Researcher

Phd in Agri-food Production Science and Technology

email: maria.riccardi@isafom.cnr.it ; maria.riccardi@cnr.it

Tel. +39 081.0624. (int 522)

skype: qupric

Laboratory activities:

• specific expertise in chemical analyses of water, soil and plant material
• use of ICP-AES atomic emission spectrometer for the analysis of water and plant materials
• scientific and technical support to students and scholars

 Field activities:

• irrigation management and calculation of water restitution
• survey of vegetative development parameters (LAI, fresh and dry weights of the different plant parts) and the main phenological phases)
• production surveys (quantity of production, weight 1000 seeds)
• physiological measurements (leaf and osmotic potentials, leaf relative water content, stomatal conductance, transpiration, chlorophyll content, ABA and proline determination)

 Research activities:

Research activities focused on the response of field-grown crops to water and salt stress, with a particular focus on protein crops such as quinoa, amaranth, grain legumes, other herbaceous and tree crops such as: processing tomatoes, stevia rebaudiana, spelt, rye, white mustard, melon and olive

This research activity was directed towards the study of:

• efficient use of water for sustainable agriculture
• plant water relations (leaf and osmotic potential, stomatal conductance, leaf relative water content)
• growth analysis through the evaluation of indices such as LA, SLA, NAR, RGR, etc;
• use of saline water for irrigation purposes
• ionic content in different parts of the plant to identify the mechanisms it can activate to adapt/resist to stress conditions
• variation in the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil
• change in the concentration of salts in groundwater
• comparison of cultivars and/or genotypes to evaluate the most promising ones in relation to environmental conditions
• the study of newly introduced crops such as quinoa and amaranth, which are interesting both from a dietary point of view, as they have added nutritional value (rich in essential amino acids) and are suitable for the nutrition of people suffering from particular pathologies (coeliacs), and from an agronomic point of view, as they are resistant to abiotic stresses (water and salt)
• Study of the response of different olive cultivars to water availability to assess adaptability to future climate change

The reported research activity is documented by approximately 110 research products (of which 16 publications in ISI journals)

Research support activities

• organisation of meetings and conferences
• Single Project Manager for purchases below the thresholds
• collaboration on project reporting

Publications on the PEOPLE CNR Platform

 CV Riccardi