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Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a facultative halophyte renowned for its importance in enhancing food security, and it supports forage production across diverse climatic regions. The objective of this study is to examine the impacts of multiple pre-treatment methods on C. quinoa seed (Titicaca cultivar) germination parameters, identify the optimum pre-treatment to diminish the consequence of salinity, and promote the productivity of this crop, especially in marginal environments. For this purpose, a spectrum of sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations spanning from 0 to 500 mM and gibberellic acid (GA3) concentrations ranging from 0 to 300 ppm were tested, and mechanical scarification (MS) was carried out. The effect of a combination of these pretreatment NaCl/GA3 and NaCl/MS on the germination parameters of C. quinoa seed was also investigated. The results showed that the total germination, vigor index, and germination index decreased progressively with an increase in salinity. Hence, salinity exhibited a notable influence on most germination parameters. Moreover, seeds scarified with 500 mM of NaCl negatively affected all measured parameters. In contrast, gibberellic acid applied at 200 ppm was effective on most of the parameters measured, particularly under 100 mM of NaCl. These findings indicate that immersing seeds in gibberellic acid could mitigate the adverse impacts of salinity.

Seed germination of Capparis spinosa L. is highly important for ecology, medicine, and economics. The present study aimed to determine the effects of six pretreatments and two temperature regimes, T1: 9/35.7°C (Laboratory) and T2: 1/43°C (Greenhouse), on Capparis spinosa L. seeds' germination rate and latency time. Different pretreatments were tested, including scarification (P1) and seed imbibition in water (P2 and P3) and gibberellic acid (GA3) (P4, P5 and P6).The results showed that the highest germination rate (68.33%) was observed in the laboratory for the control seeds (T1, P0), followed by (58,33%) for seeds soaked in water for 48 hours (T1 P3),(56,67%) for seeds soaked in 200 ppm ofGA3 (T1, P4),(53,33%)for seeds soaked in 400 ppm and 600 ppm of GA3 (T1, P5andT1, P6), (48,33%)for seeds soaked in water for 24 hours (T1 P2), and (51,43%) for the control seeds in greenhouse (T2, P0), whereas the lowest germination rate (12.86%) was recorded in the greenhouse temperature, which was detrimental to seed germination, for seeds soaked in 600 ppm of GA3 (T2, P6). Germination latency times were shorter after soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours. Finally, seed germination of C. spinosa is subjected to several factors that may influence the total percentage of germination and latency time.

Geminiviruses (family Geminiviridae) are among the most damaging viruses in vegetable crops and particularly in the Mediterranean Basin. Through an international 3-year collaboration federated by a PRIMA call (Partnership for research and innovation in the Mediterranean area), a project involving public and private institutions from Italy, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, and France was launched on the prevention and control of new and invasive geminiviruses infecting vegetables in the Mediterranean. The prevalence of geminiviruses previously reported in this areas (i.e. tomato yellow leaf curl associated viruses, tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus, chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus, squash leaf curl virus and watermelon chlorotic stunt virus) has been monitored with virus-specific PCR tests on DNA extracted from symptomatic tomato and cucurbit plants. Meanwhile, the presence of potentially new geminiviruses circulating in the region is being investigated by deep-sequencing of DNA extracted from insects collected in the surveyed areas (mainly whiteflies, aphids, and leafhoppers). Harmonized procedures for collecting, storing, and analysing leaf and insect samples have been set up, allowing to compare results of virus incidence among countries. In 2020, more than one thousand leaf samples and about two hundred insect samples were collected in various agroecosystems as follows: Morocco, in Berkane area in the north-east and Souss region in the south; Tunisia, in Center, North, and Sahel regions; Italy, in Campania and Sicily; and in northern area of Jordan. Based on these surveys, the geminivirus prevalence in the Mediterranean Basin is being updated.