Enhancing the nutritional value of sweet bell pepper through moderate NaCl salinity.

Salinity presents a significant obstacle to crop productivity, particularly in dry and semi-arid regions. Sweet bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), a widely grown and consumed horticultural crop, is especially vulnerable to salinity. Consequently, it is vital to determine the salinity threshold that impacts bell pepper growth and quality, enabling sustainable production in salinized areas. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of varying sodium chloride concentrations (0, 50, and 75 mM) on bell pepper growth, nutritional value, and phytochemical composition, aiming to identify the adaptable threshold in salinized environments. The results suggested that the application of 75 mM NaCl not only had no adverse impact on fruit quality in terms of biomolecules and phytochemicals but also led to significant improvements. Specifically, under these conditions, there was a remarkable increase, in respect to control, in total protein (TPRO by 50 %), total carbohydrates (TCARB by 18 %), lycopene (LIC by 68 %), total Carotenoids (TCAR by 13 %), and total phenols (TPHE by 18 %) in terms of antioxidants.In contrast, the content of ascorbic acid and antioxidant activities remained consistent. Moderate salt stress exhibited the most positive influence on sweet bell pepper quality, leading to higher concentrations of essential nutrients and nutraceutical compounds, including minerals, phenolic acids, and flavonoids.

Recycling agricultural, municipal and industrial pollutant wastes into fertilizers for a sustainable healthy food production.

This work was focused on recycling different typology of pollutant wastes (olive pomace and orange residues; municipal wastes and sulphur residue of hydrocarbon refining processes) with the triple objectives of limiting wastes in landfill, reducing greenhouse gas emission and producing organic-mineral fertilizers. The environmental risks and benefits of the whole process have been considered. The specific objectives were: 1) innovation in waste management techniques by reducing the accumulation of different typology of wastes using a unique process 2) verifying efficiency of the obtained organic-mineral fertilizers on soil and plant growth 3) improving soil and crop quality relating wastes to food, economy and environment. Sulphur-based pads improved soil quality mostly when contained orange residues. Onion and Garlic grew better in presence of sulphur-based pads (+20%), and mostly when pads contained orange residues (+45%). Onion and Garlic quality, in terms of antioxidant compounds and antioxidant capacity, increased in presence of sulphur-based pads (+30%) mostly when orange residues were present in the pads (+90%). In short, in addition to the environmental advantages, numerous economic benefits coming from the decrease in the production and use of chemical fertilizers, the reduction of costs for landfilling and the gain rising from the sale of the new fertilizers produced, emerged.