Abstract
Alpine blue-sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr.) is a perennial herb distributed all along the entire Alpine Arc, the shoots of which are still collected in the wild in several areas of Northern-Eastern Italy for food purposes. Our paper deals with experiments of domestication of this species carried out in the surroundings of Trento and lasted from 2004 to 2010. The cultivation was carried out transplanting seedlings, obtained by wild seed of a unique accession. One experimental trial (2004/2008) was carried in the location Frisanchi, located at 1,078 m a.s.l. In this trial the theses compared 4 harvests, 1 week spaced, carried out respectively in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year after the transplant. Of the total quantity harvested after 4 years, the most shoots (60) and the highest dried weight per m2 (14 g) were obtained from shoots collected 2 or 3 years after being transplanted. However, comparing the shoots yielded in the last year of the trial only (2008), the best results were obtained from 3 or 4-year-old transplants (42 shoots/m2; 8.2 g dry weight). Nevertheless there four times harvesting of shoots weakened the plants’ development and a high failure rates was recorded. In addition to the real experimental trial another small cultivation was carried out in an higher location, Monte Bondone at 1,500 m a.s.l., in which 5 years after the transplant (2010) only 2 harvests were carried out. In this experiment the yield recorded was very encouraging (10.5 g m2) and also the quality of the shoots collected was good.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aeschimann D, Lauber K, Moser DM, Theurillat JP (2004) Flora Alpina, vol II. Zanichelli, Bologna, p 656
Aiello N, Fusani P (2005) Metodi per rimuovere la dormienza del seme in Cicerbita alpina. Sementi Elette 3:52–54
Ambrosi G, Pianelle D, Nicolini G (2001) Studio sulla possibilità di coltivazione di Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr. Centro di Ecologia Alpina, Trento Report 24
Arietti N (1974) La flora economica e popolare del territorio bresciano. Ateneo, Brescia
Bremer K (1994) Asteraceae. Cladistics and classification. Timber Press, Portland
Cattivello C, Danielis R, Cisilino L (2006) Radicchio di monte: dalla raccolta di materiale spontaneo alla coltivazione. Cervignano del Friuli. Notiziario ERSA 3–4:3–6
Cividino S, Gussetti I, Colussi L (2006) Aspetti economici legati alla coltivazione del radicchio di monte (Cicerbita alpina). Notiziario ERSA, Cervignano del Friuli 3–4:7–10
Corradini C, Ponessi M, Innocente N (2002) Cibario del Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Atlante dei prodotti della tradizione. ERSA, Udine
Fusani P, Zidorn A (2010) Phenolics and a sesquiterpene lactone in the edible shoots of Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallroth. J Food Compos Anal 23(6):658–663
Fusani P, Scartezzini F, Aiello N, Vender C (2009) Cicerbita alpina: an Alpine vegetable resource to value. Acta Hort 826, ISHS, pp 333–336
Ghirardini MP, Carli M, Del Vecchio N et al (2007) The importance of a taste. A comparative study on wild food plant consumption in twenty-one local communities in Italy. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 3:22
Gledhill D (2008) The names of plants. Cambridge University press, Cambridge
Jeffrey C (2001) Asteraceae. In: Hanelt P, Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (eds) Mansfeld’s encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Springer, Berlin, pp 2035–2145
Leonie A, (2005) Cicerbita alpina (L.). http://www.plantlife.org.uk last visited: September 6th 2011
Picchi G, Pieroni A (2005) Atlante dei prodotti tipici. Le erbe. Ed. INSor, rai, agra. Roma, p 328
Pignatti S (1982) Flora d’Italia. Edagricole, Bologna, p 261
Scartezzini F (2005) Micropropagazione della cicerbita violetta. Sementi Elette 3:55–59
Scartezzini F, Vender C, Aiello N, Fusani P (2005) Domestication and field management trials of Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr. First international conference on crop wild relative conservation and use, 14–17 September 2005, Agrigento, Italy. Book of abstracts, p 126 (http://www.pgrforum.org/Publications.htm)
Scartezzini F (2008) Prime esperienze nella produzione di piantine di Cicerbita alpina. Terra Trentina 2:29–33
Sell PD (1976) Cicerbita Wallr. In: Tutin TG, Heywood VH, Burges NA, Moore DM, Valentine DH, Walters SM, Webb DA (eds) Flora Europaea, IV: 331. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Acknowledgments
Most of this research was part of the project “Edible, Aromatic and Medicinal Alpine Plants, a resource to value” (PARMA) financed by the Autonomous Province of Trento (2004–2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scartezzini, F., Fusani, P., Aiello, N. et al. Domestication of Alpine blue-sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr.): six year trial results. Genet Resour Crop Evol 59, 465–471 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-011-9762-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-011-9762-x