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With regret, we have to inform the community of plant pathologists, plant virologists, and plant protection scientists. Assoc. Prof. Jaroslav Polák, a former and long-time Plant Protection Science editorial board member, passed away on May 20, 2024.

In 2024, the journal Plant Protection Science (PPS) completes 60 years of publication (1965-2024). Its roots extend back to the year 1921. In recent years, PPS has developed into an international scientific journal focused on all aspects of plant protection science, published exclusively in English, and with an international editorial board. The publisher is the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), celebrating its 100th anniversary (1924-2024). PPS is one of eleven agricultural journals published by CAAS. On its 50th anniversary, PPS published a detailed overview of its history and development. This latest critical review summarises developments during the last ten years; however, in special cases, also with a longer-term perspective. During the last decade, PPS has made impressive progress and is now among the world's key scientific journals. Recently, the journal has been added to the indexing and abstracts of many international databases, e.g. BIOSIS Previews, SCOPUS and Web of Science. In 2014, PPS had an impact factor of 0.597, but during the last few years, PPS's IF has ranged between 1.3 and 1.4 (for 2023, IF = 1.7), with the possibility of further increase. Each year, PPS is published quarterly, with a total of around 40 papers (original papers, reviews, short communications, biographical notices, and book reviews). Per year, about 70-80% of papers by authors/co-authors from abroad are published (Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Oceania). In the final part of this presentation, we describe some recent achievements and discuss key topics related to PPS's future development.

Brassica and related crops are one of the most important and widely growing crops around the world. They have very broad utilization in human activities as fresh and processed food, fodder and forage of animals, condiments and ornamental plants. This group of plants belongs to one of the oldest domesticated crops with very wide geographic distribution and history of growing and human utilization. Brassicas are also very diverse from taxonomical and genetic viewpoint with rather long history of breeding. The First Edition of this book was published by CABI in 2006, this volume received very high evaluation and by reviewers was considered as "an exemplary job in making horticultural sense". However, during the last two decades there was made enormous progress in research, breeding, growing and practical aspects of utilization of these crops. This newest edition of the book represents a very impressive, comprehensive and complex treatment of all the most important aspects related to vegetable brassicas and related crucifers used in horticulture.

This article focuses on the occurrence of powdery mildews in the Lamiaceae family in the Czech Republic. A comprehensive analysis of morphological characteristics supported by molecular analysis of partial ITS sequences and analysis of host species gained important insights regarding the occurrence and diversity of powdery mildews. Thirty-four plant samples of the Lamiaceae family infected by powdery mildew collected in the Czech Republic between 2015-2022 were analysed. In these samples, the occurrence of all newly described species within the former Golovinomyces biocellatus complex was confirmed (G. biocellatus, G. salviae, G. neosalviae and G. monardae), and Neoërysiphe galeopsidis was also verified. Moreover, our study expands the already reported host species list of G. biocellatus complex within the Lamiaceae family.

On February 23, 2022, the great Czech plant pathologist, and my personal friend and esteemed colleague, prof. Václav Kůdela passed away. For over 15 years (1990-2006), he served as the Editor-in-Chief for our journal, Plant Protection Science. His whole adult life was connected with agriculture, plant pathology, plant protection and the science of phytotherapy. However, he was also man who accepted, maintained, applied and lived his life following specific, serious traditional rules. The trajectory of his life and its fundamental message arose primarily from his family origins and experiences in youth.

Powdery mildews on the Asteraceae family were surveyed during 2007-2015 in the Czech Republic with the aim to increase our knowledge about occurrence, morphological characteristics and host specificity of powdery mildews on this family. In total, 32 host species with symptoms of powdery mildew were collected, and the fungal species were identified based on microscopic observations. These showed great variability in their morphological characteristics. Our study confirmed the high host specificity of powdery mildew species to their original hosts. A deeper knowledge of the taxonomy of the Asteraceae has brought substantial changes in the delimitation of powdery mildew species. In particular, delimitation of the three varieties of Golovinomyces asterum was studied and discussed.

The effect of plant heat-shock (HS) pre-treatment (40.5°C, 2 h) on Pseudoidium neolycopersici development in the susceptible and moderately resistant Solanum spp. genotypes was studied together with biochemical responses (endogenous concentrations of salicylic (SA), jasmonic (JA), abscisic acid (ABA), and peroxidase (POX) activity). In HS pre-treated S. lycopersicum, an acceleration of pathogen, chlorosis and necrosis development, strong SA, JA accumulation, and increased POX activity were detected. In S. chmielewskii, HS pre-treatment caused a slight suppression of pathogen development, increase in JA, ABA concentrations, and POX activity. HS accelerated and strengthened the development of symptoms and biochemical responses to the infection in the susceptible genotype in contrast to moderately resistant genotype with a robust defence response to an infection per se.

