Soil and legumes of the Sibillini for high quality pasta

“Soil, where food begins” is the statement of FAO Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition. This intimate link can only be studied through an interdisciplinary and holistic approach, starting from the assessment of soil health condition, including its biodiversity, crossing the entire supply chain, to food quality and its effect on human health in the broad sense. According to this, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the health of agricultural soil and the quality of its food products, specifically organic legume flour and pasta. The project valorises the innovation of a traditional Italian product in a perspective of eco-sustainability, qualitative and nutritional improvement in conjunction with enhancement of ecological and gastronomic-cultural healthiness of the Marche region. The project was developed in collaboration with Azienda Agricola Monte Monaco S.r.l., a company specialized in the production of organic legume pasta located in the Sibillini. During the three years of biomonitoring activities, a transect from the Sibillini mountains up to the Adriatic coastline will be monitored. During two seasons, the soil health condition of different agricultural fields will be assessed through chemical-physical and biological indicators, considering climatic and management factors as well as crop yields and landscape effects. Among the biological indicators, the Biological Quality of Soil index based on arthropods (QBS-ar) is applied. During the first year, chickpeas fields from four organic farms were considered. Data related to soil biological analysis showed significant differences between the seasons. Most of the farms had in both seasons an excellent soil biological quality. Further, we are analysing the nutritional composition, technological functionality, and sensory characteristics of the legume flours and pastaobtained from the monitored fields. Additionally, an analysis of the rhizospheric microbial community by 16S rDNA metabarcoding approaches is currently ongoing to have a wider overview of the differences between sites and their effects on the quality of pasta.