Cultivation Practices, Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Value of Weeds

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Weed Science and Weed Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2021) | Viewed by 11126

Special Issue Editor

Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou St., 38446 Volos, Greece
Interests: weed biology; crop–weed interactions; weed management in field crops and vegetables; integrated weed management; herbicide-resistant weeds; pharmaceutical and nutritional value of weeds; agronomy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that weeds adversely affect crop production due to competition for water, nutrients, and light. Despite this fact, weeds that exhibit nutritional value and pharmaceutical properties have significant potential uses. Due to these properties, several weed species are currently grown for the production of various products.

Some weed species with biological properties that are cultivated in several countries are as follows: 1) milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.), 2) common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), 3) liqorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.), 4) cow cockle (Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert), and 5) common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus L.).  

This Special Issue will focus on various aspects of “Cultivation Practices, Pharmaceutical, and Nutritional Value of Weeds”. We welcome original research papers, communications, and reviews covering all issues related to “Cultivation Practices, Pharmaceutical, and Nutritional Value of Weeds” such as cultivation practices of weeds (fertilization, irrigation, crop establishment, etc.), genetic material and crop improvement, pharmaceutical properties of weeds, nutritional value of edible weeds, and yield and quality improvement. There should be a particular focus on the main bioactive compounds contained in edible or medicinal weeds since its content determines the final product quality and its biological properties. It is important to submit articles about plants that are considered weeds.

Dr. Anestis Karkanis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • edible weeds
  • medicinal weeds
  • pharmaceutical properties
  • nutritional value
  • bioactive compounds and content
  • cultivation practices
  • fertilization
  • irrigation
  • breeding
  • genotypes
  • organic farming
  • conventional farming
  • yield
  • quality

