Open Access
El compostaje descentralizado de los desechos de cocina como herramienta agroecológica: influencia de las políticas públicas en la comarca de Sakana (Navarra)
(Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecológica (SEAE), 2017-06-01) Sánchez Arizmendiarrieta, Joseba; Iso Tinoco, Andoni; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Plana, Ramón; Sociología; Soziologia; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
Se muestra la exitosa experiencia de ayuntamientos navarros que trasforman mediante compostaje in situ los desechos orgánicos generados por su población en un recurso local al servicio de la agroecología.
Open Access
Foliar application of urea to "Sauvignon Blanc" and "Merlot" vines: doses and time of application
(Springer Nature, 2012-02-19) Lasa Larrea, Berta; Menéndez Villanueva, Sergio; Sagastizabal, Kepa; Calleja Cervantes, María Eréndira; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Muro Erreguerena, Julio; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; Ariz Arnedo, Idoia; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
A careful control of the N nutritional status of grapevines can have a determining effect on wine characteristics; therefore a suitable management of N fertilization might allow some wine parameters to be modified, thereby improving product quality. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of foliar application of urea at different doses and different times of the growing season on the parameters of Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot grape juice. The research described herein involved Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot grapevines (V. vinifera L.) at a commercial vineyard and was conducted over 2 years. In the first year, N treatment involved a foliar application at a dose of 10 kg N ha−1 during veraison, whereas in the second year it involved a foliar urea application at two doses (10 and 50 kg N ha−1) and at three different times—3 weeks before veraison, during veraison and 3 weeks after veraison. In this second year, the urea applied at a dose of 10 kg N ha−1 was isotopically labelled with 1% 15N. Chemical parameters, yeast assimilable N, amino acid content, amino acid profile and N isotopic composition were determined for all treatments. Grape and grape-juice parameters for Merlot were found to be more affected by N fertilization than for Sauvignon Blanc and were also more affected during the second year than during the first year, thus indicating that the climatic characteristics of each campaign could affect these parameters. The yeast assimilable N in grape juice was found to be higher for late applications of foliar urea, with application of the higher dose of urea during veraison increasing the amino acid and proline contents in both varieties. The isotopic analysis data showed that the urea applied to leaves was transferred to the berries, with the maximum translocation in Sauvignon Blanc occurring for the post-veraison treatment and in Merlot for the veraison treatment. We can therefore conclude that foliar application of urea could modify grape juice quality and could therefore be used as a tool for obtaining quality wines.
Open Access
The effect of defoliation on the yield of leek (Allium porrum L.)
(Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 2010) Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Domeño Seminario, Itziar; Muro Erreguerena, Julio; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
La pérdida de área foliar es un daño típico en los cultivos causado por ataques de hongos e insectos o por granizo. Se han realizado numerosos estudios para describir los efectos de la defoliación en los principales cultivos herbáceos y leñosos. En este trabajo se describen los resultados obtenidos en dos ensayos, llevados a cabo en el Valle Medio del Ebro (España), para determinar el efecto en el cultivo de puerro de diferentes niveles de defoliación aplicados en varios estados fenológicos. Se aplicaron cuatro niveles de defoliación: control, leve, medio y alto en seis estados fenológicos diferentes. La defoliación se llevó a cabo con una maquina de agua a presión. Se observó una estrecha relación entre la pérdida de cosecha, el porcentaje de defoliación y el estado fenológico en que se aplicó. El estado más crítico fue al inicio del engrosamiento del tallo en el cual se alcanzaron las mayores pérdidas, de un 41% para un 100% de defoliación. Estos resultados experimentales se utilizaron para obtener ecuaciones de regresión en las que se calculó el porcentaje de pérdida de cosecha en relación con el estado fenológico y el porcentaje de defoliación aplicado. Estas ecuaciones pueden ser utilizadas para mejorar los patrones de simulación de crecimiento del puerro en caso de daños foliares provocados por ataques de hongos o insectos o por granizo
Open Access
Compost de FORM con restos de alimentos cárnicos como componente de sustratos de cultivo
(Sociedad Española de Ciencias Hortícolas, 2014) Storino, Francesco; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Ollo Alcasena, María Arantzazu; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; Muro Erreguerena, Julio; Producción Agraria; Ciencias del Medio Natural; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena; Natura Ingurunearen Zientziak
La utilización de compost de FORM como fertilizante es una práctica inocua y segura ampliamente implantada en la unión europea y que presenta gran cantidad de ventajas desde un punto de vista agronómico y medioambiental. La utilización de este tipo de compost como materia prima para la elaboración de sustratos de cultivo genera ciertas dudas por sus características, especialmente cuando provienen de sistemas de compostaje descentralizado en los que se han compostado restos de alimentos entre los que se incluyen alimentos de origen animal (carne y/o pescado). El objetivo del este trabajo es evaluar compost domésticos como componente de sustratos para cultivo de ornamentales que incluyen distintas proporciones de restos de alimentos cárnicos. Para este fin se compararon 3 compost domésticos (uno vegetal y dos con 15% carne) y uno comercial. Los compost fueron caracterizados mediante análisis de su composición elemental, pH y CE. Cada compost fue mezclado al 25 y 75 % v/v con sustrato a base de turba (utilizado puro como control). Además las dos mezclas con mayor CE fueron sometidas a lavados sucesivos, monitorizando el descenso de salinidad tras cada lavado y la composición elemental del líquido drenado. Plantas de pensamientos fueron cultivadas en macetas de 2 L con cada uno de los 11 sustratos indicados. Durante seis semanas de cultivo se midió la biomasa vegetal, la altura y el número de tallos, el número de flores y el contenido en clorofila mediante índice colorimétrico SPAD. Las diferencias entre los distintos tratamientos fueron pequeñas. El lavado previo de los sustratos no modifico significativamente la respuesta del cultivo. Se concluyen que los sustratos con compost de FORM que contiene hasta un 15% de restos de alimentos de origen animal no afectan negativamente al cultivo de pensamientos bajo las condiciones del presente ensayo.
