Ricerc@Sapienza

Substrate salinity is one of the main abiotic factors limiting plant establishment, growth and distribution in coastal habitats. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the interaction between salt concentration and duration of exposure on the physiology and growth of Carpobrotus edulis, an important invasive plant species growing in coastal dune habitats. In this study, four salinity treatment cycles of different length (three, six, twelve and twenty-four days) at salinity of 0 M, 0.1 M, 0.2 M and 0.3 M were imposed.

Cistus salvifolius L. is the most widely spread Cistus species around the Mediterranean basin. It colonizes a wide range of habitats growing from sea level to 1,800 m a.s.l., on silicolous and calcicolous soils, in sun areas as well as in the understory of wooded areas. Nevertheless, this species has been mainly investigated in term of its responsiveness to drought. Our aim was to understand which leaf traits allow C. salvifolius to cope with low-light environments.

For the first time the antifungal activity of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was evaluated against Botrytis cinerea, that it is one of the phytopathogenic fungi which causes the greatest damage in agriculture. In in-vitro tests, the greatest inhibitory effect of DMSO on fungal grow was recorded at pH 6. A significant growth inhibition was caused by 0.5% DMSO at 96 h post-inoculation. With higher DMSO concentrations, significant effects were recorded starting from 48 h post-inoculation. As the medium pH decreased, the inhibitory effect of DMSO also decreased.