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Mycotoxin contamination of food and feed is a worldwide problem that needs to be addressed with highly efficient and biologically safe techniques. RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural mechanism playing an important role in different processes in eukaryotes, including the regulation of gene expression, maintenance of genome stability, protection against viruses and others. Recently, RNAi-based techniques have been widely applied for the purposes of food safety and management of plant diseases, including those caused by mycotoxin-producing fungi. In this review, we summarize the current state-of-the-art RNAi-based approaches for reducing the aggressiveness of key toxigenic fungal pathogens and mycotoxin contamination of grain and its products. The ways of improving RNAi efficiency for plant protection and future perspectives of this technique, including progress in methods of double-stranded RNA production and its delivery to the target cells, are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine macroalgae, which typically colonize coastal areas, are simple plant organisms. They live on rocks in coastal regions and are classified into red, brown, and green macroalgae. These algae are an important natural resource in agriculture due to their ability to enhance the structural, chemical, and biological properties of soil. Marine macroalgae can be used to produce various biocidal molecules that are effective in controlling plant pathogens. Much of the literature on marine macroalgae and their derivatives focuses primarily on the pharmaceutical field, while their use in agriculture is still considered secondary. However, various studies and experiments have demonstrated their potential to play a significant role in crop protection and enhancement. This review aims to highlight the various applications of macroalgae in plant production. It also emphasizes the biotechnological importance of marine macroalgae derivatives as biofertilizers, molecules for controlling insects and microorganisms, and as plant growth conditioners. Compounds from macroalgae, such as fatty acids, carotenoids, polyphenols, and carbohydrates, are being investigated for their fungicidal, antimicrobial, and antiviral effects against various plant pathogens. Beyond enhancing crop production, macroalgae can also be considered multifunctional bioinoculants suitable for use in organic farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on developing an encapsulated and dehydrated formulation of vegetative actinobacteria cells for an efficient application in sustainable agriculture, both as a fungicidal agent in crop protection and as a growth-stimulating agent in plants. Three strains of actinobacteria were used: one from a collection (Streptomyces sp.) and two natives to agricultural soil, which were identified as S3 and S6. Vegetative cells propagated in a specific liquid medium for mycelium production were encapsulated in various alginate–chitosan composites produced by extrusion. Optimal conditions for cell encapsulation were determined, and cell damage from air-drying at room temperature was evaluated. The fresh and dehydrated composites were characterized by porosity, functional groups, size and shape, and their ability to protect the immobilized vegetative cells' viability. Actinomycetes were immobilized in capsules of 2.1–2.7 mm diameter with a sphericity index ranging from 0.058 to 0.112. Encapsulation efficiency ranged from 50% to 88%, and cell viability after drying varied between 44% and 96%, depending on the composite type, strain, and airflow. Among the three immobilized and dried strains, S3 and S6 showed greater resistance to encapsulation and drying with a 4 L·min−1 airflow when immobilized in coated and core-shell composites. Encapsulation in alginate–chitosan matrices effectively protects vegetative actinobacteria cells during dehydration, maintaining their viability and functionality for agricultural applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shelterbelts provide essential protection against wind erosion and soil degradation, as well as protection for fruit-bearing plants and crops from strong winds. Enhancing their sheltering capabilities requires optimizing their pattern and orientation, as well as defining their height and desired canopy shape, according to the desired performance. In this work, Large Eddy Simulation is employed to investigate the flow field and windbreak effectiveness of single and double-arranged shelterbelts characterized by different geometry and resistance to the air passage for neutral atmospheric condition. In particular, the canopy of the shelterbelts is modeled as an isotropic porous medium immersed in atmospheric boundary layer flow using the Darcy–Forchheimer model. Results show that a shelterbelt with a rectangular-shaped cross-section and a large canopy height results in the most significant reduction in mean wind speed and TKE, thus providing a large wind-protection region. As the spacing distance of double-arranged shelterbelts increases, the protection zones formed by both shelterbelts are reduced. The systematic comparisons of flow patterns, drag force coefficients, and windbreak effectiveness indicators of a series of single and double-arranged shelterbelts are essential for optimizing the design and management of shelterbelts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the technological parameters, microbiological, and functional properties of juice from Solaris grapes grown under conventional and organic farming systems to assess how these cultivation methods influence juice quality. The one-year study focused on key aspects such as the levels of health-promoting polyphenols, the presence of mycotoxins, and pesticide residues. Organic grapes showed greater bacterial and fungal diversity, with significant differences in dominant genera. Sphingomonas and Massilia were the predominant bacteria across both systems, while Erysiphe was more common in conventional grapes, and Aureobasidium was abundant in both. Despite the presence of genes for mycotoxin production, no mycotoxins were detected in the juice or pomace. Organic juice exhibited significantly higher levels of polyphenols, leading to enhanced antioxidant properties and improved technological characteristics, including lower acidity and higher nitrogen content. However, residues of sulfur and copper, used in organic farming, were detected in the juice, while conventional juice contained synthetic pesticide residues like cyprodinil and fludioxonil. These findings highlight that while organic juice offers better quality and safety in terms of polyphenol content and antioxidant activity, it also carries risks related to residues from organic treatments, and conventional juice poses risks due to synthetic pesticide contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spelt wheat is one of the oldest wheats cultivated by humans. It is characterised by high nutritional values and is sought after by consumers. Additionally, it does not have high habitat and fertilisation requirements and is resistant to diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different levels of nitrogen fertilisation and the intensification of fungicide protection on the grain quality characteristics of spelt cv. 'Rokosz' grown under south-eastern Polish conditions. The present research showed that the intensification of fungicide crop protection and increasing the nitrogen dose from 70 to 130 kg ha−1 had a positive effect on the quality features of spelt grains. The highest protein, gluten and starch contents were found after four fungicide treatments. These parameters increased their values under the influence of fungicides. After the application of 130 kg ha−1, spelt wheat grain had the most favourable chemical composition, containing the most protein, gluten, soluble dietary fibre, insoluble dietary fibre and fat. It also had a positive effect on the Zeleny sedimentation index and the amino acid content of the grain. Due to the favourable response of the spelt cv. 'Rokosz' to intensified fungicide protection and nitrogen fertilisation, it should be recommended for cultivation in integrated technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA interference (RNAi) shows great potential in plant defense against pathogens through RNA-mediated sequence-specific gene silencing. Among RNAi-based plant protection strategies, spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) is considered a more promising approach because it utilizes the transfer of exogenous RNA between plants and microbes to silence target pathogen genes. The application of nanovesicles significantly enhances RNA stability and delivery efficiency, thereby improving the effectiveness of SIGS and further enhancing plant resistance to diseases and pathogens. This review explores the role of RNAi in plant protection, focusing on the cross-kingdom transport of small RNAs (sRNAs) via extracellular vesicles. It also explores the potential of nanotechnology to further optimize RNA-based plant protection, offering innovative tools and methods in modern plant biotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for plant protection have rapidly developed worldwide as a new method for pesticide application, especially in China and other Asian countries. To improve the deposition quality in UAV applications, adding appropriate types of spray adjuvants into pesticide solutions is one of the most effective ways to facilitate droplet deposition and control efficacy. At present, research on spray adjuvants for UAVs are mainly based on droplet drift and laboratory tests. Few studies have been conducted on the physicochemical properties of spray adjuvants and the effects of droplet deposition characteristics. To explore the properties of four different kinds of spray adjuvants (Mai Fei, Bei Datong, G-2801, and Agrospred 910) and the deposition characteristics of spray adjuvants on litchi leaves, an automatic surface tension meter, a contact angle measuring device, an ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer, and a DJI AGRAS T30 plant protection UAV was used to measure the surface tension, contact angle, and droplet deposition characteristics on