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1118 KiB  
Article
Effect of Nutrient Solution pH on the Growth, Yield and Quality of Taraxacum officinale and Reichardia picroides in a Floating Hydroponic System
by Alexios A. Alexopoulos, Efstathios Marandos, Anna Assimakopoulou, Nikolina Vidalis, Spyridon A. Petropoulos and Ioannis C. Karapanos
Agronomy 2021, 11(6), 1118; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11061118 - 30 May 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5014
Abstract
Given the important medicinal and nutritional value of wild edible greens, the last few years there is an increasing interest for their domestication and commercial exploitation. However, information concerning their adaptation to environmental conditions and their response to modern agricultural systems are scarce. [...] Read more.
Given the important medicinal and nutritional value of wild edible greens, the last few years there is an increasing interest for their domestication and commercial exploitation. However, information concerning their adaptation to environmental conditions and their response to modern agricultural systems are scarce. In the present study, the effect of nutrient solution pH (4.0, 5.5 and 7.0) on the growth, chemical composition and inorganic nutrition of Taraxacum officinale and Reichardia picroides plants grown indoors in a floating hydroponic system was evaluated. Both species performed better at pH 5.5 and were slightly affected by pH 7.0, whereas pH 4.0 was not prohibitive for growth for both species, although R. picroides was less tolerant than T. officinale at low pH. Moreover, pH 4.0 did not severely affect nutrients uptake and transport within the plant tissues, suggesting that R. picroides susceptibility to low pH should not be attributed to nutrients imbalance. Nevertheless, low pH positively enhanced the content in total soluble solids, total phenolics, chlorophylls (a, b and total) and carotenoids, and decreased nitrates in both species. In conclusion, the studied species could be successfully grown in soilless systems with nutrient solutions of varied pH. Moreover, low pH levels (pH = 4.0) seemed to be beneficial to nutritional and dietary value in both species highlighting the potential of commercial cultivation under adverse conditions, especially in sustainable farming systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation Practices, Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Value of Weeds)
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18 pages, 364 KiB  
Article
Effects of Growing Substrate and Nitrogen Fertilization on the Chemical Composition and Bioactive Properties of Centaurea raphanina ssp. mixta (DC.) Runemark
by Spyridon A. Petropoulos, Ângela Fernandes, Maria Inês Dias, Carla Pereira, Ricardo C. Calhelha, Marija Ivanov, Marina D. Sokovic, Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira and Lillian Barros
Agronomy 2021, 11(3), 576; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11030576 - 18 Mar 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1720
Abstract
The Mediterranean basin is abundant in wild edible species with numerous health beneficial effects due to the presence of various bioactive phytochemicals. In the present work, the effect of nitrogen fertilization rates (0 ppm, (N0), 200 ppm (N1), 400 ppm (N2), and 600 [...] Read more.
The Mediterranean basin is abundant in wild edible species with numerous health beneficial effects due to the presence of various bioactive phytochemicals. In the present work, the effect of nitrogen fertilization rates (0 ppm, (N0), 200 ppm (N1), 400 ppm (N2), and 600 ppm (N3) of total N) and growth substrate composition (soil or peat/perlite (2/1; v/v)) on the chemical composition and bioactive properties of Centaurea raphanina ssp. mixta plants was evaluated. The results of the study showed that both the tested factors affected nutritional value of the edible leaves, with the soil × N1 treatment being the most beneficial for fat, protein, and carbohydrate content and energetic value. On the other hand, the peat/perlite-grown plants that received 200 ppm of N had the highest content in α-, γ-, and total tocopherols, while the control treatment of soil-grown plants was the richest in individual and total sugars. Oxalic, citric, and total organic acids were the highest in the N2 × soil treatment, while malic acid was the highest in control treatment of the same substrate. The main fatty acids were palmitic, α-linolenic, and linoleic acids, with the highest contents being observed in the N0 × soil, N3 × soil, and N3 × peat/perlite treatments, respectively. The major phenolic compounds were pinocembrim neohesperidoside and pinocembrim acetyl neohesperidoside isomer II, with the highest content being observed in the N1 × soil treatment. The highest antihemolytic activity was observed in the N3 × peat/perlite treatment, while the most effective treatments against lipid peroxidation were N0 (in both soil and peat/perlite combinations) and N1 × peat/perlite. Lastly, all the tested extracts (except for N1 × soil) showed promising cytotoxic effects against HeLa (cervical carcinoma), HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma), MCF-7 (breast carcinoma), and NCI-H460 (non-small-cell lung cancer), while all the tested extracts exhibited better antifungal activities (lower minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) values) against Trichoderma viride than the positive controls. Overall, the present results suggest that the application of cost-effective practices such as the nitrogen application and the selection of growth substrate may regulate the chemical composition and the bioactive properties of C. raphanina ssp. mixta species and increase its added value under commercial cultivation conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation Practices, Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Value of Weeds)

Review

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16 pages, 1107 KiB  
Review
Cultivation Practices, Adaptability and Phytochemical Composition of Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.): A Weed with Economic Value
by Vasiliki Liava, Anestis Karkanis, Nicholaos Danalatos and Nikolaos Tsiropoulos
Agronomy 2021, 11(5), 914; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11050914 - 06 May 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3836
Abstract
The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is a perennial weed that is cultivated for bioethanol production or pharmaceutical purposes, as its aerial parts and tubers contain several chemical compounds. This review summarizes important data on the effects of the main cultivation practices [...] Read more.
The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is a perennial weed that is cultivated for bioethanol production or pharmaceutical purposes, as its aerial parts and tubers contain several chemical compounds. This review summarizes important data on the effects of the main cultivation practices (e.g., the planting density and pattern, weed management, fertilization, irrigation, genotypes and harvest) on tuber yield and quality. The most widespread method for the propagation of the Jerusalem artichoke is planting the tubers directly in the field, with a plant density of about 33,000–47,000 plants ha−1. Weed management is based on herbicide application, mechanical cultivation and hand hoeing, while the nutrient requirements are low, and irrigation relies on weather conditions. For instance, under Mediterranean semi-arid conditions, the crops are irrigated from June to September. In addition, the harvest time depends on the genotype and the purpose of cultivation, which is an important consideration for obtaining a high-quality product. In conclusion, Jerusalem artichoke yield and quality depend on several factors, and this plant, due to its high productivity, constitutes a promising crop with numerous uses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation Practices, Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Value of Weeds)
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