Compost piles serve as important habitats for various insect groups, including decomposers, predators, and parasitoids. While drosophilid fruit flies play a crucial role in organic matter recycling, the variation of their abundance and diversity in composters remains poorly understood. This study examines fruit fly assemblages across three compost localities in Poland: two orchards in Dąbrowice and Nowy Dwór-Parcela, and a vegetable-fruit farm in Skierniewice. Insects, collected using sweep netting and traps, varied in abundance. Dipteran flies were the most prevalent, representing 25 families, followed by beetles, bees, and wasps. Thrips and earwigs were the least represented. With 16 species from three genera, drosophilids were the predominant group, making up 95.6% of all specimens. These included seven cosmopolitan species, namely Drosophila melanogaster, D. hydei, D. immigrans, D. buskii, D. repleta, D. simulans, and Scaptomyza pallida, and three alien species, D. suzukii, Chymomyza amoena, and D. triauraria, the latter being a new Asian species recently reported in Poland and Europe. In addition to D. suzukii, another significant pest, Carpophilus hemipterus, was also recorded in the compost piles. Most species were fruit breeders or decaying plant material inhabitants, while others were mycetophagous (D. testacea, D. transversa, D. phalerata, D. funebris) or frugivorous-fungivorous (D. subobscura). Shannon-Wiener diversity indexes ranged between 1.1 and 1.4 across three localities, with the highest drosophilid diversity found at the Skierniewice farm. Drosophila melanogaster was the most numerous fruit fly at all the examined compost piles, while the relative abundance of other species depended on the composter site. These findings emphasize composters as underexplored hotspots for drosophilids, directing further study of their ecological niches and the potential presence of pest species.

This work aimed to investigate the in vitro antifungal capability of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) that were biosynthesized from extracts of two bioagents (Moringa oleifera and Spirulina platensis) against Aspergillus parasiticus attained from Egyptian wheat grains. A. parasiticus exhibited the most established species, additionally, the metabolite of isolate 3 generated a better quantity of Aflatoxin B1 (899.8 μg·l–1). AgNPs prepared from bioagent extracts inhibited the fungal mycelia and spore germination, even though S. platensis extract was more potent. The extract of S. platensis confirmed 22 phenolic compounds, with epicatechin (3455.9 μg·g–1 DW) recording the largest quantity. In evaluation, M. oleifera leaf extract revealed the existence of 16 phenolic compounds, with chlorogenic acid verifying the very best degree (3250.9 μg·g–1 DW). Fungal mycelia treated with 10% AgNPs showed intense deformation in comparison to the control, as found through scanning and transmission electron microscopy.

This study aimed to investigate the potential of plant-associated bacteria as bio-control agents for the green bell pepper rot lesion caused by Colletotrichum scovillei 244830. A total of 378 bacteria strains isolated from stems and leaves of healthy red chili and tomato were tested for their antagonistic potential. Isolate TS001 associated with tomato stems was identified as Bacillus spp. It was found that TS001 showed remarkable inhibition to C. scovillei 244830 in in vitro and in vivo tests. TS001 significantly reduced rot lesions (p < 0.05) of fresh green bell pepper fruits by 71.43%. Furthermore, the result of the LC-ESI-MS/MS showed that the culture broth of the strain Bacillus sp. TS001 contained iturin and surfactin homolog in No. 3S medium. TS001 exhibited the strongest antagonistic activity that effectively suppressed C. scovillei 244830 rot lesion.