litchi under UAV spraying operations. The results showed that the addition of spray adjuvants could significantly reduce the surface tension of the solution. The surface tension value of the solution after adding the spray additives was reduced by 53.1–68.9% compared with the control solution. Among them, the Agrospred 910 spray adjuvant had the best effect on reducing the surface tension of the solution. The contact angle of the control solution on the litchi leaves varied from 80.15° to 72.76°. With the increase in time, the contact angle of the spray adjuvant solution gradually decreased, the Agrospred 910 spray adjuvant had the best effect, and the contact angle decreased from 40.44° to 20.23° after the droplets fell on the litchi leaves for 60 s. The adjuvant solutions increased the droplet size, but the uniformity of the droplet size decreased. The Dv0.5 of different spray solutions ranged from 97.3 to 117.8 μm, which belonged to the fine or very fine droplets, and the Dv0.5 of adjuvants solutions were significantly greater than that of the control solution. The RSs of adjuvant solutions were very similar and ranged from 0.92 to 0.96, all of which were significantly greater than the result of the control solution (0.57). Compared with the deposition of the control solution, the Mai Fei, Bei Datong, and G-2801 solutions clearly increased spray deposition, with total depositions of 0.776, 0.705, and 0.721 μL/cm2, which are all greater than the total deposition of the control solution of 0.645 μL/cm2. The addition of tank-mixed adjuvants could effectively increase the uniformity of the spray deposition, and all the average CVs of adjuvant solutions were lower than 96.86%. On the whole, Mai Fei performed best in increasing the spray deposition and promoting penetration, followed by Bei Datong and G-2801. Meanwhile, the test can also provide a reference for improving the utilization rate of UAV pesticide applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric multirotor plant protection unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in China for efficient and precise plant protection at low altitude for low volumes. Unstructured farmland in China has various types of obstacles, and UAVs usually use a detour path to avoid obstacles due to flight altitude limitations. However, existing UAV spray systems do not spray when in obstacle neighborhoods during obstacle avoidance, resulting in insufficient droplet coverage and reduced plant protection quality in the area. To improve the droplet coverage in obstacle neighborhoods, this article carries out a study of side spray technology with an electric quadrotor UAV, and proposes the design and development of a side spray device. The relationship between the obstacle avoidance path of the UAV and the spray pattern of the side spray device and their effect on droplet coverage in obstacle neighborhoods was explored. An accurate measurement method of the relative position between the UAV and obstacles was proposed. Spray angle calculations and nozzle selection for the side spray device were carried out in conjunction with the relative position. A rotor wind field simulation model was designed based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), and the spatial layout of the side spray device on the UAV was designed based on the simulation results. To explore suitable spray patterns for the side spray device, comparative experiments of droplet coverage in obstacle neighborhoods were carried out under different environments, spray patterns, and flight parameter combinations. The relationship between the flight parameter combinations and the distribution uniformity of droplets and the effective swath width of the side spray device was explored. The experimental results were analyzed by an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a relationship model was obtained. The results showed that the side spray device can effectively improve droplet coverage in obstacle neighborhoods compared to a device without side spray using the same flight parameter combinations. The effective swath width in obstacle neighborhoods can be increased by a minimum of 6.35%, maximum of 35.32%, and average of 15.25% using the side spray device. The error between the predicted values of the relational model and the field experiment results was less than 15%. The results verify the effectiveness and rationality of the method proposed in this article. This study can provide technical and theoretical references for improving the plant protection quality of UAVs in obstacle environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high performance of deep learning networks relies on large datasets and powerful computational resources. However, collecting enough diseased training samples is a daunting challenge. In addition, existing few-shot learning models tend to suffer from large size, which makes their deployment on edge devices difficult. To address these issues, this study proposes a pruning-based lightweight few-shot learning (Prune-FSL) approach, which aims to utilize a very small number of labeled samples to identify unknown classes of crop diseases and achieve lightweighting of the model. First, the disease few-shot learning model was built through a metric-based meta-learning framework to address the problem of sample scarcity. Second, a slimming pruning method was used to trim the network channels by the γ coefficients of the BN layer to achieve efficient network compression. Finally, a meta-learning pruning strategy was designed to enhance the generalization ability of the model. The experimental results show that with 80% parameter reduction, the Prune-FSL method reduces the Macs computation from 3.52 G to 0.14 G, and the model achieved an accuracy of 77.97% and 90.70% in 5-way 1-shot and 5-way 5-shot, respectively. The performance of the pruned model was also compared with other representative lightweight models, yielding a result that outperforms those of five mainstream lightweight networks, such as Shufflenet. It also achieves 18-year model performance with one-fifth the number of parameters. In addition, this study demonstrated that pruning after sparse pre-training was superior to the strategy of pruning after meta-learning, and this advantage becomes more significant as the network parameters are reduced. In addition, the experiments also showed that the performance of the model decreases as the number of ways increases and increases as the number of shots increases. Overall, this study presents a few-shot learning method for crop disease recognition for edge devices. The method not only has a lower number of parameters and higher performance but also outperforms existing related studies. It provides a feasible technical route for future small-sample disease recognition under edge device conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yield and quality of cultivated food crops are frequently compromised by the prevalent threat from fungal pathogens that can cause widespread damage in both the pre-harvest and post-harvest stages. This paper investigates the challenges posed by fungal pathogens to the sustainability and yield of essential food crops, leading to significant economic and food security repercussions. The paper critiques the long-standing reliance on synthetic fungicides, emphasizing the environmental and health concerns arising from their widespread and occasionally inappropriate use. In response, the paper explores the potential of biological control agents, specifically endophytic fungi in advancing sustainable agricultural practices. Through their diverse symbiotic relationships with host plants, these fungi exhibit strong antagonistic capabilities against phytopathogenic fungi by producing various bioactive compounds and promoting plant growth. The review elaborates on the direct and indirect mechanisms of endophytic antagonism, such as antibiosis, mycoparasitism, induction of host resistance, and competition for resources, which collectively contribute to inhibiting pathogenic fungal growth. This paper consolidates the crucial role of endophytic fungi, i.e., Acremonium, Alternaria, Arthrinium, Aspergillus, Botryosphaeria, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Cevidencealdinia, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Gliocladium, Muscodor, Nigrospora, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Phomopsis, Pichia, Pochonia, Pythium, Ramichloridium, Rosellinia, Talaromyces, Trichoderma, Verticillium, Wickerhamomyces, and Xylaria, in biological control, supported by the evidence drawn from more than 200 research publications. The paper pays particular attention to Muscodor, Penicillium, and Trichoderma as prominent antagonists. It also emphasizes the need for future genetic-level research to enhance the application of endophytes in biocontrol strategies aiming to highlight the importance of endophytic fungi in facilitating the transition towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Known mycotoxins have been investigated for years. They have been included in legislation and are meticulously controlled in most cereals, cereal-related products, and raw materials of animal origin. However, there are still mycotoxins that need to be addressed by regulations and subsequently are not monitored but can still occur in relatively high concentrations. This research aimed to assess the occurrence of common Fusarium mycotoxins in hulled barley. Samples of hulled barley were treated in the field with two protective treatments, alongside a control sample sans treatment. