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In view of the ever-growing human population and global environmental crisis, new technologies are emerging in all fields of our life. In the last two decades, the development of cold plasma (CP) technology has offered a promising and environmentally friendly solution for addressing global food security problems. Besides many positive effects, such as promoting seed germination, plant growth, and development, CP can also serve as a surface sterilizing agent. It can be considered a method for decontamination of microorganisms on the seed surface alternative to the traditional use of fungicides. This review covers basics of CP technology and its application in seed decontamination. As this is a relatively young field of research, the data are scarce and hard to compare due to various plasma setups and parameters. On the other hand, the rapidly growing research field offers opportunities for novel findings and applications.

Bolest uvijenost lista vinove loze (GLD) jedna je od najznačajnijih virusnih bolesti vinove loze, a virus uvijenosti lista vinove loze 3 (GLRaV-3) jedan je od glavnih uzročnika te bolesti. Dosadašnja istraživanja vezana za GLRaV-3 u Hrvatskoj i svijetu uglavnom su bila usmjerena na proučavanje epidemiologije bolesti i razvoja pouzdanih metoda detekcije, dok su uloga različitih genomskih varijanti GLRaV-3 u etiologiji GLD i odgovor biljke na prisutnost ovog virusa u velikoj mjeri nepoznati.Jedan od glavnih ciljeva istraživačkog projekta GRAPE-PATH3 (u tijeku) podržanog od strane Hrvatske zaklade za znanost, je primjenom molekulranih metoda detekcije istražitidistribuciju ekonomski štetnih virusa vinove loze u autohtonim sortama jadranske Hrvatske, s posebnim osvrtom na GLRaV-3 i njegove genomske varijante U cilju što boljeg razumijevanja promjena koje ovaj patogeni virus uzrokuje u osjetljivim domaćinskim biljkama, različite kombinacije varijanti GLRaV-3 u samostalnoj zarazi i koinfekciji s drugim ekonomski značajnim virusima, su biološki okarakterizirani na setu indikatorskih biljaka. Morfološkim, fiziološkim i biokemijskim metodama istražili smo odgovor na zarazu pri čemu su mjerene promjene primarnog metabolizma, nutrienata i oksidativnog stresa. Potvrđena je dominantna pojavnost GLRaV-3 u odnosu na ostale detektirane viruse i prisutnost genomskih varijanti I i II. Preliminarna analiza rane infekcije ukazuje na značajne razlike između zdravih biljaka, onih zaraženih GLRaV-3 u samostalnoj zarazi i u koinfekciji s drugim virusima. Odgovor loze varira ovisno o sorti i virusnom inokulumu. Ovi rezultati će omogućit bolje razumijevanje patogenosti GLRaV-3 te posljedica koje ovaj virus ima na vinovu lozu u Hrvatskoj i šire, osim okom vidljivih simptoma uvijenosti lista, po kojemu je virus i dobio ime.

Grapevine viruses pose a significant threat to vineyard production by causing damaging effects on plants’ vital processes. Research related to grapevine response to the viruses is still largely unknown. The main objective of the study was to determine changes in vines as a consequence of plant-virus interaction. We initiated this kind of interaction, by graft-inoculating susceptible grapevine varieties (Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir) with different virus inoculums which necessarily contained grapevine leafroll- associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) in coinfections with other economically important viruses. A Croatian autochthonous variety Tribidrag was also included in the experiment. Morphological, biochemical and physiological parameters related to primary metabolism, nutritive status and oxidative stress were determined. Six months post inoculation, significant differences in measured parameters were found between healthy control plants and those infected, in all varieties except Cabernet Franc. Plant response within each variety varied depending on virus inoculum composition. Data analysis pointed out the varietal specificity in some responses and necessity to observe each variety separately. Finally, parameters as superoxide-dismutase, hydrogen-peroxide, soluble proteins and Fe were changed in all varieties as some kind of common indicators of virus infection. The results obtained in this study enable a better understanding of the virus pathogenicity in grapevine and can be interpreted on three levels: (i) different variety responses to virus infection (ii) specific intravarietal responses in relation to virus composition, (iii) specific physiological parameters are found to potentially serve as general indicators of the studied interaction irrespective of the virus composition or of the grapevine variety.