Spraying pesticides is one of the most common procedures that is conducted to control pests. However, excessive use of these chemicals inversely affects the surrounding environments including the soil, plants, animals, and the operator itself. Therefore, researchers have been encouraged to develop robotic sprayers that can apply pesticides at variable rates as needed in the field. In this study, a remotely controlled sprayer with two modes (variable rate and constant rate applications) was developed and evaluated for some spray characteristics and application accuracy metrics when controlling weeds at two travel speeds. The variable rate mode resulted in a high precision, recall, and accuracy in detecting weed and applying herbicide that was 90%, 100%, and 94%, respectively. Moreover, the spray coverage, droplet density, and the deposition on weed using the variable rate mode were 34.16%, 127.64 deposites ∙ cm–2, and 7.67 μl ∙ cm–2, respectively. The result also revealed that the spray coverage, droplet density, and the deposition were less sensitive to the travel speed when adopting the variable rate mode compared to the constant rate mode.

Plasmodiophora brassicae is an obligate parasite and a natural soil inhabitant that causes clubroot, a disease with significant economic impact in plants of the Brassicaceae family. This pathology is conditioned by plant/host interactions, edaphoclimatic variables, and mechanisms of inoculum dispersal. However, the epidemiology of this pathogen is not well understood, thereby limiting its incorporation into integrated disease management strategies (IDM). The objective of this work was to adjust a mesoscale risk and prognostic model of P. brassicae based on edaphoclimatic factors and potential dispersal mechanisms in brassica-producing areas in Colombia. The presence and inoculum density of the pathogen were determined by visual inspection of symptoms and quantification by qPCR of soil samples in a total of 127 plots located in regions with the highest production of species from the Brassicaceae family. In addition, an edaphoclimatic characterization was carried out based on field data and secondary information by web scraping using freely available databases. The forecast models were determined by fitting a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) using the logit and inverse link functions for binomial and gamma distributions, respectively. The meso- and macroscale spatial risk model was developed under point pattern approaches (Kernel density model and ecological niche model (ENM). The different epidemiological analysis approaches used suggest that P. brassicae presents a high risk in areas with host presence and conducive edaphoclimatic characteristics, indicating the need to carry out epidemiological surveillance, reduce the dispersion of infested soil, and implement P. brassicae exclusion methods.

The European market for plant protection products (PPPs) faces significant challenges related to counterfeit and substandard PPPs, posing threats to sustainable agriculture and food safety. This study explored the application of chemometric methods based on physical, chemical, and technical parameters, as well as data obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) and headspace gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS), to verify the authenticity of PPPs containing trinexapac-ethyl. A total of 44 formulations were analyzed, including authentic samples and substandard PPPs obtained from various retail points and manufacturers. The developed analytical methods demonstrated robustness in determining physicochemical parameters and generating chromatographic profiles distinguishing between genuine and non-genuine products. Chemometric tools such as principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), and Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) facilitated data interpretation, revealing distinct clusters of samples based on their chemical fingerprints. SIMCA models exhibited their potential for routine quality control assessments. Overall, integrating advanced analytical techniques and chemometrics offers a promising strategy to safeguard the integrity of PPPs, enhance regulatory compliance, and mitigate the risks associated with counterfeit products in the European agricultural market. This approach supports sustainable agricultural practices by ensuring product authenticity and safety, thereby fostering consumer trust and regulatory adherence. In the context of increasing global demand for agricultural products, effective verification of PPPs authenticity becomes a crucial element in ensuring food security, human health, and environmental protection.

The aim of this study was the detection and molecular characterization of newly identified turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) isolates infecting rhubarb in Poland. The presence of the virus in rhubarb was confirmed by ELISA and RT-PCR techniques. The specificity of the obtained products was verified by Sanger sequencing. Two sequences (1,077 nt) of the TuMV coat protein gene and the 3’-terminal non-coding region were uploaded to the Genbank database (access no. MG882689 and MG882690). The phylogenetic analysis was performed based on the coat protein gene sequences of two new Polish isolates from rhubarb and 43 other TuMV sequences retrieved from the Genbank. The isolates studied were grouped with an isolate from rhubarb (AB701709) found in the UK (98% nucleotide identity). It is the first phylogenetic analysis of TuMV isolates infecting rhubarb in Poland.