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the occurrence of Alternaria mycotoxins in the chosen samples. The results have shown that Fusarium mycotoxins were mostly determined by climatic conditions (no mycotoxins in 2020, except siccanol). Most interesting was the appearance of infectopyron, an Alternaria toxin that was detected in all samples in 2019 and in the majority of samples in 2020. The highest concentration was detected in 2019 in hulled barley with 536 µg/kg, while in 2020, the highest concentration of this mycotoxin reached 350 µg/kg. These findings depict the need for further research on food safety regarding mycotoxins, and the need for additional changes in legislation. This investigation shows that fungicide application in rainy years cannot efficiently suppress mycotoxin production. Additionally, even in dry years, some of the mycotoxins not involved in legislation, such as infectopyron and siccanol, do not respond to the application of fungicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant activators have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional crop protection chemicals for managing crop diseases due to their unique mode of action. By priming the plant's innate immune system, these compounds can induce disease resistance against a broad spectrum of pathogens without directly inhibiting their proliferation. Key advantages of plant activators include prolonged defense activity, lower effective dosages, and negligible risk of pathogen resistance development. Among the various defensive pathways targeted, the salicylic acid (SA) signaling cascade has been extensively explored, leading to the successful development of commercial activators of systemic acquired resistance, such as benzothiadiazole, for widespread application in crop protection. While the action sites of many SA-targeting activators have been preliminarily mapped to different steps along the pathway, a comprehensive understanding of their precise mechanisms remains elusive. This review provides a historical perspective on plant activator development and outlines diverse screening strategies employed, from whole-plant bioassays to molecular and transgenic approaches. We elaborate on the various components, biological significance, and regulatory circuits governing the SA pathway while critically examining the structural features, bioactivities, and proposed modes of action of classical activators such as benzothiadiazole derivatives, salicylic acid analogs, and other small molecules. Insights from field trials assessing the practical applicability of such activators are also discussed. Furthermore, we highlight the current status, challenges, and future prospects in the realm of SA-targeting activator development globally, with a focus on recent endeavors in China. Collectively, this comprehensive review aims to describe existing knowledge and provide a roadmap for future research toward developing more potent plant activators that enhance crop health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the role of green leaf volatiles (GLVs) has been mainly constrained to protecting plants against pests and pathogens. However, increasing evidence suggests that among the stresses that can significantly harm plants, GLVs can also provide significant protection against heat, cold, drought, light, and salinity stress. But while the molecular basis for this protection is still largely unknown, it seems obvious that a common theme in the way GLVs work is that most, if not all, of these stresses are associated with physical damage to the plants, which, in turn, is the major event responsible for the production of GLVs. Here, I summarize the current state of knowledge on GLVs and abiotic stresses and provide a model explaining the multifunctionality of these compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The rapidly growing wild boar population has resulted in an increasing rate of human–wildlife conflicts, including economic damage to crops or spreading African swine fever (ASF), which affects the pork industry. This situation necessitates the adoption of various measures to prevent wild boar movement, mitigate spreading of diseases, and protect crops. We evaluated the impact of commonly used odor fences (Wildschwein Stopp) using GPS telemetry of tagged individuals. The telemetry of free-ranging wild boars demonstrated no effect on their crossing of the odor fence lines compared to before the installation. Moreover, no difference was found when comparing the home range size of monitored individuals during the 22 days before and after odor fence installation. Therefore, our findings do not support using odor fences to prevent wild boar movement as a mitigation measure of ASF transmission or line protection against the damage caused by wild boars to crops. Wild boars are an opportunistic wildlife species that has successfully colonized the human-modified landscape in Europe. However, the current population boom has negative consequences, which result in a rapid increase in human–wildlife conflicts and disease transmission, including African swine fever (ASF). The increasing frequency of conflicts requires adequate solutions for these issues through various measures. Application of deterrents is a common non-lethal measure whose effects have been insufficiently verified until recently. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of odor fences, often applied as a barrier against wild boar movement. For this purpose, 18 wild boars were marked with GPS collars. After 22 days of initial monitoring, 12 sections of odor fences were installed on their home ranges. The monitored wild boars crossed the area 20.5 ± 9.2 times during the pre-installation period and 19.9 ± 8.4 times after the odor fence installation. Moreover, the average home range varied between 377.9 ± 185.0 ha before and 378.1 ± 142.2 ha after the odor fence installation. Based on GPS telemetry results, we do not support using odor repellent lines for crop protection or for limiting wild boar movement to lessen ASF outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operational parameters of plant protection unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) significantly impact spraying effectiveness, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This paper conducted a full factorial experiment with varying flight speeds, heights, and nozzle flow rates to collect parameter space data. Using the Kriging surrogate model, we characterized this parameter space and subsequently optimized the average deposition rate and coefficient of variation by employing a variable crossover (mutation) probability multi-objective genetic algorithm. In the obtained Pareto front, the average sedimentation rate is no less than 46%, with a maximum of 56.08%, and the CV coefficient is no more than 13.91%, with a minimum of only 8.42%. These optimized parameters enhance both the average deposition rate and spraying uniformity compared to experimental data. By employing these optimized parameters in practical applications, a balance between the maximum average deposition rate and minimum coefficient of variation can be achieved during UAV spraying, thereby reducing pesticide usage, promoting sustainable agriculture, and mitigating instances of missed spraying and re-spraying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their multi-purpose use and, in many cases, lower requirements and financial outlays for cultivation, oats are an interesting crop. However, fungal diseases may contribute to significant declines in grain yields and quality. The aspects that may potentially influence this matter of fact include weather conditions. The aim of the study was to determine the severity of diseases caused by fungi in oat cultivation during the vegetation season. The next goal was to assess the efficacy of the selected active ingredients (a.i.) of fungicides from the chemical groups of triazoles and strobilurins in selected diseases' control under various meteorological conditions. All of the fungicides were applied in the form of a spray treatment to reduce the severity of the diseases in the cultivation of different oat varieties. Husked and naked oat varieties were used. The health status of the oat plants was determined on the basis of a macroscopic evaluation of plants performed in accordance with the proper methodology. Field experiments were carried out under different weather conditions, which varied over the years during which the trials were conducted. Statistically significant differences were found in the reduction in infection for F and F1 leaves with D. avenae and P. coronata in comparison to the control treatment, regardless of the a.i. used. The use of a.i. tebuconazole (250 g/L), a.i. epoxiconazole (125 g/L), a.i. azoxystrobin (250 g/L) and a.i. picoxystrobin (250 g/L) enabled a reduction in the severity of oat helmintosporiosis in all years of the study for all the varieties analyzed. The efficacy was 72.4%, 74.2%, 71.5%, and 73.1%, respectively. Higher efficacy in reducing P. coronata was found in comparison with D. avenae. The obtained research results confirm the satisfactory efficacy of the above-mentioned active substances in reducing the fungi D. avenae and P. coronata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protection of high-yielding winter wheat (WW) with fungicides increases the productivity of nitrogen (N) present in the soil–crop system during the growing season. As a consequence of the action of fungicides, the nitrogen gap (NG) reduces. This hypothesis was verified on the basis of data from a field experiment conducted with WW during three growing seasons (2013/2014; 2014/2015, 2015/2016) in Poland. The field experiment included two crop protection systems (CP): (i) CP-0—without fungicides and CP-F—with fungicides and (ii) six N doses increased gradually by 40 kg N ha−1 from 0 to 240 kg N ha−1. The grain yield (GY) of WW treated with fungicides was significantly higher than that of the unprotected. The difference in yields between both CP systems was 17.3% on a plot fertilized with 200 kg N ha−1 (9.13 vs. 11.2 t ha−1). The fungicide yield gap increased progressively with Nf doses from 0.76 t ha−1 in the Nf control plot to 2.17 t ha−1 in the fertilized with 200 kg ha−1. The use of fungicides increased the amount of N in grain (Ngr) from 15 kg N ha−1 in the control N plot to 51 kg N ha−1 in the plot with 200 kg N ha−1. The main source of additional N in grain (Ngr) was inorganic N released from the soil (Ng89) during the WW growing season. The maximum Ng89 values were 64.4 and 83.0 kg N ha−1. These values corresponded to Nf doses of 94.4 and 80.8 kg N ha−1. The Ng89 of 70.1 kg N ha−1 conditioned 100-percentage Nf recovery. As a consequence, the prediction reliability of GY and Ngr was highest when Ng89 was used as a predictor. The net increase in the absolute NG size in response to increasing N input was significantly slower and therefore smaller in fungicide-protected than in