Sustainable innovations for the imporvement of Syracuse's early potato
Introduction of process innovation in the energy, climate and environment sectors. Introduction of fertilization protocols, implementation of current irrigation systems, alternative strategies of chemical weeding, use of weather shelters. Potato entomological adversity control. Innovation and widening of the varietal germplasm. Post-harvest treatment improvement. Introduction and adoption of disciplinary control and certification procedures. Valorisation of production waste.
The particular pedoclimatic conditions of some Sicilian coastal areas allow for the cultivation of the potato in two extra-seasonal cycles, temporally different from the ordinary ones of the common potato. In particular, with the first cycle 'early' production is obtained, and currently Sicily (with 6.7 thousand hectares mainly located in the area of Siracusa plain) is one of the leading cultivation production in Italy. Due to its freshness, much appreciated in the Northern Italian and foreign markets, in recent years the Sicilian 'early' potato production chain has been requested to expand its production-organizational and commercial scenario in response to the increasing foreign competition. Indeed, the market appears increasingly oriented towards products obtained with eco-sustainable agronomic practices, as well as having functional and hedonistic requirements capable of satisfying the needs of the consumer. There are, therefore, justified reasons to support and promote the further implementation of the 'early' potato supply chain on a regional scale, given that this presents the presence of strong deficiencies under agronomic and structural-organizational standpoints, essentially attributable to: a limited varietal germplasm adopted in the area; low yield despite of the high or unjustified levels of agronomic inputs used; hgh losses of salable product due to the increasingly massive attacks of insects; absent or inadequate post-harvest management of the product.
The INNOVELLA project proposes the introduction of more rational fertilization protocols, by formulating fertilizers rates (especially nitrogen fertilizers) on the basis of the real crop requirements and the initial soil nutrients level. This represents an important process innovation under climatic and environmental standpoints, aimed at the reduction of chemical and energy inputs, the pest infestations (high nitrogen fertilization rates favors infestation by pest insects), and the polluting load of the production process, since nitrogen fertilization is one of the main sources of pollution for the atmosphere and water resources, leading to their eutrophication and qualitative decay. The application of fertilization protocols based on a more efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers could guarantee a 35-40% energy savings, if properly used by agricultural farms. In particular, a fertilization protocol based on the application of mycorrhizae will be adopted under organic farming, in order to reduce both the production costs and environmental impact of agricultural practices, while ameliorating potato plant's uptake of soil nutrients.
INNOVELLA proposes the implementation of current irrigation systems, through the adoption of techniques aimed at maximizing water savings and water use efficiency. This would represent a process innovation, thanks to the use of significantly improved irrigation methods and applications only in specific sub-phases of the potato crop production. In this view, an irrigation system conventionally adopted in the area, by means of drip irrigation, will be compared with a microsprinkler irrigation system. This may improve water use efficiency of the potato crop, which is necessary given the reduction of water resources and the competition for their use between the different human activities.
The development of alternative strategies to chemical weeding is essential for an eco-sustainable management of the spontaneous flora, given the growing environmental impact of herbicides and the development of resistance phenomena in weeds. In particular, in INNOVELLA is proposed to integrate fire weeding and shallow ploughing, in pre- and post-planting, with the dual purpose of reducing both the soil seedbank and the active weed infestation during the crop cycle. This may also allow to obtain a control of other pest agents such as fungi, bacteria and insects, and at the same time to reduce water losses by evapotranspiration. This integrated control strategy, by also managing the number of interventions on the basis of the critical infestation thresholds, represents an important innovation for the eco-sustainable control of weeds.
Within INNOVELLA the use of meteorological stations is proposed with the aim to constantly monitor the cultivation parameters by the algorithmic processing of the data provided by a network of sensors positioned in the field and through an interface to a web platform. This will allow to optimize the use of energy inputs for the cultivation of 'early' potato, especially through an eco-sustainable radio technology. This field-innovation will be introduced in the involved agricultural farms together with other field-innovations proposed in this project.
The proposed innovations in INNOVELLA are aimed at ameliorating the sustainable pest management (namely, no residues integrated and organic programs) in the 'early' potato production, such as: (i) the monitoring of pest populations of the four main arthropods pests with the aim to establish their real and current damage potential in the 'early' potato cultivation area, (ii) the setup of demonstration fields for the validation of innovative crop protection tools and strategies.
The choice of new potato cultivars, that are better adaptable to the pedoclimatic conditions of the 'early' cycle, with reduced water and nutritional requirements (due to their shorter cycle), as well as more resistant to biotic and/or abiotic stresses and with high nutraceutical value, will allow to widen the current varietal germplasm of the 'early' potato. This product innovation may represent a relevant tool for maintaining the ecological balance within the agroecosystem of 'early' potato. Furthermore, the evaluation of the agronomic adaptability, the susceptibility to pest insects and the qualitative parameters of the new potato cultivars adopted, will also allow to obtain useful parameters to enhance the regional production and organize a short supply chain, given that the suitability of the tubers for processing into ready-to-use products will also be assessed.
INNOVELLA proposes process and/or product innovations aimed at the implementation and automation of post-harvest management of the produce (through the washing and refrigeration systems under modified atmosphere, the choice of innovative packaging), This will allow to extend the shelf-life of fresh or transformed (ready-to-cook) potato tubers. In addition, these innovations may represent an effective tool for reducing biomass wastes from the processing of agricultural products, with a consequent lower environmental impact of such activities. Moreover, the replacement of commonly adopted packaging materials (polystyrene) with new recyclable polymers may provide a significant reduction in the quantity of non-recyclable wastes. With a view to organize a short potato supply chain, the agronomic factors, such as the cultivars and the fertilization rates, will be evaluated in INNOVELLA in order to optimize the qualitative characteristics (nutritional, microbiological and technological) of both the fresh and processed product. Ultimately, this will allow a better qualification of Sicilian 'early' potato, leading to its diversification in the national and international markets.
INNOVELLA proposed the adoption of control and certification procedures, that will allow to realize an effective traceability system of the final product. The guarantee of food safety concerns, indeed, from field production to industrial processing, distribution and storage, and the inadequacy in any of these steps of the chain may probably cause a risk for consumers' health. The implementation of a traceability system for 'early' potato represents a fundamental tool to gain consumer's trust, based on an increasing attention to ethical and sustainable aspects of food production.
INNOVELLA proposes the introduction of a pilot process for the eco-sustainable drying of potato production waste (tubers that are too small, deformed, infested or simply damaged, as well as waste from industrial processing into ready-to-cook products). This may allow to obtain a new dried zootechnical feed, characterized by a very high energetic content and nutritional value, which has a long shelf-life and can be sold to the numerous feed companies in the area. The last aspect represents an enormous advantage, considering that such waste materials do not meet the requirements to be marketed for human consumption, and therefore are destined for animal feed as fresh, and so highly perishable. Through the definition of an optimal drying protocol (by evaluating different combinations of drying time and temperature, and size of potato wastes), the resulting dry biomass will be bagged and proposed to the numerous feed companies present in the area.
