Search Results (126)

The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) is a major pest of horticultural, ornamental, fruit, and strawberry crops worldwide. Currently, various management tools have been explored for this pest, with nanoparticles being one of them, which stand out for their characteristics and multiple effects. This study evaluated the effects of green-synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the mortality and repellency of T. urticae and its natural predator Phytoseiulus persimilis under laboratory conditions, as well as their efficacy in greenhouse tomatoes against T. urticae. In the laboratory, a biological window for AuNPs (50–100 mg L⁻¹) on the pest and predator was established using a residual film method and a free-choice assay. In the greenhouse, four concentrations (300, 500, 750, and 1000 mg L⁻¹) were evaluated via foliar application at 10-day intervals. The results showed susceptibility to AuNPs in all stages of T. urticae and the adult P. persimilis. The death times from AuNPs were similar in both species. Furthermore, the AuNPs were selective for the pest rather than the natural enemy. In greenhouses, AuNPs affected T. urticae populations in tomato plants, and significant differences were observed on some continuous and final agronomic variables (associated with fruits). This study showed that T. urticae and P. persimilis were susceptible to green-synthesized AuNPs. AuNPs can be a management tool, although studies on other non-target species and estimating agronomic effects on other crops are recommended. Full article

The immune response triggered when plant cell surface receptors recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) is known as PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Several studies have demonstrated that extracellular plant ferredoxin-like protein (PFLP) can enhance PTI signaling, thereby conferring resistance to bacterial diseases in various plants. The C-terminal casein kinase II (CK2) phosphorylation region of PFLP is essential for strengthening PTI. However, whether phosphorylation at this site directly enhances PTI signaling and consequently increases plant disease resistance remains unclear. To investigate this, site-directed mutagenesis was used to generate PFLPT90A, a non-phosphorylatable mutant, and PFLPT90D, a phospho-mimetic mutant, for functional analysis. Based on the experimental results, none of the recombinant proteins were able to enhance the hypersensitive response induced by the HrpN protein or increase resistance to the soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum ECC17. These findings suggest that phosphorylation at the T90 residue might be essential for PFLP-mediated enhancement of plant immune responses, implying that this post-translational modification is likely required for its disease resistance function in planta. To further explore the relationship between PFLP phosphorylation and endogenous CK2, the Arabidopsis insertion mutant cka2 and the complemented line CKA2R were analyzed under treatment with flg22_Pst from Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. The effects of PFLP on the hypersensitive response, rapid oxidative burst, callose deposition, and susceptibility to soft rot confirmed that CK2 is required for these immune responses. Furthermore, expression analysis of PTI-related genes FRK1 and WRKY22/29 in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway demonstrated that CK2 is necessary for PFLP to enhance flg22_Pst-induced immune signaling. Taken together, these findings suggest that PFLP enhances A. thaliana resistance to bacterial soft rot primarily by promoting the MAPK signaling pathway triggered by PAMP recognition, with CK2-mediated phosphorylation being essential for its function. Full article

The global population is rising at an alarming rate and is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, necessitating a substantial increase in food production. However, the overuse of chemical pesticides, including antibacterial agents and synthetic fertilizers, poses a major threat to sustainable agriculture. This review examines the ecological and health impacts of antibacterial agents (e.g., streptomycin, oxytetracycline, etc.) in horticultural crops, focusing on their effects on non-target organisms such as beneficial microbes involved in plant growth promotion and resistance development. Certain agents (e.g., triclosan, sulfonamides, and fluoroquinolones) leach into water systems, degrading water quality, while others leave toxic residues in crops, leading to human health risks like dysbiosis and antibiotic resistance. To mitigate these hazards, sustainable alternatives such as integrated plant disease management (IPDM) and biotechnological solutions are essential. Advances in genetic engineering including resistance-conferring genes like EFR1/EFR2 (Arabidopsis), Bs2 (pepper), and Pto (tomato) help combat pathogens such as Ralstonia solanacearum and Xanthomonas campestris. Additionally, CRISPR-Cas9 enables precise genome editing to enhance inherent disease resistance in crops. Emerging strategies like biological control, plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), and nanotechnology further reduce dependency on chemical antibacterial agents. This review highlights the urgent need for sustainable disease management to safeguard ecosystem and human health while ensuring food security. Full article