unprotected WW. It can be concluded that the use of fungicides due to the increase in inorganic N productivity in the soil–crop system reduces the potential threat of N dispersion into the environment. In the light of the results obtained, it should be concluded that the fungicidal protection of crop plants should be treated as a factor significantly reducing the nitrogen gap and, thus, the yield gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic changes and global warming affect the growth, development, and productivity of crops. In this review, we highlight the possible benefits of using innovative breeding techniques like clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), exogenous phytohormone-like strigolactones (SLs), nanomaterials (NMs), and beneficial microbial endophytes to address the challenges in sustainable cultivation of horticultural crops. These applications are evaluated by examining how they affect different metabolic, morphological, and biochemical parameters in diverse crops. Endophytes are symbiotic microorganisms and can be used as nematicides for improving crop yield. With an emphasis on quality control, we examined the impacts of applying NMs, a novel family of phytohormones called SLs, and microbial endophytes on horticultural commodities. Furthermore, we reviewed the benefits of CRISPR for the editing of plant genomes, as well as how it affects gene expression and transcription factors to increase crop tolerance and yield. These innovations hold the potential to improve crop yield, quality, and resilience by acting as safe, natural components in biofertilizers and plant protection solutions. Gradually adopting these methods could decrease reliance on agrochemicals, thereby reducing their negative effects on biodiversity, soil fertility, and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of subdominant ants of the Formica fusca group and their role in forests are still underestimated. Since ant behaviour is dependent on colony size, studying the functional organisation of nest complexes (NC) is most promising for a more accurate assessment of species capabilities. The study focused on the main ecological and ethological issues of the life activity of Formica lemani Bondroit within large NC (>150 nests) and beyond. After preliminary mapping of the F. lemani NC (main nests, trails, foraging trees), off-nest activity, aggressiveness, and trophobiotic relationships with aphids in and outside the NC territory were studied. Within the NC, the dynamic density, the intensity of movement on trails, and aggressiveness of F. lemani were significantly higher than beyond; the range of symbiont aphids was twice as small, with aphids on birches playing a key role in carbohydrate nutrition of F. lemani. The latter ensures accelerated restoration of trophobiotic interactions in spring and stability of the food supply until autumn. Combined with the lack of pressure from F. rufa group ants, this allowed F. lemani to maintain high population densities, and significantly increased its competitiveness, and role in plant protection against phytophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research on slope protection with plants mainly focuses on herbs and shrubs. In order to investigate the difference in shear strength of root–soil composite with thick and fine roots under different root content conditions, Cryptomeria japonica (Thunb. ex L.f.) D.Don was selected as the research object, and the distribution characteristics of its roots with the increase of buried depth were studied using the longitudinal profile method. Based on the distribution range of root area ratio (RAR) in field investigation, the modified large-scale direct shear tests were executed on the root–soil composite samples with thick and fine roots of five RAR grades under four normal stress levels, and the variation rule of the shear strength of the root–soil composites with thick and fine roots under different root contents was analyzed. The influence mechanism of RAR was briefly discussed. The results show that the RAR of Cryptomeria japonica (Thunb. ex L.f.) D.Don increases first and then decreases with the increase of buried depth, and decreases with the increase of horizontal distance from the excavation point to the trunk. Both the thick and fine roots can increase the soil shear strength, but the effect of thick roots is greater than that of fine roots. The shear strengths of root–soil composites with thick and fine roots both increase first and then decrease with the increase of RAR, which means that there exists the optimal root content for the roots with the best reinforcement effect on soil, and the optimal RAR is 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. The cohesive and internal friction angle of the root–soil composite can be improved by the roots of Cryptomeria japonica (Thunb. ex L.f.) D.Don, and the thick root is better than the fine root. Meanwhile, the enhancement effect on the cohesion is greater than that on the internal friction angle. The results are of great significance for understanding the effect of roots on soil shear strength and enriching the existing theory of slope protection with arbors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are low molecular weight molecules that tend to evaporate easily at room temperature because of their low boiling points. VOCs are emitted by all organisms; therefore, inter- and intra-kingdom interactions have been established, which are fundamental to the structuring of life on our planet. One of the most studied interactions through VOCs is between microorganism VOCs (mVOCs) and plants, including those of agricultural interest. The mVOC interactions generate various advantages for plants, ranging from promoting growth to the activation of defense pathways triggered by salicylic acid (systemic acquired resistance) and jasmonic acid (induced systemic resistance) to protect them against phytopathogens. Additionally, mVOCs directly inhibit the growth of phytopathogens, thereby providing indirect protection to plants. Among the current agricultural problems is the extensive use of chemicals, such as fertilizers, intended to combat production loss, and pesticides to combat phytopathogen infection. This causes problems in food safety and environmental pollution. Therefore, to overcome this problem, it is important to identify alternatives that do not generate environmental impacts, such as the application of mVOCs. This review addresses the protective effects of mVOCs emitted by microorganisms from different kingdoms and their implications in plant defense pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surrounding environment of architectural heritage sites is integral to cultural heritage protection; plant landscapes play crucial roles in them. Controlling plant spaces and appearances is essential for preserving plant landscapes. A World Cultural Heritage Site, the Summer Palace has undergone multiple changes since the 1860s; restoring and protecting plant landscapes has been an ongoing research focus. However, data accuracy limitations have hindered analyses of the overall spatial characteristics of historical gardens. Here, the historical dynamics and unique landscape features of plants on the front hill of Longevity Hill (FLH) are explored, and conservation and renewal strategies are proposed. Geographic information system (GIS) and WSL Monoplotting Tool are used to identify historical plant spaces. Plant space types are classified, and their landscape characteristics are analyzed. On the basis of historical events, the historical plant spaces on the FLH can be divided into two major categories and six subcategories. The vegetation retention area (south side) was less affected, and the plant landscape along Kunming Lake was the most well-preserved. However, the vegetation-damaged area (north side) was impacted more in the western part than in the eastern part, with notable changes in spatial landscape characteristics, particularly regarding forest function, morphology, and structure. Strategies are proposed for reducing human intervention and adjusting retention areas; furthermore, historical images and spatial grading in damaged areas can be used to suggest landscape adjustment and restoration strategies. This study introduces a method for analyzing the historical characteristics of plant landscapes over time that can be used to protect cultural heritage sites worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrochemicals can now be protected from harsh environments like pH, light, temperature, and more with the help of a drug-loading system. This has allowed the creation of targeted and continuous release functions for pesticides and fertilizers, as well as the precise application, reduction, and efficiency of agrochemicals. All of these benefits have been made possible by the recent advancements in the field of nanomaterials. A simple procedure known as electrospinning can be used to create nanofibers from natural and synthetic polymers. Nanofibers have come to be recognized as one of the sustainable routes with enormous applicability in different fields. In agriculture, a promising strategy may entail plant protection and growth through the encapsulating of numerous bio-active molecules as pesticides and fertilizers for intelligent administration at the desired places. Owing to their permeability, tiny dimensions, and large surface area, nanofibers can regulate the rate at which agrochemicals are released. This slows down the rate at which the fertilizer dissolves and permits the release of coated fertilizer gradually over time, which is more effectively absorbed by plant roots, as well as the efficiency of pesticides. Thus, modern agriculture requires products and formulations that are more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional agrochemicals. In addition to highlighting the significance and originality of using nanofibers and offering a brief explanation of the electrospinning technology, the review article's main goal is to provide a thorough summary of the research leading to breakthroughs in the nanoencapsulation of fertilizers and pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green agronomy promotes the implementation of natural and naturally derived