Nature-based solutions can significantly contribute to restoration projects in areas affected by desertification processes, where they are necessary for reversing land degradation. Currently, one innovative solution is The Cocoon (TM), which has been designed as a new ecotechnology for improving seedling establishment. The Cocoon consists of a doughnut-shaped container made of recycled cardboard that provides water and shelter at least during the first year of a seedling, which is the most critical for plant establishment. To determine the effectiveness of this ecotechnology under different conditions, the Cocoon was tested on a variety of soils, climates, vegetation, and land uses. Six planting trials were performed in Spain and Greece, which covered a range from humid to arid climates. With the objective of studying its functionality, the survival of the seedlings, their vigor, and growth were monitored for 2 years. Compared with conventional planting systems, the Cocoon has effectively increased seedling survival, especially under dry growing conditions (low rainfall, soils with low water holding capacity). The Cocoon also allowed for higher growth of some species (olive trees, holm oaks, and Aleppo pines). Moreover, a positive correlation between the rainfall on the site and the biodegradation degree of the Cocoon device was observed. Overall, the Cocoon becomes more efficient in arid climates or adverse growing conditions.

In the light of the current climate crisis, one of the most serious ecological threats is the increase of desertification. In this context, restoration projects are necessary for reverting land degradation, and nature-based solutions could help them. The Cocoon™ has been designed as a new ecotechnology for improving seedling establishment. The Cocoon consists of a donut-shaped container made out of recycled cardboard that provides water and shelter to the seedling, at least during its first year, which is the most critical for plant establishment. The Cocoon was tested on a variety of soils, Mediterranean mesoclimates, vegetation and land uses that allowed testing the effectiveness of this ecotechnology under different conditions. Six planting trials, five of them in Spain (Canary Islands, Almería, Catalonia and two in Valencia), and one in Ptolemais (Greece), were performed. With the objective of studying its functionality, the survival of the seedlings, their vigor and growth were monitored along two years. In general, the Cocoon has proven its effectiveness by increasing seedling survival compared to the conventional planting system, especially under dry growing conditions (low rainfall, soils with low water holding capacity). The Cocoon also allowed for higher growth of some species (olive trees, olm oaks and Aleppo pines). Moreover, a positive correlation between the rainfall on the site and the degradation degree of the Cocoon device was observed. Overall, the Cocoon becomes more efficient the more arid the climate or the more difficult the growing conditions are.

Abiotic and biotic stresses cause most of the yield losses in agriculture. To avoid downfalls in productivity, conventional management uses chemical pesticides to prevent damage caused by biotic stresses. However, combating damage resulting from extreme abiotic factors is an even more complex task because they are essentially unavoidable, generally being triggered in combination (e.g., drought plus intense sunlight). Some of the conventional methods to fight against stress cause problems to human health and/or environmental damages. To prevent these undesired side effects, the EU has enacted specific regulations governing the formulations used in crop farming. As a consequence, it is necessary to design new high-activity formulations with low toxicity. Among such alternatives to using pesticides, many research groups are looking for novel compounds capable of inducing a sensitization or primed state that helps plants face biotic and abiotic pressures. To achieve this goal they have developed different approaches to test them. This chapter presents an overview of the strategies currently used to discover and refine these novel agents, followed by the process of developing commercial plant-protection products beneficial to crop yield.

Vitamins, since their discovery, have triggered researchers' interest mainly because of their role in human health. They are essential in cell redox reactions and also as enzyme cofactors both in animal and plant kingdoms. Over the recent years their metabolic biosynthetic pathways have been elucidated showing the important role of plant organelles and also their regulation by environmental signals such as light or salinity. In this chapter, we aim to explore the connections between vitamins and plant stress response. Biotic and abiotic stresses are likely to increase in the near future because of anthropogenic contributions and climate change, exacerbating the detrimental effects on plant development and yields. Among different strategies, including breeding by conventional or transgenic approaches, treating plants with natural or synthetic chemicals could enhance their tolerance to various stresses with less impact on their physiology and growth than nontreated plants. The mode of action of these compounds are in most cases unclear; however, the evidence regarding common tolerance activation sites and signaling pathways that appear related to enhanced tolerance against different stresses strongly supports their potential. In this regard, this chapter presents the results of studies of the effect of vitamins and vitamin-derived compounds reported to date on the laboratory model plant Arabidopsis thaliana L. and several other crop species against biotic and abiotic stresses.

