As a result of climate change, causing high temperature, erratic precipitation, and extreme meteorological events, in recent times in Italy productivity of Maize is becoming less reliable. Climate change effects are accompanied by the increase in the presence of mycotoxins and various pathogens, which contribute to the reduction of the possibility of successfully producing Maize. In this framework, Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) may be an interesting alternative, as it is a relatively low-demanding crop, highly drought-resistant, and can be employed, similarly to Sorghum, in rotation, maintaining a certain amount of biodiversity and contributing to the revenue for the farmers. Moreover, Proso Millet has a very short cycle, and may be used as a catch crop, when other crops have failed or after their harvest. Millet used to be cultivated in ancient times in Italy, but then it was abandoned in favor of Maize, so now it is necessary to re-define proper agricultural practices and managements, as well as to remedy to the lack of an exact description of its phenological development. In the frame of a Life-CCA EU project, called Growing REsilience AgriculTure—Life (GREAT LIFE), aim of this work is to encode phenology of Proso Millet using BBCH scale. The lack of an exact definition of Proso Millet phenology is a major drawback in progressing in research on this crop, which could be a very valuable tool for improving the resilience of agro-ecosystems to climate change in the Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, Proso Millet was cultivated in two experimental sites in the Emilia-Romagna region (North of Italy). The crop was closely monitored throughout the life cycle, in order to document, even photographically, the achievement of the subsequent phenological phases (including the time necessary to reach each phenological stage, expressed as Days After Sowing—DAS). Thanks to weather data collection from agrometeorological stations close to the experimental fields, it was possible to correlate the phenological development to temperature-driven heat-unit accumulation (Cumulated Growing Degree Days—CGDD), using the single triangle method (useful tool for forecasting purposes). Ancillary agronomic data have also been collected, for completeness. This study well describes primary and secondary phenological stages of Proso Millet, managing at encoding them in the BBCH scale and contextually providing DAS and CGDD values necessary to achieve the different phenophases. The difference observed between the two experimental sites in reaching each BBCH stage according to both CGDD and DAS is mostly restrained, suggesting that this work may represent a valid first tool in defining the phenological development of Proso Millet in the areas of Northern Italy. The effort made to encode Proso Millet phenology in BBCH scale may be useful to give to researchers comprehensive indications for future agronomic surveys on the crop. The agronomic data collected show that the crop had a good agronomic performance despite the adverse weather pattern during the season, enlightening for farmers the opportunity offered by Millet in Italy as a resilient crop.

中文翻译：

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以 BBCH 等级编码的 Proso 小米 (Panicum miliaceum L.) 的物候阶段

由于气候变化导致高温、降水不稳定和极端气象事件，最近意大利玉米的生产力变得越来越不可靠。气候变化的影响伴随着霉菌毒素和各种病原体的增加，这有助于降低成功生产玉米的可能性。在这个框架中，Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) 可能是一个有趣的替代品，因为它是一种要求相对较低的作物，高度抗旱，并且可以像高粱一样轮作使用，保持一定数量的生物多样性并为农民的收入做出贡献。此外，Proso Millet 的周期非常短，可在其他作物歉收或收获后用作捕获作物。意大利古代曾种植小米，但后来被遗弃，转而种植玉米，因此现在有必要重新定义适当的农业实践和管理，并弥补对其缺乏准确描述的问题。物候发展。在 Life-CCA EU 项目的框架内，该项目名为 Growing Resilience AgriculTure-Life (GREAT LIFE)，这项工作的目的是使用 BBCH 量表对 Proso Millet 的物候学进行编码。缺乏对 Proso Millet 物候学的准确定义是该作物研究进展的主要缺点，这可能是提高地中海盆地农业生态系统对气候变化的适应力的非常有价值的工具。为此，在艾米利亚-罗马涅地区（意大利北部）的两个试验点种植了 Proso Millet。作物在整个生命周期中都受到密切监测，以记录甚至用照片记录后续物候阶段的成就（包括达到每个物候阶段所需的时间，以播种后天数 - DAS 表示）。由于从靠近试验田的农业气象站收集的天气数据，可以使用单三角法（用于预测目的的有用工具）将物候发展与温度驱动的热量单位积累（累积生长度日 - CGDD）相关联）。为了完整性，还收集了辅助农艺数据。这项研究很好地描述了 Proso Millet 的初级和次级物候阶段，管理在 BBCH 尺度中对它们进行编码，并根据上下文提供实现不同物相所需的 DAS 和 CGDD 值。根据 CGDD 和 DAS，在达到每个 BBCH 阶段的两个实验地点之间观察到的差异大多受到限制，这表明这项工作可能是定义意大利北部地区 Proso Millet 物候发育的有效第一个工具。以 BBCH 规模编码 Proso Millet 物候学的努力可能有助于为研究人员提供未来作物农学调查的全面指示。收集到的农艺数据表明，尽管当季天气状况不佳，但该作物仍具有良好的农艺表现，这让农民意识到小米在意大利作为一种有弹性的作物提供的机会。根据 CGDD 和 DAS，在达到每个 BBCH 阶段的两个实验地点之间观察到的差异大多受到限制，这表明这项工作可能是定义意大利北部地区 Proso Millet 物候发育的有效第一个工具。以 BBCH 规模编码 Proso Millet 物候学的努力可能有助于为研究人员提供未来作物农学调查的全面指示。收集到的农艺数据表明，尽管当季天气状况不佳，但该作物仍具有良好的农艺表现，这让农民意识到小米在意大利作为一种有弹性的作物提供的机会。根据 CGDD 和 DAS，在达到每个 BBCH 阶段的两个实验地点之间观察到的差异大多受到限制，这表明这项工作可能是定义意大利北部地区 Proso Millet 物候发育的有效第一个工具。以 BBCH 规模编码 Proso Millet 物候学的努力可能有助于为研究人员提供未来作物农学调查的全面指示。收集到的农艺数据表明，尽管当季天气状况不佳，但该作物仍具有良好的农艺表现，这让农民意识到小米在意大利作为一种有弹性的作物提供的机会。表明这项工作可能是定义意大利北部地区 Proso Millet 物候发育的有效第一个工具。以 BBCH 规模编码 Proso Millet 物候学的努力可能有助于为研究人员提供未来作物农学调查的全面指示。收集到的农艺数据表明，尽管当季天气状况不佳，但该作物仍具有良好的农艺表现，这让农民意识到小米在意大利作为一种有弹性的作物提供的机会。表明这项工作可能是定义意大利北部地区 Proso Millet 物候发育的有效第一个工具。以 BBCH 规模编码 Proso Millet 物候学的努力可能有助于为研究人员提供未来作物农学调查的全面指示。收集到的农艺数据表明，尽管当季天气状况不佳，但该作物仍具有良好的农艺表现，这让农民意识到小米在意大利作为一种有弹性的作物提供的机会。