The search for waste management opportunities is crucial for achieving environmentally friendly waste practices and ensuring the country’s energy security. This research aimed to valorize biomass and waste generated in greenhouses and to analyze the potential for electricity production from this waste. The analyses compared the situations in Turkey and Poland, where greenhouse production of vegetables is developing and constitutes an important link in agricultural activities, despite differences in climatic conditions. The cultivation of vegetables and flowers under cover is rapidly expanding in both countries and, with changing climatic conditions, is expected to shape the future of agriculture. In addition to estimating the energy that can be obtained, the study also evaluated the economic benefits of such a solution and the volume of avoided CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. The issue of utilizing these wastes is significant because current methods of their management do not lead to energy production, so their considerable energy potential is wasted, as highlighted in this study. Moreover, there is a lack of similar studies in the literature. The plant species chosen as materials in this study were tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, and melon in the case of Turkey. For Poland, the analysis was conducted for tomatoes and greenhouse cucumbers. These crops represent the largest cultivated areas under cover in the respective countries. Results indicated that the average yearly amount of vegetable residue is approximately 463 thousand Mg in Turkey, and 77 thousand Mg in Poland. The estimated annual electricity potential is 430 GWh in Turkey and 80 GWh in Poland. Considering the efficiency of power generation in a typical power plant, the real amount of electricity to be obtained is 0.46 MWh per Mg of waste in Turkey and 0.52 MWh in Poland. Full article

The tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a destructive pest of Solanaceae crops worldwide. Its olfactory system plays an important role in locating mating partners and recognizing host plants. Understanding its olfactory recognition mechanism, particularly the function of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), may reveal potential targets for pest management. In this study, we characterized two antenna-specific OBPs, TabsOBP45 and TabsOBP46, which were identified from the T. absoluta genome. Sequence analysis revealed that both TabsOBPs belong to the classic OBP subfamily, which is characterized by the presence of six conserved cysteine residues and an N-terminal signal peptide. Both TabsOBPs showed predominant antennal expression in quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays, suggesting their key roles in olfactory perception. Fluorescence competitive binding assays with a total of 63 tested volatiles revealed that 13 compounds exhibited strong binding affinities (Ki < 22 µM) to TabsOBP45, with the highest binding affinity to β-ionone, β-caryophyllene, terpinolene, and cinnamaldehyde. Nine compounds showed strong binding affinities to TabsOBP46, with the strongest binding to 4-anisaldehyde, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, and β-ionone. Molecular docking analysis revealed the key residues involved in β-ionone binding: TabsOBP45 interacted with ILE8, ALA9, PHE12, TRP37, ILE92, PHE94, THR115, and PHE118, while TabsOBP46 interacted with ILE8, PHE12, PHE36, TRP37, ILE92, LEU94, PHE118, and VAL134. These results provide new insights into the olfactory mechanism of T. absoluta and potential molecular targets for the development of olfactory-based pest control strategies. Full article

Trichoderma harzianum, a prominent biocontrol microorganism, often exhibits restricted colonization efficiency in nutrient-poor soil, thus reducing its biocontrol effectiveness. This study investigated the impact of vitamin C industrial fermentation byproduct (residue after evaporation, RAE), which is recognized for enhancing plant growth and stress tolerance, on the colonization ability and anti-pathogenic fungi activity of T. harzianum through in vitro and pot experiments. In vitro experiments demonstrated that RAE and its main component (2-keto-L-gulonic acid, 2KGA) significantly enhanced biomass and spore production (41.44% and 158.46% on average) of two T. harzianum strains in an oligotrophic medium (1/5 PDA). In a more nutrient-limited medium (1/10 PDA), RAE significantly increased the inhibition rates of T. harzianum S against Fusarium graminearum, Botrytis cinerea, and Alternaria alternata by 6.12–7.77%. Pot experiments further revealed that, compared with T. harzianum application alone, the combined application of RAE and T. harzianum S, (1) significantly elevated T. harzianum S abundance by 23.77% while significantly reducing B. cinerea abundance by 33.78% in rhizosphere soil; (2) significantly improved the content of soil available phosphorus (147.63%), ammonium nitrogen (60.05%), and nitrate nitrogen (32.19%); and (3) significantly improved the superoxide dismutase activity (17.39%) and fresh weight of tomato plants (130.74%). Correlation analysis revealed that there were significant positive correlations between T. harzianum S abundances/plant biomass and RAE, and significantly negative correlations between B. cinerea abundance and T. harzianum S/plant biomass/peroxidase activity. Collectively, RAE effectively promoted the growth of T. harzianum and pathogen suppression ability, while improving soil fertility and tomato biomass. This study offers novel insights into RAE’s agricultural application for plant disease control while supporting the sustainable development of vitamin C production. Full article