Open Access
Quality assessment of composts officially registered as organic fertilisers in Spain
(Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 2019) Puyuelo, Belén; Sánchez Arizmendiarrieta, Joseba; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Plana, Ramón; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Composting of organic wastes is a management strategy linked to circular economy models through the transformation of these wastes into an organic product, compost, which can be used as fertiliser, soil amendment or growing media. However, the concept of ‘compost quality' is not enough defined to take a technical decision about which is its best use or application. In the last decade, different guidelines and regulations about organic fertilisers have been developed. For instance, in Spain the Fertilisers Regulation categorises compost under five kinds according to the raw materials used - organic amendment compost (OaC), manure compost (MaC), green compost (GrC), vermicompost (VC), ‘alperujo' compost (AlC) -, and under three quality levels (A, B or C) depending exclusively on the heavy metals content. This work analyses the national database of all composts (307) marketed in Spain, considering the analytical parameters declared, with the objective of proposing a methodology to define a global quality index. For this assessment, two indicators are employed: a fertility indicator, related to the nutrients content, and a clean indicator, related to the heavy metals content. Results show an average compost formulation 2.5:2.5:2.5 (N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O). MaC and OaC present the highest fertility indicator, whereas VC the lowest. Regarding the clean indicator, GrC, MaC and VC are cleaner than OaC. In the future, this new quality assessment should be completed by including other indicators related to physical and biological characteristic (e.g. porosity, stability/maturity, phytotoxicity) that could determine the most proper use of compost.
Open Access
Isotopic composition of maize as related to N-fertilization and irrigation in the Mediterranean region
(Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, 2011) Lasa Larrea, Berta; Irañeta, Iosu; Muro Erreguerena, Julio; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; Natura Ingurunearen Zientziak; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena; Ciencias del Medio Natural; Producción Agraria; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, 17/2004
Nitrate leaching as a result of excessive application of N-fertilizers and water use is a major problem of vulnerable regions. The farming of maize requires high N fertilization and water inputs in Spain. Isotopic techniques may provide information on the processes involved in the N and C cycles in farmed areas. The aim of this work was studying the impact of sprinkler and furrow irrigation and N input on maize (Zea mays L.) yields, and whether isotopic composition can be used as indicator of best farming practices. Trials were set up in Tudela (Spain) with three rates of N fertilization (0, 240 and 320 kg urea-N ha–1) and two irrigation systems (furrow and sprinkler). Yield, nitrogen content, irrigation parameters, N fate and C and N isotope composition were determined. The rate of N fertilization required to obtain the same yield is considerably higher under furrow irrigation, since the crop has less N at its disposal in furrow irrigation as a result of higher loss of nitrogen by NO3 –-N leaching and denitrification. A lower δ13C in plants under furrow irrigation was recorded.The δ15N value of plant increased with the application rate of N under furrow irrigation.
Open Access
Effect of feeding regime on composting in bins
(Taylor & Francis, 2017) Storino, Francesco; Menéndez Villanueva, Sergio; Muro Erreguerena, Julio; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Natura Ingurunearen Zientziak; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena; Ciencias del Medio Natural; Producción Agraria; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua
Composting in bins is one of the most practical home composting methods. There is currently a need for greater information to improve the management of the composting process and to create home composting programs, which ensure sustainable production of high quality compost. This study investigates how two aspects of the bin feeding regime—the feeding frequency and the amount of waste applied at each feed—influence the process's evolution and the quality of the compost. Compost bins were assayed after introducing the same amount of kitchen and garden waste according to three different frequencies: in a single batch, weekly, or every 3 weeks. A fourth treatment was applied to calculate the potential waste reduction achieved by the composting process, filling the bins to the brim on a weekly basis. Temperature, mass, and volume changes; the microbial diversity (by Biolog); and gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, and NH3) were all determined during the process. At the end of the experiment, all of the composts were weighed and characterized. Results show that the main differences were very dependent on the quantity of waste provided. Large amounts of waste were added increasing the compost's temperature and maturity during the process, while slightly affecting the salinity and phytotoxicity of the final compost but without any clear effects on microbial diversity and gas emission. Therefore, from a technical point of view, the shared use of compost bins among several households (community composting) is preferable to individual us
Open Access
Effect of N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide on urea metabolism and the assimilation of ammonium by Triticum aestivum L.
