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In the context of climate change, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture has become increasingly critical. To ensure sustainable food production, it is essential to adopt cultivation techniques that maximize resource efficiency, particularly in water and nutrient usage. The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) is one such hydroponic system, designed to optimize water and nutrient use, making it a valuable tool for sustainable agriculture. This bibliometric review examines the evolution of NFT research from 1977 to 2023, focusing on the growing interest in this method as a solution to the agricultural challenges posed by climate change. Through the analysis of 774 scientific documents, this review highlights an upward trend in NFT-related studies, with a noticeable shift from conference proceedings to peer-reviewed journal articles, particularly in recent years. Acta Horticulturae has been a leading journal in this field, underscoring the significance of early conference contributions. Lettuce and tomatoes have emerged as the primary crops studied in NFT systems, demonstrating the technique's broad applicability. Research on lettuce has primarily focused on nitrate accumulation and biofortification, aiming to improve both the nutritional quality and safety of the crop. Studies on tomatoes have explored challenges related to oxygen concentration in the nutrient solution, where innovations such as the Nutrient Drip Technique (NDT) and the New Growing System (NGS) have shown promise in addressing these issues. Other key areas of NFT research include the effects of water salinity on crop growth and the integration of NFT with aquaponics systems, highlighting its potential for sustainable, water-efficient crop production. However, challenges such as nutrient imbalances and disease management persist. This review underscores the growing relevance of NFT in the pursuit of environmentally sustainable agriculture. Continued innovation and research are essential to optimizing nutrient management, refining environmental controls, and exploring new crop varieties, thereby enhancing the potential of NFT for sustainable farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, the protection of the environment and biodiversity is provided in numerous national Constitutions and the European Union's policies. However, vegetable species are becoming too uniform to meet the challenges threatening crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1998, the European Union aimed to make the official Common European Catalogue of Plant Varieties more flexible and to mitigate the decline of agricultural biodiversity in European rural areas by introducing the Conservation Varieties Regime (CVR): a set of rules pertaining to local and/or traditional varieties cultivated in specific regions that are at risk of genetic erosion. This initiative was intended to permit the sale of those varieties that do not fully meet the distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) criteria required for the registration of standard varieties in the Common European Catalogue. In this review, we examine the impact of establishing the CVR 25 years after its first definition. As of the date of data collection, 191 conservation varieties were registered throughout Europe, representing only 0.88% of the total number of varieties included in the Common Catalogue. The most important countries are Spain, Italy and Croatia, which have, respectively, 57, 43 and 26 conservation varieties. The case study from Italy highlights that the CVR is poorly structured and is characterised by the initiatives of individual entities that take it upon themselves to protect and/or promote specific vegetable varieties. In this review, we discuss such data in relation to the protection and commercialisation of vegetable landraces in Europe. Overall, the CVR has failed to promote and enforce a dedicated market for all those varieties excluded from registration in the Common Catalogue due to DUS requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scopatizzo, belonging to the Cucumis melo L., is a local variety of Apulia (Southern Italy), which is consumed as unripe melon as an alternative of cucumber due to its better-quality profile and for the absence of cucurbitacins. The latter are tetracyclic triterpenes synthesized by some Cucurbitaceae species, known to confer an unpleasant taste to fruits and cause health problems. Following the discovery of Scopatizzo fruits with bitter taste, cucurbitacins were searched for in their ethanolic extract. Flow injection analysis with detection performed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-high resolution mass spectrometry provided evidence for the presence of at least four cucurbitacins, which were absent in typical, sweet-tasting fruits. Further insight into this discovery will be required in the near future to assess if the detection of cucurbitacins may mark the appearance of genotypes whose fruits have features not compatible with commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the agri-food market, there is an increasing interest in local and traditional food products. In a context characterised by private labels and European Geographical Indications (GIs), the Italian Traditional Agri-food Product (TAP) denomination seems to be a particularly interesting tool for the promotion of agri-food products. This work analysed the effectiveness of this denomination in promoting local and traditional Italian products with a particular focus on vegetable products and landraces, which is the most represented category in the TAP list. The analysis included literature and bureaucratic reviews, a questionnaire administered to consumers and a comparison of the TAP denomination with European GI schemes in order to identify the opportunities, strengths and weaknesses of the TAP denomination. True to the SWOT analysis, the TAP denomination appears not to very incisive in terms of commercial protection and promotion, although it can represent a useful first step for the designation of traditional Italian products to the European GI schemes (56.94% conversion rate) and the unique recognition of Italian cultural heritage. In conclusion, the suggestion is to improve the TAP denomination by developing activities to increase consumer awareness, by allocating more financial resources for TAP productions (local products) and by proposing better integration with regional and private labels to protect the unique characteristics of Italian traditional agri-food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]