Prof. Ing. Karel Veverka, DrSc. was an important figure in Czech agricultural phytopathology at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. His long, diverse experiences in the field of plant protection, combined with his excellent public speaking skills, led him to be recognized as one of the erudite experts of his time. His skillful presentations were widely appreciated at scientific conferences and seminars and at university lectures for students. All his scientific life, he kept contacts in the broader world of agricultural production, to which he was very close due to his personal experience. His expertise in chemical plant-protection products was unsurpassed. Beyond his own research and teaching activities, he always found time for the popularization of science. He published his achievements in both scientific journals and the popular-scientific press, being the author of numerous publications on plant protection, pesticides, the spread of fungal pathogens, diagnostics, and monitoring and epidemiology of phytopathogenic fungi.

Downy mildew caused by Plasmopara halstedii significantly reduces annual yields of sunflower. At least 42 races of P. halstedii have been identified around the world. For the first time to our knowledge, races 705 and 715 of P. halstedii have been isolated, originating from sunflower plants collected at a single site (Podivín, South-East Moravia) in the Czech Republic at the beginning of June 2014. This enlarges the global number of the so far identified and reported races of P. halstedii to 44. The increasing complexity of P. halstedii pathogenicity led to race identification newly by a five-digit code. According to this new nomenclature, the two races of P. halstedii recorded in the Czech Republic are characterised by virulence profiles 705 71 and 715 71.

A field survey was carried out in cucumber plantations from different localities in Mauritius to identify the causal pathogen and assess incidence of oily spots on cucumber fruits cv. Locale. ELISA tests on symptomatic fruits showed the presence of CMV and ZYMV. The viruses from the genus Potyvirus PRSV and WMV-2 were not detected in the samples screened. Three types of symptoms were observed on infected cucumber fruits: distortion; distortion with oily spots, and oily spots. CMV was detected on fruits showing distortion with oily spots and those with oily spots only. ZYMV was detected in all fruits with distortion and not in those with oily spots only. The above findings showed that oily spots on fruits are caused by infection with CMV. Mechanical transmission of CMV from the oily spotted cucumber fruits to young cucumber cv. Locale plants clearly indicate the association of CMV infection with the oily spot symptoms.

In 2014, the journal Plant Protection Science (PPS) completes 50 years of publication (1965-2014). However, its roots extend back to the year 1921. Today, it is an international scientific journal focused on all aspects of plant protection sciences, fully published in English. This occasion offers a fitting opportunity to describe some of the most important historical stages of the journal's development. In our brief historical overview, we summarise the changes in journal title, chief-editors, and editorial policy during the last fifty years, and with an examination of its importance, scope and readership. We present analyses of the journal's development, some for the entire period of 1965-2013, while others are limited to more recent decades. The journal's present place among the world's scientific journals is documented by analyses in the international citation databases, BIOSIS CI, SCOPUS, and WOS. An analysis of three particular citation databases were made in October 2013, while the overall period 1998-2013 was conducted from All Databases/Thomson Reuters in March 2014. PPS is also included in other, important technical-literature databases, including Czech Agricultural and Food Bibliography, AGRIS/FAO database, AGRICOLA, CAB Abstracts, Current Contents, and Zoological Abstracts. Information about all of them is available in Ulrich's WEB database. In the final part of this paper, we summarise some recent achievements of the journal, and discuss some key topics related to its future development.

In 2007-2012 the first detailed study of P. halstedii distribution and severity was performed in the Czech Republic by monitoring altogether 128 localities. Incidence of the pathogen was recorded at seven localities in south-eastern (Central and South Moravia) and central parts (East and Central Bohemia) of the country; at only four localities the occurrence of sunflower downy mildew symptoms and pathogen sporulation were recorded repeatedly. In all cases the primary infection prevailed, and the severity of infections was rather low. The majority of records were for sunflower experimental fields (e.g. fields of Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture. Brno-Chrlice, Czech Republic), one record came from a commercial field and one record from a hobby field. Results of surveys indicate that reservoirs of primary inoculum likely exist in the soil contaminated by P. halstedii oospores in these habitats, but additional transfer by infected seed may be possible. Historical and geographical consequences of recorded infections are discussed, as well as virulence variation in the Czech pathogen populations which is currently in the process of investigation.