For the majority of crops, salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses, since about 20% of irrigated agricultural land is adversely affected by it. Menadione sodium bisulphite (MSB), a water-soluble vitamin K-3 o menadione derivative, has been previously reported as a plant defence activator against several pathogens in a number of species. We have further explored the MSB effects on salt tolerance. In this study, Arabidopsis thaliana wild ecotype Col-0 plants were exposed to prolonged salt (50 mM) stress. Salt treatment resulted in severe growth inhibition. This detrimental effect was lower in terms of relative growth rate (RGR) in plants from seeds soaked in 20 mM of MSB. In these plants, the drop in RGR was nearly 30% lower than untreated plants after 7 days in salt. Furthermore, we found that the salt stress imposed was not enough to disturb photosystem II or induce the expression of several detoxification genes. These functional impairments are characteristic of ionic injuries due to high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). At the end of the second week of the experiment, salt-treated plants recover RGR levels close to those of the control. Under our experimental conditions plants seem to be challenged by an osmotic stress with a minimum ionic imbalance. Those from MSB-treated seeds were primed to induce an earlier proline accumulation. Although no significant expression of ROS detoxification genes was found, several transcription factors involved in ROS signalling were detected after salt addition. In this context, MSB treatment was able to prime these transcription factors, resulting in an early adaptation of plants in response to salt stress. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The endemic flora of the Canary Islands is remarkable but highly vulnerable to environmental changes. Several factors, such as fire, could be threatening. The purpose of this study was to analyze various treatments in endemic threatened species which could have been growing in the understory of the Canary pine forest. We attempted to improve germination through dormancy breaking, and analyze the influence of fire on these plants. Seven physical and chemical treatments were tested: control, mechanical scarification, boiling water, dry heat (50 and 120 °C), smoke and smoked water. Mechanical scarification showed a positive response in germination percentage in two species characterized by hard seed coat, but out of all of the species tested, only one demonstrated a positive response to any of the treatments related to fire. At the temperatures registered on wildfires, neither the seeds situated on the aerial structure nor seeds in seed bank seem to be able to survive and germinate. The increasing incidence of fires through anthropogenic causes could contribute to the current threat status of these species and poorness of the Canary pine forest understory.

Bencomia exstipulata es una planta endémica de las islas de Tenerife y La Palma que se encuentra en peligro de extinción. Debido a la dificultad que existe en algunos casos para la multiplicación sexual y por esquejes de estas plantas se decidió recurrir a las técnicas de micropropagación. Se sembraron in vitro yemas axilares y apicales, obteniéndose un 77% de yemas desarrolladas en un medio de cultivo MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) enriquecido con benciladenina (BA) 0.5 mg/l. La aplicación de pulsos de ácido indolbutírico (IBA) 1 g/l sobre la base de los microesquejes y la reducción de sales del medio de cultivo produjo un 95.45% de vitroplantas enraizadas. Este método podría ser una buena alternativa para la propagación de Bencomia exstipulata.

Palabras clave: Cistaceae, especies amenazadas, Helianthemum inaguae, micropropagación, multiplicación por segmentos nodales, enraizamiento. Abreviaciones: BA-Benciladenine, Kin-kinetina, IBA- Ácido Indolbutírico, MS- medio Murashige y Skoog, NAA- Ácido naftalenacético. SUMMARY A micropropagation protocol has been developed for Helianthemum inaguae Marrero Rodr., González Martín & González Artiles, an endangered species from Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). Shoot tips and nodal segments isolated from in vitro germinated seedlings, aged two months, were used as primary explants. Multiple shoot production was obtained using MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of BA, Kin and NAA, showing BA and Kin the best results. Finally, rooting was achieved also in MS medium by adding IBA or without any plant growth regulator. A 72% survival rate was obtained during the acclimatisation process.

A novel peroxidase that catalyses the transformation of caffeic acid and ferulic acid via oxidative coupling was purified from callus cultures of Bupleurum salicifolium petioles. The enzyme, which was purified over 2,900-fold, is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 38,000, determined by SDS/PAGE and gel filtration. The K-m values obtained were 2.4 x 10(-4) M for caffeic and 2.6 x 10(-4) M for ferulic acid, while the Km values for H2O2 with caffeic acid was 4 x 10(-5) M and for H2O2 with ferulic acid was 4.8 x 10(-4) M. The purified peroxidase exhibits lower activity with typical peroxidase substrates (guaiacol and pyrogallol) than it does with caffeic and ferulic acids, but does not exhibit any activity with other phenylpropanoids tested (cinnamic acid, coumaric acid, and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid).

El material que aqui se presenta hace parte de una investigacion mas grande realizada por el Departamento de Investigacion de la Facultad de Ciencias Economicas y Administrativas de la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, sobre la pro­duccion campesina en Boyaca. En este trabajo de investigacion llevado a ca­bo por los autores, miembros de la Fundacion San Isidro y campesinos, se presentan los resul­tados de la investigacion-participativa sobre la fuerza del trabajo y unidad de produccion al norte de Boyaca. Se describe como se organiza la familia a nivel de la division del trabajo por sexo y edad, en torno a la produccion agricola de papa, maiz, trigo y tabaco, a la cria de ani­males, la manufactura de artesanias y el traba­jo en las minas. Se analiza la mano vuelta o forma de trabajo comunal caracteristico de los grupos campesinos.