The agro-industrial sector generates large volumes of fruit waste each year, leading to environmental concerns and sustainability challenges. In this study, we evaluate the potential of fruit residues—apple, pear, blueberry, tomato, papaya, and a mixed fruit juice blend—as alternative sources of high-value polysaccharides, including pectins, hemicelluloses, and cellulose. Additionally, white strawberry, included as a reference from fresh fruit rather than agro-industrial waste, was analyzed to expand the comparative framework. These biopolymers, naturally derived from the plant cell wall, are renewable and biodegradable, and they possess physicochemical properties suitable for applications in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile, and bioenergy industries. Using a combination of cell wall fractionation, biochemical characterization, and immunodetection of specific structural domains, we identified significant variability in polysaccharide composition and structure among the samples. Blueberry, pear, and apple residues showed high levels of rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) with extensive branching, while variations in rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) dimerization and the degree of methylesterification of homogalacturonan were also observed. These structural differences are key to determining the gelling properties and functional potential of pectins. In the hemicellulose fractions, xylans and xyloglucans with distinct substitution patterns were especially abundant in apple and pear waste. Our findings demonstrate that fruit processing waste holds significant promise as a sustainable source of structurally diverse polysaccharides. These results support the reintegration of agro-industrial residues into production chains and emphasize the need for environmentally friendly extraction methods to enable industrial recovery and application. Overall, this study contributes to advancing a circular bioeconomy by transforming underutilized plant waste into valuable functional materials. Full article

The use of tomato plant residues (i.e., stems, leaves, etc.) as a substrate for catalytic pyrolysis of biomass was investigated. A comprehensive study was conducted to investigate the impact of catalysts on the performance of different pyrolysis fractions (i.e., gas, biosolid, waxes, and bioliquid) as well as the distribution of products within the bioliquid. The catalysts employed in this study were derived from two distinct types of zirconia. The first type was synthesized by a conventional sol-gel method, while the second type was prepared with a modified method aimed at improving the presence of mesopores. This modification involved the incorporation of Pluronic 123. These materials were designated ZrO₂ and ZrO₂P25, respectively. Both types of zirconia were used as supports for tungstophosphoric acid (H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, TPA), a heteropolyacid with a Keggin structure, in the preparation of catalysts with strong acid sites. The results demonstrated that the bioliquid yield of the non-catalytic fast pyrolysis of tomato plant waste was approximately 23% and that the obtained bioliquid contained a wide variety of molecules, which were detected and quantified by GC-MS. In the presence of the catalysts, both the bioliquid yield and the distribution of bioliquid products were substantially modified. Furthermore, the possible sugar degradation pathways leading to the formation of the molecules present in the pyrolytic bioliquids were thoroughly examined. The results obtained from this study indicate that the physicochemical characteristics of the catalysts, specifically their pore size and acidity, have a significant impact on the selectivity of the catalytic processes towards valuable molecules, including anhydro-sugars and furanic derivatives such as furfural and furfuryl alcohol. Full article

This study assessed the performance of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) fed different tomato plant residues (fruit, leaves, and stems) at doses ranging from 100 to 350 mg/larva/day over ten days. Most doses resulted in 100% survival, except for the leaf residue at the highest dose (300 mg/larva/day), which had an 88% survival rate. Growth varied by substrate, with the highest increase observed in larvae-fed tomato fruit, followed by stems and leaves. However, no doses exceeded the control diet regarding biomass accumulation, although fruit tomatoes produced the highest wet biomass (13.71 g). Larvae-fed fruit tomatoes also showed the best performance in waste reduction index (WRI) with 7.56, substrate reduction (SR) of 75%, and a feed conversion rate (FCR) of 3.29. Furthermore, the fruit tomato was the most efficient at converting organic waste into larval biomass. This study demonstrates the potential of using tomato plant residues as a sustainable substrate for BSFL, offering an effective way to manage agricultural waste and produce valuable larval biomass. Full article

