Spain. The trials performed on guayule production in Spain in the 1960 s need to be updated following the emergence of climate change and the development of more productive guayule accessions. Accordingly, the objective of the present study was to search for those lines that best adapt to the agro-climatic conditions of Castilla-La Mancha with respect to biomass production when the crop is industrially managed. The adaptation of 27 guayule accessions was studied by comparing their vegetative development (height, width, volume, shape, branch number and diameter). Results revealed the contribution of genetic imprinting for growth in plants up to 24 months after transplanting, after which times environmental effects were dominant in the second and third cycle after harvesting every two years. Biomass production along the three cycles simulating industrial management with biannual harvest depended on the germplasm, the harvest management and the agro-climatic conditions. The accessions with higher biomass content in branches were CAL-7 and AZ-2. • Twenty-seven accessions adapted to Castilla-La Mancha agro-climatic conditions. • The genetic contribution is observed in plants up to 24 months after seeding. • Environmental effects were dominant after harvesting every two years. • Biomass production is dependent on many factors (germplasm, the harvest and clima). • The accessions with higher biomass content in branches were CAL-7 and AZ-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to propose a high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method for determining the three main compounds responsible for determining the quality of saffron (crocetin esters, picrocrocin, and safranal) by preparing an aqueous extract according to the ISO 3632 standard to solve the difficulty that this standard has for aroma and taste determination by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Toward this aim, laboratory-isolated picrocrocin, a safranal standard with a purity of ≥ 88%, trans-crocetin di(β-D-gentiobiosyl) ester (trans-4-GG) and trans-crocetin (β-D-glucosyl)-(β-D-gentiobiosyl) ester (trans-3-Gg) standards, both with a purity of ≥ 99%, and 50 different saffron spice samples from Italy, Iran, Greece, and Spain were used in the intralaboratory validation of the HPLC method. The analytical method proposed was adequate in terms of linearity, selectivity, sensitivity, and accuracy for determining the three foremost parameters that define the quality of saffron using only a saffron solution prepared according to the ISO 3632 standard.

Background: The use of aromatic plants and their extracts with antimicrobial properties may be compromised in the case of cheese, as some type of fungal starter is needed during its production. Penicillium verrucosum is considered a common cheese spoiler. The aim of this study was to evaluate the innovative use of certain aromatic plants as natural cheese covers in order to prevent mycotoxicogenic fungal growth (P. verrucosum). A collection of 12 essential oils (EOs) was obtained from various aromatic plants by solvent-free microwave extraction technology, and volatile characterisation of the EOs was carried out by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry., Results: The most effective EOs against P. verrucosum were obtained from Anethum graveolens, Hyssopus officinalis and Chamaemelum nobile, yielding 50% inhibition of fungal growth at concentration values lower than 0.02 µL mL⁻¹. All EOs showed high volatile heterogeneity, with α-phellandrene, pinocamphone, isopinocamphone, α-pinene, camphene, 1,8-cineole, carvacrol and trans-anethole being found to be statistically significant in the antifungal model., Conclusion: The use of these aromatic plants as natural covers on cheese can satisfactorily inhibit the growth of some mycotoxicogenic fungal spoilers. Among the volatile compounds present, α- and β-phellandrene were confirmed as the most relevant in the inhibition., (© 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy has been applied for the first time to saffron spice to determine the chemical composition and geographical origin of 111 samples from the there main producers' countries: Iran, Greece, and Spain. The validation procedures with the results obtained by UV-vis and HPLC-DAD measurements demonstrated that this technique is appropriate to determine the following parameters: moisture and volatile content, coloring strength, (250 nm), and (330 nm), established on the ISO 3632 Technical Specification Normative and used to certify saffron quality in the international market. Also, it can be used to estimate the content of the five main crocetin glycosides, the compounds responsible for saffron color, the best correlations being for trans-crocetin di-(beta-D-gentibiosyl) ester (R2= 0.93), trans-crocetin (beta-D-glucosyl)-(beta-D-gentibiosyl) (R2= 0.94), and picrocrocin (R2= 0.92), the compound accepted as responsible for saffron bitterness. Finally, a discriminant analysis among the three geographical origins reveals that Iranian samples are the most different, whereas Greek and Spanish samples are more similar. All of these results reveal that NIRS spectroscopy has an enormous potential for its application to saffron quality control as the results are obtained in 2 min and without any sample manipulation.