substances in crop protection. In the present study, we evaluated the endocrine-disrupting potential of the allelopathic herbicide tembotrione in Wistar rats by studying the hormone status of offspring from the treated dams. Three doses of tembotrione (0.0004, 0.0007, and 4.0 mg/kg b.w./day) have been administered to dams during gestation and/or lactation. In the serum of newborn, weaning, and pubertal female and male offspring, 17β-estradiol and testosterone were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A decrease in 17β-estradiol and testosterone was observed in female and male weaning and pubertal offspring exposed to all doses of tembotrione during gestation and lactation. In weaning offspring exposed only during lactation, 17β-estradiol dropped significantly after exposure to the two lower doses and testosterone after exposure to the lowest dose of tembotrione. The greatest effect was observed at the lowest dose of tembotrione. In newborns, we observed increased 17β-estradiol after exposure to two lower doses of tembotrione and significantly increased testosterone after exposure to the lowest dose. The highest dose of tembotrione decreased 17β-estradiol significantly in newborn females. The obtained results suggest that tembotrione might be considered a pro-estrogenic or estrogen agonistic compound under the exposure conditions applied in this investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong airflow beneath a rotary drone generates a wind vortex within the rice canopy; precise control of the wind vortex distance and wind vortex area can improve pesticide utilization efficiency. This paper calculates the flight parameter curve based on the wind vortex target from the wind vortex target parameter control model of the four-rotor plant protection drone, designs a flight control system using a Cube Orange flight controller and a Jetson AGX Xavier onboard computer, and implements flight parameter control using both PID control and fuzzy control algorithms. Experimental results indicate that when using PID control and fuzzy control, the average deviation values of UAV flight altitude and speed are 0.08 m, 0.08 m/s, 0.06 m, and 0.08 m/s, respectively. When using PID control, the average distance and area errors of the target downwind and upwind are 0.17 m and 0.37 m2 and 0.20 m and 0.46 m2, respectively. The corresponding values for fuzzy control are 0.12 m, 0.38 m2, 0.09 m, and 0.31 m2. In the twelve voyage experiments, the target parameter variance using fuzzy control was relatively smaller for eight voyages compared to PID control, which had a smaller variance for four voyages. On the whole, the effect of fuzzy control is superior. The wind vortex control method proposed in this paper can effectively enable precise pesticide spraying by drones. This has significant implications for reducing agricultural production costs and safeguarding the natural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to better exploit crop yield potential through agronomic practices is driven by the necessity to feed a growing population in a changing climate. In this regard, cereals, including barley, represent strategic crops. Barley grain yield in Poland is comparable to the European average. Under good habitat and agronomic conditions, it can exceed the average. The effects of cropping system (continuous cropping, CC; crop rotation, CR), cultivar (Radek, Skald), plant protection level (control treatment, CT; herbicide, H; herbicide and fungicide, HF), and the interactions among these factors on spring barley yield were evaluated in northeast Poland in 2017–2022. Growing spring barley in the CR system promoted higher yields compared to the CC system due to increased spike density and 1000-grain weight (TGW). Skald, with a higher TGW, yielded more than Radek. H treatment increased barley yield by improving the spike density and TGW, while fungicide inclusion (HF) contributed to further yield increase by improving the TGW. The interaction of CR and HF practices contributed to the greatest realization of the yield potential of both cultivars. The study confirmed the strong contribution of inter-annual weather variability in modifying the effects of cropping system, cultivar, and plant protection strategy on barley yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold-pressed grape seed oil contains many bioactive compounds and its production enables the valorization of grape seeds as a by-product of winemaking. However, the incorporation of oils into food is associated with losses of active compounds and incompatibilities with the complex food matrix. Encapsulation is considered a process that could overcome these obstacles and enable a more diverse use of plant oils in the food sector. In this study, we developed an improved encapsulation process, submerged-nozzle dispersion (SND). SND aims at the encapsulation of active ingredients using highly viscous carrier materials. We used SND for the encapsulation of cold-pressed grape seed oil in alginate. The alginate stabilized the emulsions and provided stable conditions for the formation of encapsulates. The dried encapsulates were in the form of elongated particles with an average width below 150 μm; the oil content in encapsulates reached above 80% and encapsulation efficiency was up to 90%, depending on the formulation. Encapsulates exhibited satisfactory mechanical properties, suggesting they could mix well with other food ingredients. The SND encapsulation process developed in this study could be successfully applied to the encapsulation and protection of cold-pressed plant oils to be used as a source of valuable nutrients in foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing sustainable crop protection practices is crucial to protect global harvests and ensure high-quality food supplies. While priming is an established method in seed production for the fortification of plants against various stresses, it is not yet a standard practice in transplant cultivation. Thus, we evaluated the long-term effects of thermopriming—a heat-based priming technique—on the growth, development, and fruit yield of tomato plants. Following a recovery period of about six weeks for thermoprimed plants without stress inducers, we subjected them to subsequent salt stress to ascertain the persistence of the priming effects. Additionally, we compared the efficacy of thermopriming with benzothiadiazole (BTH), a chemical elicitor, in enhancing plant resilience to abiotic stress. While BTH application negatively impacted both plant growth and fruit health, thermopriming showed no such adverse effects on these parameters. Instead, thermopriming initially enhanced the plant defense mechanisms by increasing the accumulation of protective phenols and flavonoids in the leaves. Interestingly, while thermopriming did not alter the response to salt stress, it notably strengthened the overall resilience of the plants. Our findings underscore both the potential and temporal constraints of thermopriming memory. Nonetheless, primed plants exhibited temporarily increased stress tolerance, offering a means to safeguard the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant viruses cause severe losses in agricultural production. Parasite-derived resistance (PDR) offers a promising avenue for developing disease-resistant varieties independent of resistance genes. However, for potyviruses with great agricultural importance, such as soybean mosaic virus (SMV), systematic research on viral genes that can be used for PDR has not been conducted. In this study, we transiently expressed the untranslated region (UTR) or each protein-coding cistron of SMV in Nicotiana benthamiana to evaluate their potential role in conferring PDR. A viral suppressor of RNA silencing (VSR) was also applied to investigate the possible mechanisms of the PDR. The results showed that the transient overexpression of UTR and each cistron of SMV could inhibit SMV infection. The expression of VSR in N. benthamiana leaves could compromise UTR and most of the SMV cistron-mediated inhibition of SMV infection, indicating the involvement of RNA silencing in PDR. In comparison, the expression of VSR could not compromise the PDR conferred by coat protein (CP), P3N-PIPO, cylindrical inclusion (CI), and NIa-Pro, suggesting that these viral cistrons may play roles in PDR at the protein level. These results reveal diverse mechanisms in PDR conferred by different viral cistrons and provide potential gene candidates that can be used for transgenic approaches against SMV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, skin blemish diseases of potato (including black dot (BD) caused by Colletotricum coccodes) have begun to be important for global potato marketing, since consumers often reject tubers with an imperfect appearance, which results in financial losses caused by the disposal of unwanted potatoes. Like for many non-fatal plant diseases, BD severity may depend on the immune status of plants influenced by other infectious agents. Using a set of 98 potato cultivars differing in their late blight (LB) resistance, we examined the correlation between the intensity of their infection with LB determined by their LB resistance and the occurrence of the BD disease under field conditions with a high background level of both diseases. Using LB-susceptible (Arizona) and moderately susceptible (Sante) cultivars, we also evaluated the effect of a crop protection against LB on BD development under the same field conditions. A strong negative correlation (r = −0.81, p < 0.05) between the LB resistance and the BD occurrence has been revealed. An experiment using the two cultivars, chemically protected against LB, showed a significant reduction in BD occurrence of 30% (cv. Arizona) and 20% (cv. Sante) compared to the untreated controls; the total yield and marketability of potatoes increased by 103.6 and 62.5% for cv. Arizona and by 65.9 and 43.8% for cv. Sante. The reduction in the LB affection of potato is one of the key factors improving the immune status of potato cultivars in relation to BD infection, so methods of LB protection should be included in a complex approach to BD control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil microorganisms living in symbiosis with most terrestrial plants. They