During the summer of 2007 in a private garden in Smržice (district Prostějov, Czech Republic) symptoms of powdery mildew on Caragana arborescens were recorded. Until now at least two powdery mildew species (Microsphaera trifolii var. trifolii and M. palczewskii), both differing in some basic morphological features, have been recorded for the genus Caragana. Comparison of our measurements with previous descriptions of powdery mildew samples found in the Czech Republic on Caragana arborescens identified our species as Microsphaera palczewskii (newly Erysiphe palczewskii). This is probably the first detailed record of this species on C. arborescens in the Czech Republic. Fungus from Czech Republic was compared with the material collected in 2007 in Vienna (Austria). The aim of this paper was to provide a detailed comparative morphological characterisation of E. palczewskii anamorph and teleomorph found in the Czech Republic and in Austria. Serious reduction of the anamorph, caused by hyperparasitic fungus Ampelomyces quisqualis, was recorded on the sample from Austria.

The influence of inoculation techniques on induction of post-infection ethylene production in susceptible and resistant genotypes of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) inoculated with the kappa race of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum was studied. Three inoculation methods (brushing, dipping and spraying) of excised leaves were compared. The brushing technique caused both the highest ethylene production at 120 h after inoculation, and better symptom development than dipping and spraying. It was, therefore, adopted to determine the post-infection ethylene production in four inoculated bean genotypes (GLP406 and Kaboon - resistant, GLP636 - moderately resistant; and MDRK - susceptible). Ethylene production increased slightly 24 h after inoculation in all four genotypes, followed by a rapid decline after 48 h. Ethylene production remained low until 120 h after which a sharp rise was observed in genotype MDRK. Increased production, though to a lesser extent, was observed in GLP636. This trend was repeatable and thus may offer an additional physiological marker to bean breeders to screen for resistance to C. lindemuthianum.

Fusarium Link (1809) is an anamorph genus with worldwide distribution and a remarkable degree of biodiversity. Its species are common in soil and have been found on a very wide range of vascular plants. Some specialized species are parasitic on other fungi and or insects. In the system of fungi the genus Fusarium is classified in the class Hyphomycetes which belongs to the Deuteromycotina. Teleomorphs have been placed in the genera Nectria and Gibberella, order Hypocreales (Ascomycetes). The taxonomy of the genus Fusarium is not settled and the number of species and sections varies. A few recent classification systems of this genus exist. Fusarium spp. have mostly been studied in the context of their ability to cause diseases of many economically important crop plants. Some species produce mycotoxins and other metabolites that can be harmful to humans and livestock. There is a wide variability in pathogenicity, and in many Fusarium spp. various formae speciales (f.sp.) and physiological races are known. In this paper a description of the 14 most important soil and plant pathogenic Fusarium spp. is provided.

The present paper tries to demonstrate progress and gap of knowledge in plant pathology through the tomato - tomato powdery mildew host-pathogen interaction as a model. Tomato powdery mildew (Oidium lycopersici) has caused serious damages on glasshouse tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) crops during the last approximately 15 years. Although the absence of tcleomorph stage did not allow exact taxonomic classification of the pathogen, comparative morphological studies using light and scanning electron microscopy revealed that Oidium lycopersici might be included to the Erysiphe sect. Erysiphe (close to Erysiphe aqui­ legiae var. ranunculi). Effective resistance sources to 0. lycopersici were found mainly in wi ld Lycopersicon hirsutum and L. penne/lii (confirmed by testing with four different 0. lycopersici isolates). Available information on the pathogenic variability of 0. lycopersici is given; host range experiments revealed considerable differences in abi lity of different 0. lycopersici isolates to infect cucumber and tobacco. postulating existence of different pathotypcs lformae specialist of pathogen. Similarly, some Lycopersicon spp. genotypes showed remarkable differential reactions with pathogen isolates, indicating existence of different pathogen races. Information regarding recently detected mechanisms and basis of resistance in Lycopersicon spp. are also men­ tioned. However, more research based on classical, biochemical and molecular approaches is also needed.

The study was focused on the wild pathosystem Lactuca serriola-lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) and lettuce powdery mildew (Golovinomyces cichoracearum). Observations were focused mainly on recording natural infection of prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola) by downy and powdery mildews in the East Bohemia and Moravia (the Czech Republic) in the May-September period of 2007-2011, and on the influence of environmental conditions on disease incidence. Only data for July and August were used for the detailed comparisons of occurrence of both pathogens, because intensity of disease in this period was the highest. Data were linked with the average monthly temperature and rainfall rate in the Czech Republic. G. cichoracearum prefers rather low levels of precipitation and temperatures around 20°C, therefore significantly higher incidence of this pathogen was recorded in August 2007. On the other hand in July 2009 and 2010, when the intensities of precipitation were higher, incidence of Bremia lactucae prevailed. In August 2010 and 2011 incidence of both pathogens were more or less similar at all locations. Our observations showed that climatic conditions influence the incidence and prevalence of both pathogens in weedy growing populations of Lactuca serriola.