The noticeable reduction in plant species abundance near industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) highlights the need to investigate its potential allelopathic effects on selected cultivars’ seed germination and seedling growth. Industrial hemp of the “Helena” variety was used to obtain aqueous extracts by conventional (macerate, hydrolate, and post-distillation residue) and green methods (ultrasonic and microwave extracts) in order to treat thirteen most commonly cultivated plant species, including lettuce, kohlrabi, onion, tomato, carrot, pepper, savoy cabbage, rocket, alfalfa, white mustard, pea, sunflower, and parsley. This is the first time that the allelopathic effects of seven different hemp extracts were tested simultaneously on thirteen different species. The extracts were applied at 10, 25, 50, and 100% concentrations. The seed germination percentage and root/shoot length results for all tested plants, except peas, clearly demonstrated an inhibitory effect of higher concentrations of hemp extracts. This effect was observed regardless of variations in chemical composition (CBD, THC, and total polyphenols), suggesting that different extracts have varying impacts on different species. The weakest inhibitory effect on the germination and seedling length for the majority of the tested plant species was noted for PDR, while the strongest inhibitory effect in terms of seedling length was observed in the case of MAE700. Full article

This study investigates the uptake, translocation, and pathogen control efficacy of ethylicin in tomato plants using a combination of indoor root irrigation, spraying, and field root irrigation experiments. The results indicate that ethylicin shows dual-directional translocation in tomato plants. On the third day after foliar spraying, ethylicin was detected in the roots at a concentration of 2.93 mg/kg, indicating downward movement. On the third day after root irrigation, ethylicin was detected in the leaves at a concentration of 3.44 mg/kg, confirming upward movement. In the field experiments, ethylicin was absorbed and transported to the upper leaves within six hours of root irrigation at a concentration of 3.85 mg/kg for a single-agent ethylicin and 5.87 mg/kg for an ethylicin–oligosaccharin compound. These results indicate that oligosaccharins enhance the absorption of ethylicin. Ethylicin residue dissipated by the fifth day. No ethylicin was detected in the untreated controls. Root irrigation during the growing period showed an effective reduction of Fusarium spp. and Phytophthora spp. populations in the soil and control of soil-borne diseases. These findings provide theoretical support for the efficient application of ethylicin in the field. Full article

The development of innovative and eco-friendly strategies to protect plant health is one of the main challenges for the agricultural sector to respond to the increasing global food demand. In this contest, ozone (O₃) could be a promising sustainable alternative to current pesticides, since it is a powerful oxidizing agent and does not leave residues in the environment. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in its potential bioactivity as a plant defense inducer are still poorly known. Thus, this study aimed to understand the role of O₃ in plant defenses, as well as in plant growth, development and physiology, by a multidisciplinary approach. Here, O₃ was applied as ozonated water to the soil in field experiments or to the nutrient solution of hydroponically grown plants. Experiments were carried out on different plant species, including the model plant Nicotiana tabacum and agronomically important crops such as lettuce, bean, and tomato. The analysis of several physiological parameters, such as plant weight, chlorophyll content, and stomatal conductance, indicated that O₃ effects are species-specific. Moreover, the expression analysis of specific defense-related genes showed that O₃ induced substantial changes in key hormonal and defense signaling pathways. Overall, O₃ was demonstrated to trigger plant defenses, mainly mediated by pathogenesis-related proteins, mimicking a pathogen attack. Full article

Addressing the agricultural challenges of agri-food waste accumulation, this study assessed the energy potential of green residues from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Kmicic) plants in different fertilizer configurations and Shea nutshell (Vitellaria paradoxa) waste. Two key parameters were compared: (I) Calorific Value (CV), representing thermal treatment, and (II) Biogas and Biomethane production potential, representing biochemical treatment. Potential was estimated using the Baserga method and the fermentable organic matter (FOM) method. Additionally, the effect of tomato fertilization on the elemental composition and energy potential of its waste was analyzed. Shea waste showed better properties for both thermal and biochemical utilization, with a CV of 16.29 MJ/kg. The Baserga and FOM methods of estimation showed that the highest Biogas yields from Shea waste were 504.18 and 671.39 L_N/kg DM, respectively. Among fertilized tomato residues, volcanic tuff fertilizer additive resulted in an optimal C/N ratio (28.41) and a high Biogas production potential of 457.13 L_N/kg DM (Baserga) and 542.85 L_N/kg DM (FOM). These findings demonstrate the feasibility of employing tomato waste and Shea waste as promising feedstock for energy production. Full article