are known to improve plant tolerance to numerous abiotic and biotic stresses through the systemic induction of resistance mechanisms. With the aim of developing more sustainable agriculture, reducing the use of chemical inputs is becoming a major concern. After providing an overview on AMF history, phylogeny, development cycle and symbiosis benefits, the current review aims to explore the potential of AMF as biostimulants and/or biocontrol agents. Nowadays, AMF inoculums are already increasingly used as biostimulants, improving mineral nutrient plant acquisition. However, their role as a promising tool in the biocontrol market, as an alternative to chemical phytosanitary products, is underexplored and underdiscussed. Thus, in the current review, we will address the mechanisms of mycorrhized plant resistance to biotic stresses induced by AMF, and highlight the various factors in favor of inoculum application, but also the challenges that remain to be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides affect biota inside and outside agricultural fields due to their intrinsic mode of action. This study investigated whether pesticide active substances (AS) approved for conventional agriculture in Europe differ in their ecotoxicity from AS approved for organic agriculture. The evaluation was based on official ecotoxicological data for surrogate honeybee, bird, and earthworm species, which also serve as a reference for official environmental risk assessments in the pesticide authorization process. In October 2022, 268 chemical-synthetic AS approved for conventional and 179 nature-based AS approved for organic agriculture were listed in the EU Pesticide Database. Ecotoxicological data were only available for 254 AS approved for use in conventional agriculture and 110 AS approved for use in organic agriculture. The results showed a higher ecotoxicity of conventional AS: 79% (201 AS), 64% (163 AS) and 91% (230 AS) were moderately to acutely toxic to honeybees, birds, and earthworms, respectively, compared to 44% (48 AS), 14% (15 AS) and 36% (39 AS) of AS approved for organic agriculture. We have only considered the potential ecotoxicities of individual substances in this assessment; actual exposure in the field, where multiple AS formulations with other chemicals (including impurities) are applied, will be different. Nevertheless, these results emphasize that an increase in organic agriculture in Europe would reduce the ecotoxicological burden on biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants constantly face the environment that surrounds them and fight for survival against biotic and abiotic stress factors. To deal with harmful conditions, plants have developed a multilayer defence system, making them capable of recognising threats and promptly recovering from them. This phenomenon, which takes advantage of the "memory effect", is referred to as bio-priming and represents a new frontier in terms of crop protection. Here, we investigated the "indirect" protective mechanisms of a new yeast extract formulate in Vitis vinifera cv. Sangiovese plants at both the biochemical and genic levels. The formulate was applied once a week for three consecutive weeks, and grapevine leaves were sampled from the first to the fifth day after treatment (dat) at every week of the experiment. Increased levels of jasmonic acid (every week at 2 dat; +70% as average) and abscisic acid (at 1 dat of the first week, more than 1.7-fold higher than the control) and the underproduction of salicylic acid (from 2 dat; −18%) confirmed that these signalling molecules/"specialised compounds" are actively involved in the early activation of defence pathways in treated vines. In addition, pr2 and chit1b, two genes involved in regulating hormonal crosstalk, were significantly up-regulated (both in the first and second week of the trial) and were also found to underlie upstream molecular activation. The results obtained by this investigation confirm the use of this new product to prime and protect grapevines from a wide range of fungal and fungal-like plant pathogens through the induction of defence responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: S. agalactiae is one of the main bacterial pathogens responsible for mortality outbreaks and economic losses in tilapia farming worldwide. Vaccination has proven to be the most efficient measure for the prevention and control of streptococcosis. Currently, several commercial vaccines against S. agalactiae are available for use in the tilapia industry. However, since tilapia has received the vaccine, very little attention has been paid to the duration of vaccine protection and the humoral immune response of fish post-vaccination. Our study provides valuable information regarding the long-term protection conferred by vaccination in Nile tilapia against infection caused by S. agalactiae, showing that vaccination with a single dose may protect tilapia against streptococcosis from 15 to 300 days post-vaccination. Based on the serological test results, the detection of anti-S. agalactiae IgM could be used as a non-lethal monitoring tool to assess the efficacy of vaccination programs until 180 dpv. However, vaccine protection over six months can be associated with other components of the fish immune system beyond the humoral immune response by IgM antibodies. Streptococcosis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) is a major bacterial disease affecting the production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.), causing significant economic losses due to mortality in the growing phase. Vaccination is the most effective method for preventing streptococcosis on Nile tilapia farms. In Brazil, the major tilapia-producing regions have long production cycles (6–10 months) and harvest tilapias weighing over 900 g for fillet production. Thus, data on the duration of the humoral immune response and protection in farmed tilapia have not been reported or are poorly described. Furthermore, the efficiency of serological testing for the long-term monitoring of immune responses induced by vaccination against S. agalactiae has never been addressed. This study evaluated the duration of protection and humoral immune response induced in Nile tilapia vaccinated against S. agalactiae until 300 days post-vaccination (dpv). The immunization trial was composed of two groups: vaccinated (Vac), vaccinated intraperitoneally with a commercial vaccine, and unvaccinated (NonVac) group, injected fish with sterile saline solution. At 15, 30, 150, 180, 210, and 300 dpv, blood sampling was conducted to detect anti-S. agalactiae IgM antibodies using indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), and the fish were challenged with pathogenic S. agalactiae to determine the duration of vaccine protection through relative percentage survival (RPS). Spearman's rank correlation was performed between the ELISA optical density (OD) of vaccinated tilapia and the duration of vaccine protection (RPS). The mean cumulative mortality in NonVac and Vac groups ranged from 65 to 90% and less than 35%, respectively. The average RPS was 71, 93, 94, 70, 86, and 67% at 15, 30, 150, 180, 210, and 300 dpv, respectively. RPS revealed that the vaccine provided protection from 15 to 300 dpv. The specific anti-S. agalactiae IgM antibody levels were significantly higher in the Vac group than that non-Vac group up to 180 dpv. The vaccinated fish exhibited significant protection for up to 10 months after vaccination. There was a positive correlation between the antibody response and RPS. This study revealed that a single dose of commercial vaccine administered to Nile tilapia can confer long-term protection against S. agalactiae and that indirect ELISA can monitor the duration of the humoral immune response for up to six months following vaccination. Finally, vaccine protection over six months can be associated with other components of the fish immune system beyond the humoral immune response by IgM antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea (Pers., 1794), the causative agent of gray mold disease, causes significant losses in agricultural production. Control of this fungal pathogen is quite difficult due to its wide host range and environmental persistence. Currently, the management of the disease is still mainly based on chemicals, which can have harmful effects not only on the environment and on human health but also because they favor the development of strains resistant to fungicides. The flexibility and plasticity of B. cinerea in challenging plant defense mechanisms and its ability to evolve strategies to escape chemicals require the development of new control strategies for successful disease management. In this review, some aspects of the host-pathogen interactions from which novel and sustainable control strategies could be developed (e.g., signaling pathways, molecules involved in plant immune mechanisms, hormones, post-transcriptional gene silencing) were analyzed. New biotechnological tools based on the use of RNA interference (RNAi) are emerging in the crop protection scenario as versatile, sustainable, effective, and environmentally friendly alternatives to the use of chemicals. RNAi-based fungicides are expected to be approved soon, although they will face several challenges before reaching the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) for plant protection shows great potential as a sustainable alternative to traditional pesticides. