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Agricultural fungicide pollution poses a significant environmental challenge and causes adverse effects on human health. Therefore, strategies to limit fungicide usage are of paramount importance. Trichoderma fungi, due to their antagonistic activity against various pathogenic fungi, have shown potential as a sustainable alternative to chemical fungicides. However, bio‐control agents like Trichoderma are vulnerable to physical stimuli and show diminished efficacy during prolonged storage. To address these challenges, a mild and scalable encapsulation method for Trichoderma spores is introduced, employing a layer‐by‐layer (LbL) approach using biobased lignin derivatives. It is demonstrated that the LbL encapsulation technique significantly improved spore stability relative to naked spores, even under adverse conditions including extreme temperatures and prolonged exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Notably, encapsulated Trichoderma spores showed enhanced efficacy in cultivating tomato plants compared to naked spores. Additionally, the findings revealed that the in planta efficacy of encapsulated spores is dependent on the specific Trichoderma strain used. This study suggests that Trichoderma spores encapsulated with lignin through the LbL approach, are a promising and sustainable alternative to chemical fungicides with potential for commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectiveness of electron beam irradiation was evaluated against Phytophthora nicotianae var. nicotianae, the causal agent of stem base and root rot of tomato. In laboratory trials, irradiation of 7-day-old Phytophthora cultures growing on potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) medium with 1 kGy resulted in the disintegration of the pathogen’s hyphae. Increasing the irradiation dose to 3 kGy caused decay of the hyphae. Irradiation of infested stonewool with 5 kGy caused decrease of the pathogen population about 5 times. Application of 20 kGy completely eliminated the pathogen from stonewool. Irradiation of substratum resulted in significant increase of tomato seedlings healthiness, especially when the dose 20 kGy was applied.

The induction of natural defense mechanisms in plants is considered to be one of the most important strategies used in integrated pest management (IPM). Plant immune inducers could reduce the use of chemicals for plant protection and their harmful impacts on the environment. Planticine® is a natural plant defense biostimulant based on oligomers of α(1→4)-linked D-galacturonic acids, which are biodegradable and nontoxic. The aim of this study was to define the molecular basis of Planticine's biological activity and the efficacy of its use as a natural plant resistance inducer in greenhouse conditions. Three independent experiments with foliar application of Planticine® were carried out. The first experiment in a climatic chamber (control environment, no pest pressure) subjected the leaves to RNA-seq analysis, and the second and third experiments in greenhouse conditions focused on efficacy after a pest infestation. The result was the RNA sequencing of six transcriptome libraries of tomatoes treated with Planticine® and untreated plants; a total of 3089 genes were found to be differentially expressed genes (DEGs); among them, 1760 and 1329 were up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively. DEG analysis indicated its involvement in such metabolic pathways and processes as plant-pathogen interaction, plant hormone signal transduction, MAPK signaling pathway, photosynthesis, and regulation of transcription. We detected up-regulated gene-encoded elicitor and effector recognition receptors (ELRR and ERR), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) genes, and transcription factors (TFs), i.e., WRKY, ERF, MYB, NAC, bZIP, pathogenesis-related proteins (PRPs), and resistance-related metabolite (RRMs) genes. In the greenhouse trials, foliar application of Planticine® proved to be effective in reducing the infestation of tomato leaves by the biotrophic pathogen powdery mildew and in reducing feeding by thrips, which are insect herbivores. Prophylactic and intervention use of Planticine® at low infestation levels allows the activation of plant defense mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Progress in Plant Protection is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Plant Protection Research is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Plant Protection Research is the property of Institute of Plant Protection and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)