(Springer, 2010-08-25) Artola Rezola, Ekhiñe; Cruchaga Moso, Saioa; Ariz Arnedo, Idoia; Morán Juez, José Fernando; Garnica, María; Houdusse, Fabrice; García Mina, José M.; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Lasa Larrea, Berta; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
The use of urea as an N fertilizer has increased to such an extent that it is now the most widely used fertilizer in the world. However, N losses as a result of ammonia volatilization lead to a decrease in its efficiency, therefore different methods have been developed over the years to reduce these losses. One of the most recent involves the use of urea combined with urease inhibitors, such as N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), in an attempt to delay the hydrolysis of urea in the soil. The aim of this study is to perform an in-depth analysis of the effects that NBPT use has on plant growth and N metabolism. Wheat plants were cultivated in a greenhouse experiment lasting four weeks and fertilized with urea and NBPT at different concentrations (0, 0.012, 0.062, 0.125%). Each treatment was replicated six times. A non-fertilized control was also cultivated. Several parameters related with N metabolism were analysed at harvest. NBPT use was found to have visible effects, such as a transitory yellowing of the leaf tips, at the end of the first week of treatment. At a metabolic level, plants treated with the inhibitor were found to have more urea in their tissues and a lower amino acid content, lower glutamine synthetase activity, and lower urease and glutamine synthetase content at the end of the study period, whereas their urease activity seemed to have recovered by this stage.
Open Access
Yield and quality of sugar snap pea in the Ebro Valley: sowing date and seed density
(Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, 2012) Azpilicueta Unanua, Miren; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Lasa Larrea, Berta; Muro Erreguerena, Julio; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena; Natura Ingurunearen Zientziak; Producción Agraria; Ciencias del Medio Natural; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua
Sugar snap pea (Pisum sativum L. var. macrocarpon Ser.) is an edible-podded sweet pea that is being considered as a new totally mechanized crop to supply raw material to the agri-food industry of the Ebro Valley (Northern Spain). It is of great interest from an agronomic and commercial standpoint but neither its agronomic behaviour nor its adaptation to the area are known. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sowing date and seed density on the growth and yield of the sugar snap pea at industrial scale. Six randomized blocks experiments with four replicates were conducted on irrigated land in Villafranca (Navarra, Spain) in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Three experiments for testing sowing dates (Mar., Apr., and May) and another three for seed densities (from 75 to 150 plants m–2) were performed. Phenological development, thermal integral and qualitative and quantitative yield controls were performed. Sugar snap pea required 960 ºC d–1 (Tb = 3 ºC) from sowing to harvest. The early sowings gave more biomass, but yield was similar. However, Harvest Index and crop morphology varied. The sowing densities had similar yields sowing that sugar snap pea has a bigger adaptation availability. Sugar snap peas can be satisfactorily cultivated at industrial scale in the zone with sowings between Mar. and May and with seeding densities between 75 and 150 plants m–2.
Open Access
Short term physiological implications of NBPT application on the N metabolism of Pisum sativum and Spinacea oleracea
(Elsevier, 2011-03-01) Cruchaga Moso, Saioa; Artola Rezola, Ekhiñe; Lasa Larrea, Berta; Ariz Arnedo, Idoia; Irigoyen Iriarte, Ignacio; Morán Juez, José Fernando; Aparicio Tejo, Pedro María; Ciencias del Medio Natural; Natura Ingurunearen Zientziak; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
The application of urease inhibitors in conjunction with urea fertilizers as a means of reducing N loss due to ammonia volatilization requires an in-depth study of the physiological effects of these inhibitors on plants. The aim of this study was to determine how the urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) affects N metabolism in pea and spinach. Plants were cultivated in pure hydroponic culture with urea as the sole N source. After 2 weeks of growth for pea, and 3 weeks for spinach, half of the plants received NBPT in their nutrient solution. Urease activity, urea and ammonium content, free amino acid composition and soluble protein were determined in leaves and roots at days 0, 1, 2, 4, 7 and 9, and the NBPT content in these tissues was determined 48 h after inhibitor application. The results suggest that the effects of NBPT on spinach and pea urease activity differ, with pea being most affected by this treatment, and that the NBPT absorbed by the plant caused a clear inhibition of the urease activity in pea leaf and roots. The high urea concentration observed in leaves was associated with the development of necrotic leaf margins, and was further evidence of NBPT inhibition in these plants. A decrease in the ammonium content in roots, where N assimilation mainly takes place, was also observed. Consequently, total amino acid contents were drastically reduced upon NBPT treatment, indicating a strong alteration of the N metabolism. Furthermore, the amino acid profile showed that amidic amino acids were major components of the reduced pool of amino acids. In contrast, NBPT was absorbed to a much lesser degree by spinach plants than pea plants (35% less) and did not produce a clear inhibition of urease activity in this species.