Sugar beet leaves with dark brown to blackish, necrotic lesions were found in a grower’s field in Casselton, North Dakota, USA in August 2021. Morphological features of the isolates obtained in growth media from the diseased samples were observed and documented. The pathogenicity of the randomly selected isolates developed identical disease symptoms on the inoculated leaves. Molecular characterization of the isolates was conducted by identifying homologies with sequences of the internal transcribed spacer, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2), β-tubulin (β-tub), calmodulin (CaM), and plasma membrane ATPase (Pma1) genes followed by multilocus phylogenic analyses. Based on morphological characteristics, pathogenicity, and molecular analyses, the causal organism was identified as Colletotrichum spaethianum. This is the first report of C. spaethianum causing leaf spot on sugar beet in North Dakota, USA. The report will help growers design an effective disease management for a novel pathogen in sugar beet in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota, USA.

Plant disease forecasting plays a crucial role in managing outbreaks and mitigating economic and health impacts, thereby contributing significantly to plant protection efforts. This proactive approach assesses the likelihood of disease outbreaks and increases in disease intensity, enabling timely intervention and resource optimization. However, climate change exacerbates this challenge by altering pathogen evolution and host-pathogen interactions, fostering the emergence of new pathogenic strains, shifting pathogen ranges, and expanding the geographic spread of plant diseases. In developing countries, these changes are compounded by limited resources and inadequate infrastructure, creating significant challenges for forecasting systems and plant protection efforts. The primary objective of this review was to assess the impact of climate change on plant disease forecasting systems, with a focus on biotic and abiotic stresses such as temperature changes, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events. A systematic literature review was conducted using databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, selecting peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2024. Key data on research objectives, methodologies, results, and implications were extracted and synthesized, demonstrating how climateinduced stresses affect components of the disease tetrahedron, including host susceptibility, pathogen virulence, environmental conditions, and vector dynamics. The findings reveal that climate change significantly affects forecasting systems and plant protection strategies, emphasizing the need for reliable, and cost-effective forecasting models adaptable to diverse and evolving climate conditions, especially in resource-constrained settings. This review underscores the importance of developing innovative and context-specific strategies to enhance forecasting capabilities and plant protection. Future research should focus on advancing forecasting technologies, addressing data gaps, and adapting systems to evolving climate conditions to better safeguard food security and environmental sustainability.

Tebuconazole + fluopyram is a new binary mixture fungicide product that is widely used to control many plant fungal pathogens and nematodes in several agricultural crops worldwide, including Egypt. However, there is a lack of information about their toxicological effects on honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). In the current study, the lethal and sub-lethal toxic effects of mixture tebuconazole + fluopyram were examined on A. mellifera workers. Tebuconazole + fluopyram exhibited low acute toxicity to A. mellifera foragers (the 96-h LC50 value was 1.389 mg a.i. ml–1). Sub-lethal effects of tebuconazole + fluopyram on survival, body weight, food consumption and antioxidant defenses of A. mellifera were determined by chronic oral exposure of A. mellifera workers to sugar syrup which contained two sublethal concentrations of the fungicide, 0.139 mg ml–1 (1/10 of 96-h LC50) and 0.278 mg ml–1 (1/5 of 96-h LC50), along with clear sugar syrup as a control for 18 days. Honeybees exposed to both sublethal concentrations of tebuconazole + fluopyram showed a significant decrease in the bees’ survivability and dry body weight. Sugar syrup and pollen consumption by the exposed A. mellifera were relatively less than by the controls. Tebuconazole + fluopyram also induced disruptions in the enzymatic antioxidant and detoxification defense systems in bees, indicating the presence of oxidative stress. Fungicide exposure elicited a significant depletion in catalase and superoxide dismutase activities and a significant elevation in glutathione and malondialdehyde levels in bees, indicating lipid peroxidation. This is the first study indicating the harmful impacts of tebuconazole + fluopyram on honeybee health.