Changes in Hsp70 gene expression and protein level were studied in three Solanum spp. genotypes in response to short-term high and low temperatures and to infection by powdery mildew. Development of Oidium neolycopersici was compared on plant leaves and leaf discs with regard to the influence of temperature. Heat and especially cold pre-treatment of host tissues inhibited pathogenesis and decreased chlorophyll concentration. Exposure to heat increased Hsp70 (70 kDa heat shock proteins) content in all three genotypes of Solanum spp., whereas the infection induced the accumulation of Hsp70 only in susceptible S. lycopersicum. These results are in accordance with the suggested role of Hsp70 chaperons in plant responses to metabolic pathway disturbances triggered by pathogen challenge.

Reactions of Lactuca spp. genotypes with different mechanisms of compatibility/incompatibility to B. lactucae race NL16 were examined. Microscopical study revealed significance of initial stages of infection for establishment of the host-pathogen relation. Incompatibility to the pathogen race is mostly expressed as hypersensitive reaction (HR). Rearrangement of cytoskeleton can participate in blocking of fungus penetration in resistant genotypes as well as support development of fungal infection structures in susceptible ones. During infection process peroxidase is activated, H2O2 released and phenolic compounds deposited. These defence processes well correspond with the expression of resistance. On the other hand, formation of callose attending pathogenesis is not directly related to incompatibility.

Two ectoparasite powdery mildew species Golovinomyces cichoracearum (Gc) and Podosphaera xanthii (Px) occurring on cucurbits differ, besides other characteristics, by specific ecologic requirements. While Px is common in subtropical and tropical areas and greenhouse crops, Gc occurs more frequently in temperate and cooler areas under field conditions. Their presence on cucurbit field crops (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, Cucumis sativus) was monitored in the Czechoslovakia (1979-1980) and in the Czech Republic (1995-2007). Their identification was carried out by microscopic observation of the morphological characteristics of the dry conidia on 1527 leaf samples. Data on air temperature in 1979-2007 were provided by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. In 1979-1980 Gc was identified in 86.0% of samples, Px in 14.0% samples, there was no mixed infection; prevalence of Px was recorded in South Slovakia and South Moravia, and on crops under cover. Since 1995 species Px was recorded each year on field crops in different locations of Bohemia and Moravia, usually in mixed infection with Gc. The average year temperature of 8.1°C for period 1992-2007 was higher than corresponding value of 7.4°C in 1979-1983. Similarly, average temperature in vegetation season of 16.2°C in 1992-2007 was higher than corresponding value of 15.7°C in 1979-1983. The higher air temperature can positively influence spreading of Px in the Czech Republic. Climate variability and effect of their changes are discussed in relationship to the geographic distribution and geographic patterns of cucurbit powdery mildews.

Limited information on the resistance mechanisms in Lycopersicon spp. to Oidium neolycopersici is still available. Macroscopically the resistance is characterized by a very low amount of mycelium development and a lack of sporulation. The leaf surface did not effectively inhibite conidium germination, however significant differences in germ tube and appressorium development were recorded. A large variation was observed in host tissue response. The prevailing resistance mechanism was hypersensitivity (HR). Considerable changes of peroxidase and catalase activities during pathogenesis were detected among tested wild Lycopersicon spp. There was positive correlation between increasing of peroxidase activity and extent of necrosis. Histochemistry showed large differences in production of superoxid ions, H2O2 and peroxidase in Lycopersicon spp. with various level of resistance.

The occurrence of Erysiphe cichoracearum (Ec) and Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Sf), causal agents of cucurbit powdery mildewin the Czech Republic (CR) was studied in the period of 1995-2001. Nearly 800 leaf samples with disease symptomswere microscopically examined. Ec is the predominating species, detected on 98% of locations. It was accompanied by Sfon 24% of locations. The occurrence of Sf as the only powdery mildew species was proved on 2% of locations. Recentoccurrence of Sf in the CR corresponds with data on Sf fast spreading and prevailing on cucurbits in West and SouthEurope. However, Ec is the strongly predominating powdery mildew species largely distributed throughout the country.The hyperparasitic fungus Ampelomyces quisqualis was detected on 30% of samples.