Semantic segmentation of three-dimensional (3D) plant point clouds at the stem-leaf level is foundational and indispensable for high-throughput tomato phenotyping systems. However, existing semantic segmentation methods often suffer from issues such as low precision and slow inference speed. To address these challenges, we propose an innovative encoding-decoding structure, incorporating voxel sparse convolution (SpConv) and attention-based feature fusion (VSCAFF) to enhance semantic segmentation of the point clouds of high-resolution tomato seedling images. Tomato seedling point clouds from the Pheno4D dataset labeled into semantic classes of ‘leaf’, ‘stem’, and ‘soil’ are applied for the semantic segmentation. In order to reduce the number of parameters so as to further improve the inference speed, the SpConv module is designed to function through the residual concatenation of the skeleton convolution kernel and the regular convolution kernel. The feature fusion module based on the attention mechanism is designed by giving the corresponding attention weights to the voxel diffusion features and the point features in order to avoid the ambiguity of points with different semantics having the same characteristics caused by the diffusion module, in addition to suppressing noise. Finally, to solve model training class bias caused by the uneven distribution of point cloud classes, the composite loss function of Lovász-Softmax and weighted cross-entropy is introduced to supervise the model training and improve its performance. The results show that mIoU of VSCAFF is 86.96%, which outperformed the performance of PointNet, PointNet++, and DGCNN, respectively. IoU of VSCAFF achieves 99.63% in the soil class, 64.47% in the stem class, and 96.72% in the leaf class. The time delay of 35ms in inference speed is better than PointNet++ and DGCNN. The results demonstrate that VSCAFF has high performance and inference speed for semantic segmentation of high-resolution tomato point clouds, and can provide technical support for the high-throughput automatic phenotypic analysis of tomato plants. Full article

Trianthema portulacastrum L. (Aizoaceae), commonly known as desert horse purslane or black pigweed, is a C4 dicot succulent invasive annual plant that is widespread in agricultural fields in Southeast Asia, tropical America, Africa, and Australia. In Israel, Trianthema portulacastrum is an invasive weed of increasing importance in agricultural fields, including mainly corn, tomato, alfalfa watermelon, and groundnut crops. The significance of this weed in crops has been recently reported in neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt. In previous studies, we have examined and described the spread, biology, and germination requirements of Trianthema portulacastrum in Israel. The present study aimed to investigate the efficiency of single pre- and post-emergence herbicides and the combination of pre-applied herbicides for the control of this invasive weed in pots in a nethouse. We conducted three sequential experiments in a nethouse: (1) screening of pre-emergence herbicides, (2) screening of post-emergence herbicides, and (3) assessment of residual activity of combined pre-emergence herbicides in three distinct Hula Valley soil types. Efficacy was evaluated through weekly assessments of seedling emergence and vigor, with the final shoot fresh weight determined upon the experiment’s completion. In all experiments, weekly counts and vigor estimation of T. portulacastrum seedlings were conducted, and shoot fresh weights were determined at the end of the experiments. The results of pre-emergence herbicide screening showed that Fomesafen, Terbutryne, Flurochloridon, Sulfosulfuron, Cyrosulfamid + Izoxaflutole, and Dimethenamid were the most effective herbicides, leading to complete eradication of T. portulacastrum plants. Results of the post-emergence screening revealed that Saflufenacil, Foramsulfuron, Tembotrione + Isoxdifen-ethyl, and Rimsulfurom Methyl completely controlled the weed. In the soil residual study, three herbicide combinations (Fomesafen + Terbutryn, Sulfosulfuron + Fomesafen, and Dimethenamid + Flurochloridon) provided effective control across all soil types. These findings provide a foundation for future field trials investigating integrated pre- and post-emergence herbicide programs for T. portulacastrum management in various crops. Full article