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on using exogenous dsRNA in plant protection and includes the latest findings on the safety and efficiency of this strategy. The review also emphasizes the need for a cautious and comprehensive approach, considering safety considerations such as off-target effects and formulation challenges. The regulatory landscape in different regions is also discussed, underscoring the need for specific guidelines tailored to dsRNA-based pesticides. The review provides a crucial resource for researchers, regulators, and industry stakeholders, promoting a balanced approach incorporating innovation with thorough safety assessments. The continuous dialog emphasized in this review is essential for shaping the future of dsRNA-based plant protection. As the field advances, collaboration among scientists, regulators, and industry partners will play a vital role in establishing guidelines and ensuring the responsible, effective, and sustainable use of dsRNA in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia continues to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality, despite improvements in diagnostics and management. Persistent infections pose a major challenge to clinicians and have been consistently shown to increase the risk of mortality and other infectious complications. S. aureus, while typically not considered an intracellular pathogen, has been proven to utilize an intracellular niche, through several phenotypes including small colony variants, as a means for survival that has been linked to chronic, persistent, and recurrent infections. This intracellular persistence allows for protection from the host immune system and leads to reduced antibiotic efficacy through a variety of mechanisms. These include antimicrobial resistance, tolerance, and/or persistence in S. aureus that contribute to persistent bacteremia. This review will discuss the challenges associated with treating these complicated infections and the various methods that S. aureus uses to persist within the intracellular space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike sedentary plant-parasitic nematodes, migratory plant endoparasitic nematodes (MPENs) are unable to establish permanent feeding sites, and all developmental stages (except eggs) can invade and feed on plant tissues and can be easily overlooked because of the unspecific symptoms. They cause numerous economic losses in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture. In order to understand the pathogenetic mechanism of MPENs, here we describe research on functions and host targets focused on currently identified effectors from six MPENs, namely Radopholus similis, Pratylenchus spp., Ditylenchus destructor, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Aphelenchoides besseyi, and Hirschmanniella oryzae. This information will provide valuable insights into understanding MPEN effectors and for future fostering advancements in plant protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Natural microorganism-derived products are an essential source of valuable pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals. Streptomyces spp. are the most environmentally abundant bacteria that are capable of producing various valuable natural products exhibiting significant biological activity to be used in such industries as medicine, environmental science, food industry, and agriculture. However, many natural products among Streptomyces bacteria remain unstudied. Because of the rapid increase in antimicrobial and pesticide resistance, it is currently extremely topical to develop novel antibiotics, antiviral agents, agrichemicals, and other substances. The modern methods of molecular biology allow one to detect antimicrobial resistance gene clusters in the bacterial cell. Our study detected antibiotics and terpenes in cells of investigated bacteria; these compounds are of significant interest for the plant-growing sector. This work aimed to study the genome organization and the metabolic potential of Streptomyces carpaticus strain SCPM-O-B-9993, a promising plant-protecting and plant-stimulating strain isolated from brown semi-desert soils with very high salinity. The strain genome contains a linear chromosome 5,968,715 bp long and has no plasmids. The genome contains 5331 coding sequences among which 2139 (40.1%) are functionally annotated. Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of secondary metabolites exhibiting antimicrobial properties (ohmyungsamycin, pellasoren, naringenin, and ansamycin) were identified in the genome. The most efficient period of SCPM-O-B-9993 strain cultivation was 72 h: during this period, the culture went from the exponential to the stationary growth phase as well as exhibited excellent phytostimulatory properties and antiviral activity against the cucumber mosaic virus in tomatoes under laboratory conditions. The Streptomyces carpaticus SCPM-OB-9993 strain is a biotechnologically promising producer of secondary metabolites exhibiting antiviral and phytostimulatory properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protection of plants in mountainous and hilly areas differs from that in plain areas due to the complex terrain, which divides the work plot into many narrow plots. When designing the path planning method for plant protection UAVs, it is important to consider the generality in different working environments. To address issues such as poor path optimization, long operation time, and excessive iterations required by traditional swarm intelligence algorithms, this paper proposes a bionic three-dimensional path planning algorithm for plant protection UAVs. This algorithm aims to plan safe and optimal flight paths between work plots obstructed by multiple obstacle areas. Inspired by krill group behavior and based on group intelligence algorithm theory, the bionic three-dimensional path planning algorithm consists of three states: "foraging behavior", "avoiding enemy behavior", and "cruising behavior". The current position information of the UAV in the working environment is used to switch between these states, and the optimal path is found after several iterations, which realizes the adaptive global and local convergence of the track planning, and improves the convergence speed and accuracy of the algorithm. The optimal flight path is obtained by smoothing using a third-order B-spline curve. Three sets of comparative simulation experiments are designed to verify the performance of this proposed algorithm. The results show that the bionic swarm intelligence algorithm based on krill swarm behavior reduces the path length by 1.1~17.5%, the operation time by 27.56~75.15%, the path energy consumption by 13.91~27.35%, and the number of iterations by 46~75% compared with the existing algorithms. The proposed algorithm can shorten the distance of the planned path more effectively, improve the real-time performance, and reduce the energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of plant protection products (PPPs) has become fundamental to guarantee excellent field productivity. Nevertheless, their usage presents critical issues, such as the quantity of substances used, the relative toxicity, and the contamination of nearby fields caused by atmospheric drift. This study focuses on the characterization of aerosol droplets of PPPs produced by spraying a chemical marker, fluorescein, with an orchard airblast sprayer equipped with conventional hollow cone (HC) and anti-drift air inclusion (AI) nozzles, using a wind tunnel as a controlled environment. A particle/droplet image analysis was employed to study the droplet production of the nozzles, while a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) analysis allowed us to evaluate samples collected using a cascade impactor located at 5 m, 10 m, and 20 m from the emission point. Overall, HC nozzles are very accurate at producing specific drop size distributions (DSDs), while AI nozzles produce a much wider DSD, concentrating the largest part of the distributed volume into droplets of a larger size. The marker concentration was much lower for the AI nozzles compared to the HC nozzles; moreover, the two nozzles show a similar trend in the coarse droplet range, while significantly differing in the fine droplet spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum de Bary) is one of the most important fungal diseases of winter oilseed rape (OSR). Since the pathogen can persist in the soil for a long time with its sclerotia, prevention and non-chemical methods (specifically biological agents) are important pillars in the integrated plant protection strategy against this pathogen. Mapping the intraspecific variability of the pathogen is an important step in the development of resistance to S. sclerotiorum. S. sclerotiorum isolates were collected from different OSR growing locations in Hungary during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 growing seasons. The morphological characteristics of sclerotia obtained from infected OSR stems were studied in the laboratory, and seedlings of four OSR hybrids were infected in vitro with isolates. The strains from four locations have different morphological characteristics. Significant differences in the level of aggressivity were also observed between strains; a correlation was also found between mycelial growth after 24 h, weight of sclerotia, and aggressivity. Among the four tested hybrids, OSR PT271 proved to be the most susceptible to most S. sclerotinia strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salicylic acid (SA) plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth and development and mitigating the negative effects of various stresses, including salinity. In this study, the effect of 50 μM SA on the physiological and biochemical parameters of wheat plants under normal and stress conditions was investigated. The results showed that on the 28th day of the growing season, SA pretreatment continued to stimulate the growth of wheat plants. This was evident through an increase in shoot length and leaf area, with the regulation of leaf blade width playing a significant role in this effect. Additionally, SA improved photosynthesis by increasing the content of chlorophyll a (Chl a) and carotenoids (Car), resulting in an increased TAP (total amount of pigments) index in the leaves. Furthermore, SA treatment led to a balanced increase in the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in the leaves, accompanied by a slight but significant accumulation of ascorbic acid (ASA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline, and the activation of glutathione reductase (GR) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Exposure to salt stress for 28 days resulted in a reduction in length and leaf area, photosynthetic pigments, and GSH and ASA content in wheat leaves. It also led to the accumulation of H2O2 and proline and significant activation of GR and APX. However, SA pretreatment exhibited a long-term growth-stimulating and protective effect under stress conditions. It significantly mitigated the negative impacts of salinity on leaf area, photosynthetic pigments, proline accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and H2O2. Furthermore, SA reduced the salinity-induced depletion of GSH and ASA levels, which was associated with the modulation of GR and APX activities. In small-scale field experiments conducted under natural growing conditions, pre-sowing seed treatment with 50 μM SA improved the main indicators of grain yield and increased the content of essential amino acids in wheat grains. Thus, SA pretreatment can be considered an effective approach for providing prolonged protection to wheat plants under salinity and improving grain yield and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deposition of spray droplets is a hot topic in the field of plant protection. The air-induction nozzle, which is commonly used in agricultural spray, can produce droplets containing bubbles. However, few studies have addressed the deposition of hollow droplets. In the present study, we used experimental and numerical methods to investigate the deposition of hollow droplets. Three kinds of liquid—water, oil-based emulsion and organosilicon—were used to produce hollow droplets, and the diameter of droplets varied from 3 to 4.5 mm. