Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection最新文献

Abstract

This study describes a novel spray-on mulch material as an alternative to currently used weed control methods. The mulch material is based on renewable raw materials, mainly rapeseed oil, starch and sodium alginate.

Laboratory tests were conducted to obtain a mulch material with the best possible properties. Formulations with different ingredients were prepared and tested for their material properties. The formulations were investigated for potential shrinkage tendency and heat resistance as well as water resistance. Further tests such as resistance to mould infestation and aerobic degradability according to DIN EN ISO 17556 were carried out with the formulation that performed best in the previous tests. Mould resistance was enhanced by adding sodium benzoate. In the laboratory experiment, the CO₂ decomposition rate was about 30% after seven weeks. With the favouritised variant, which was found step by step through the experiments, an outdoor field test was carried out to investigate the durability under natural conditions over the vegetation period. In the field, the mulch material maintained its function for six months. In the greenhouse, the effect of the mulch material on weeds was studied. It was found that the mulch material showed a high efficiency in controlling above-ground biomass of Elymus repens, Amaranthus retroflexus, and Setaria viridis. In addition, the biomass of the roots of Amaranthus retroflexus and Elymus repens was reduced. Further studies are on the way to elucidate field suitability and the weed suppressive effect under different environmental conditions.

Rice serves as the main food source in many regions of the world. However, rice production is impacted by abiotic stress including drought, salt, temperature shifts, submersion, etc. Some rice accessions have a genetic potential to withstand in such stress conditions. Thus, identification and characterization of genes that are responsible to endure abiotic stress conditions are critical for developing new rice varieties with improved characteristics. In this respect, we studied the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network in abiotic stress-tolerant genes of rice cultivars. We explored various rice genome databases to retrieve abiotic stress-tolerant genes for this purpose. In total, 7984 genes were collected from different databases; out of these, 1408 were successfully mapped in PPI network of STRING. Subsequently, the network topology, hub protein identification, sub-network generation and functional enrichment analysis were performed using different plug-ins implemented in Cytoscape 3.9.0. We identified 17 key genes (MPK5, WRKY24, WRKY28, P5CS, DREB2A, MYB2, CLPB1, HSP81-2, HSP90, MCM2, NHX2, APX1, NYC1, CDKB1-1, CDKB2-1, ORR5 and HK4) after analysis of network using cytoHubba and MCODE tools. These identified key genes were effectively classified across diverse biological processes, encompassing hydrogen peroxide detoxification, cellular components like transport systems and molecular functions such as transcriptional activation and repression. Further, among identified key genes DREB2A, APX1 and NHX2, and MYB2, WRKY28 and WRKY24 were found to be upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in rice cultivars for different stress conditions (cold, salt and drought) in publicly available expression datasets. This information enables researchers and breeders for the development of novel abiotic stress-tolerant rice varieties.

Biotalys’ first protein-based biofungicide, EVOCA™, is developed to help fruit and vegetable growers who are looking to protect their produce from fungal diseases such as Botrytis and powdery mildew. Developed with the AGROBODY Foundry™ platform, and thanks to a new and unique mode of action (new FRAC code: Group 51 under F10), this innovative product provides a new rotation partner in integrated pest management programs that both protect against resistance and reduce dependency on chemical pesticides and environmental impact.

Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), and leafhopper, Amrasca biguttulla biguttulla, Ishida, are the major biotic constraints in cultivation of okra, causing considerable economic damage. The present study aims to evaluate the laboratory and field efficacy of butenolide insecticide, flupyradifurone 200 SL against these key sucking pests, its phytotoxicity, safety to natural enemies as well as pollinators and cost-efficiency in okra. Dose probit mortality assays indicated flupyradifurone to be the most toxic and thiamethoxam least toxic to leafhopper and whitefly. Based on the LC₅₀ values for whitefly and leafhopper, flupyradifurone exhibited 11.07 and 2.98-fold difference, respectively, when compared to thiamethoxam. Laboratory bioassays confirmed that the maximum dose of flupyradifurone (250 g a.i. ha⁻¹) had a high level of toxicity to whitefly adults and leafhopper nymphs. Of the three field rates (150, 200, 250 g a.i. ha⁻¹) of flupyradifurone evaluated under open field conditions, application at 250 g a.i. ha⁻¹ was most effective for the control of whitefly and leafhopper population with a high marketable fruit yield in okra. Flupyradifurone reduced the population of whitefly by 71.80 & 76.68 per cent and leafhopper by 82.19 and 80.21 per cent during first and second season, respectively, as compared to untreated control. Furthermore, it was superior and more economical, giving the highest benefit: cost ratio (2.77) than other test insecticides included for comparison. Flupyradifurone application showed no phytotoxic symptoms on the okra crop. Additionally, it was found to be safer to natural enemies i.e. spiders and rove beetles that are prevalent in the okra ecosystem. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that flupyradifurone was apparently less toxic to honey bees in short-term and long-term exposure assays. These findings will aid in utilizing the flupyradifurone in insecticide window spray schedules and IPM programs for the management of sucking pests in okra.