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces were selected as deposition targets. The results show that the deposition of hollow droplets can generate a central jet, which is similar to the Wortington jet. High deposition velocity and the large bubble volume were responsible for the large attainable height of the central jet. On the hydrophilic surface, for water hollow droplets with Weber number (We) ranging from 350 to 391, the central jet began to break up as the bubble fraction of the hollow droplet reached 0.15. Based on the numerical results, it was found that the internal pressure difference between the bottom liquid and the air cavity leads to the formation of the central jet. The bubble volume and impact velocity were both positively correlated with the internal pressure difference. The oil-based emulsion promoted the adherence of the hollow droplet by lubricating the hydrophobic surface. The oil-based emulsion hollow droplets shifted from rebounding to adhering on the hydrophobic surface as the emulsion concentration reached 0.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the limitations of existing methods in differentiating between vegetables and all types of weeds in farmlands, a new image segmentation method is proposed based on the improved YOLOv7-tiny. Building on the original YOLOv7-tiny framework, we replace the CIoU loss function with the WIoU loss function, substitute the Leaky ReLU loss function with the SiLU activation function, introduce the SimAM attention mechanism in the neck network, and integrate the PConv convolution module into the backbone network. The improved YOLOv7-tiny is used for vegetable target detection, while the ExG index, in combination with the OTSU method, is utilized to obtain a foreground image that includes both vegetables and weeds. By integrating the vegetable detection results with the foreground image, a vegetable distribution map is generated. Subsequently, by excluding the vegetable targets from the foreground image using the vegetable distribution map, a single weed target is obtained, thereby achieving accurate segmentation between vegetables and weeds. The experimental results show that the improved YOLOv7-tiny achieves an average precision of 96.5% for vegetable detection, with a frame rate of 89.3 fps, Params of 8.2 M, and FLOPs of 10.9 G, surpassing the original YOLOv7-tiny in both detection accuracy and speed. The image segmentation algorithm achieves a mIoU of 84.8% and an mPA of 97.8%. This method can effectively segment vegetables and a variety of weeds, reduce the complexity of segmentation with good feasibility, and provide a reference for the development of intelligent plant protection robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the typical requirements of large high-clearance sprayers, such as those operating in poor road conditions for farmland plant protection and at high operation speeds, reducing the vibration of sprayer suspension systems has become a research hotspot. In this study, the hydro-pneumatic suspension (HPS) of large high-clearance sprayers was taken as the object, and a variable universe T-S fuzzy controller with real vehicle vibration data as input was proposed to control suspension motion in real time. Different from traditional semi-active suspension, based on the characteristics of variable universe extension factors, a training method combining the artificial fish swarm algorithm and the back propagation algorithm was used to establish a fuzzy neural network controller with precise input to optimize the variable universe. Then, the time-domain and frequency-domain response characteristics of HPS were analyzed by simulating the special road conditions typical of farmland. Finally, the field performance of the sprayer equipped with the new controller was tested. The results show that the error rate of the AFSA-BP algorithm in training the FNN could be reduced to 3.9%, and compared with a passive suspension system, the T-S fuzzy controller improved the effects of spring mass acceleration, pitch angle acceleration, and roll angle acceleration by 18.3%, 23.3%, and 27.7%, respectively, verifying the effectiveness and engineering practicality of the active controller in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective spraying is essential for modern agricultural production, to ensure a high-quality and abundant harvest. Simultaneously, it is crucial to minimise the negative impact of crop protection products on the environment. To achieve this, it is necessary to implement the appropriate technical and technological parameters for the treatment and to consider the conditions under which the treatment is carried out. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the speed of the sprayer, the pressure of the liquid, and the type of nozzles, as well as air temperature and wind speed, in terms of the degree of coverage of the sprayed surfaces. The degree of coverage was analysed by spraying water-sensitive papers placed on the artificial plant, positioned to obtain horizontal and vertical surfaces. The study found that standard single flat fan nozzles provided greater coverage on upper horizontal surfaces, while standard nozzles were more effective for vertical transverse approach surfaces at lower fluid pressures and travel speeds. Neural networks were used to develop models of the relationships studied. Models with high accuracy for the validation data set were obtained in the case of the coverage of the vertical transverse leaving surface and the upper level surface (R = 0.93 and R = 0.86). These models were used to determine the optimum values of the technical parameters of the spraying process under the selected weather conditions. The maximum spray coverage (41.49%) was predicted for the XR nozzle under the following conditions: pressure = 200 kPa, driving speed = 1.4 m·s−1, temperature = 21.73 °C and wind speed = 0.32 m·s−1. Based on the sensitivity analysis of the neural models it was found that the greatest effect on the coverage of the vertical transverse leaving surface was observed for temperature and the coverage of the upper level surface was mostly influenced by driving speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, researchers are looking for ways to replace synthetic pesticides with substances of natural origin. Essential oils are produced by plants, among other things, to protect against pathogens, which is why there is interest in their use as fungicides. This experiment assessed the composition of essential oils from a commercial source, their impact on the development of mycelium of pathogens of the Fusarium genus, and the possibility of using them as a pre-sowing treatment. Grains of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) were inoculated with a suspension of mycelium and spores of fungi of the Fusarium genus and then soaked in solutions containing oils of sage (Salvia officinalis L.), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.), cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). The obtained results indicate that thyme essential oil had the strongest effect on limiting the development of Fusarium pathogens and seedling infection, but at the same time it had an adverse effect on the level of germination and seedling development of the tested plants. The remaining essential oils influenced the mentioned parameters to varying degrees. Selected essential oils can be an alternative to synthetic fungicides, but they must be selected appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on new compounds against plant pathogens is still socially and economically important. It results from the increasing resistance of pests to plant protection products and the need to maintain high yields of crops, particularly oilseed crops used to manufacture edible and industrial oils and biofuels. We tested thirty-five semi-synthetic hydrazide–hydrazones with aromatic fragments of natural origin against phytopathogenic laccase-producing fungi such as Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Cerrena unicolor. Among the investigated molecules previously identified as potent laccase inhibitors were also strong antifungal agents against the fungal species tested. The highest antifungal activity showed derivatives of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and salicylic aldehydes with 3-tert-butyl, phenyl, or isopropyl substituents. S. sclerotiorum appeared to be the most susceptible to the tested compounds, with the lowest IC50 values between 0.5 and 1.8 µg/mL. We applied two variants of phytotoxicity tests for representative crop seeds and selected hydrazide–hydrazones. Most tested molecules show no or low phytotoxic effect for flax and sunflower seeds. Moreover, a positive impact on seed germination infected with fungi was observed. With the potential for application, the cytotoxicity of the hydrazide–hydrazones of choice toward MCF-10A and BALB/3T3 cell lines was lower than that of the azoxystrobin fungicide tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]