The elicitor protein BcIEB1 and the derived peptide ieb35 provide long‐term plant protection

The plant protection product Malakite (BAS 669 01 F), containing the active substances dithianon and pyrimethanil, is a fungicide against scab in pome fruits. Products containing these active plant protection substances are approved in Norway, but not with both substances in the same product. The Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI) has as zonal Rapporteur Member State (zRMS) of the Northern Zone evaluated the product Malakite and decided on non-approval due to the observation of unacceptable effects in exposed birds, aquatic organisms, non-target arthropods and earthworms. On request from The Norwegian Food Safety Authority, the VKM Panel on Plant Protection Products has discussed the available data and the report prepared by KemI, and has concluded as follows on the questions raised: On the refinement of DT50 in long term risk assessment for birds: It is the view of the VKM panel that the refinement is not acceptable because the analysis using first order kinetics seems not in line with a realistic and sufficiently conservative approach for the data provided. Furthermore, field studies from more sites are required. On the long term cumulative effects of the active substances on birds: VKM shares the view of KemI, that the combined sub-lethal and reproduction effects should be assessed because the mode of action of the two ingredients has only been shown in fungi, and since the mechanisms in birds could be different. On the reduction of assessment factor for fish: VKM opposes to the reduction of assessment factor for dithianon in fish because the data from acute toxicity tests cannot be extrapolated to chronic toxicity, and because the factor should reflect not only the variation in interspecies sensitivity, but also the uncertainty involved in extrapolation from laboratory tests to the field situation. On the choice of end point in risk assessment for fish: The VKM panel considers the NOEC of dithianon for fish determined from the study at pH 7.9 not to be adequate for the more acidic Norwegian surface waters, and recommends using the data from the test performed at pH 6.5. On the formulation studies for aquatic organisms: It is the opinion of the VKM panel that the formulation studies may be used together with corresponding studies with the active ingredients as long as the studies compared are performed and evaluated according to the same principles. However, VKM notes that the formulation tests as well as the tests of the active ingredients have been performed at high pH values, which are not representative to most Norwegian surface waters. Thus, the toxic effect of dithianon shown in these tests are likely to be lower than expected under typical conditions in Norway. On the assessment factors for concentration addition in fish: It is the opinion of the VKM panel that a reduction in assessment factor for one component in a mixture cannot be used for a formulation containing components for which a similar reduction has not been accepted. On effect studies of active substances and formulations on non-target arthropods: The VKM panel shares the view of KemI that the risk assessment should be based on all available information, including the studies presented for the active substances. On the endpoint in earthworm risk assessment: VKM supports the view of KemI that the observed effects of pyrimethanil on reproduction of earthworms should be considered in the risk assessment of Malakite.

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Do Long-Term Continuous Cropping and Pesticides Affect Earthworm Communities?

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10040586 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 586 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kinga Treder ◽

Magdalena Jastrzębska ◽

Marta Katarzyna Kostrzewska ◽

Przemysław Makowski

Keyword(s):

Soil Ph ◽

Faba Bean ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Spring Barley ◽

Cropping System ◽

Continuous Cropping ◽

Harvest Residues ◽

Post Harvest ◽

Density And Biomass

Earthworm species composition, the density of individuals, and their biomass were investigated in spring barley and faba bean fields in a long-term (52-year) experiment conducted at the Production and Experimental Station in Bałcyny, in north-eastern Poland (53°40′ N; 19°50′ E). Additionally, post-harvest residues biomass, soil organic matter (SOM), and soil pH were recorded. The above traits were investigated using two experimental factors: I. cropping system—continuous cropping (CC) vs. crop rotation (CR) and II. pesticide plant protection: herbicide + fungicide (HF+) vs. no plant protection (HF−). A total of three species of Lumbricidae were found: Aporrectodea caliginosa (Sav.) in both crops, Aporrectodea rosea (Sav.) in spring barley, and Lumbricus terrestris (L.) in faba bean. The density and biomass of earthworms were unaffected by experimental treatments in spring barley fields, whereas in faba bean CC increased and HF+ decreased earthworm density and biomass in comparison with CR and HF− respectively. Total post-harvest residues in faba bean fields were higher under CC in relation to CR and under HF+ compared with HF− treatment in both crops. Compared to CR, CC increased soil pH in spring barley fields and decreased in faba bean fields. Experimental factors did not affect SOM. Earthworm density and biomass were positively correlated with SOM content.

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Crop Rotation Compared with Continuous Rye Cropping for Weed Biodiversity and Rye Yield. A Case Study of a Long-Term Experiment in Poland

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy9100644 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 644 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jastrzębska ◽

Kostrzewska ◽

Marks ◽

Jastrzębski ◽

Treder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Winter Rye ◽

Herbicide Application ◽

Weed Species ◽

Long Term Experiment ◽

Effect On Yield

In recent years, sustainable agriculture has revitalized interest in crop rotations and their effects on crop performance and agroecosystem biodiversity, including weeds. This article used winter rye as an example and focused on the crop rotation (CR) impact on species, taxonomic and functional diversity of weed communities and analysed the contribution of crop rotation to protecting yield and regulating weed abundance. Long-term continuous rye cropping (CC) provided a background for comparison. Two variants of plant protection were also adopted: herbicide application (H+) and no plant protection (H−). The data from the 10th, 30th and 50th years of the experiment were included in the analysis. Diversified crop rotation with no chemical protection resulted in a satisfactory rye yield and reduced weed abundance—especially problem species—without a decrease in weed species diversity or functional diversity. When rye was grown under crop rotation, the herbicide application had no effect on yield protection, but it was harmful to weed biodiversity. The rye yield correlated negatively with weed biomass, but did not show a link with weed biodiversity. Continuation of long-term experiments as a research basis for contemporary and future scientific challenges is necessary.

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Using an Agroecological Approach to Farming Systems Research

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.12.3.345 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 345-354 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

K. Delate

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Systems Theory ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Organic Production ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Organic Systems ◽

Systems Research

Sales of organic products reached $8 billion in the U.S. in 2000, continuing the nearly decade-long trend of 20% annual growth. In Iowa alone, organic production for all crops was 5265 ha (13,000 acres) in 1995 but 60,750 ha (150,000 acres) in 1999. Despite the growth in organic agriculture, our knowledge of organic farming systems remains limited. We have adopted a systems theory approach in our current research program at Iowa State University (ISU) to help address this gap in understanding. Systems theory holds that biological systems, such as agroecosystems, consist of integrated units of people, plants, animals, soil, insects and microorganisms, and each subsystem provides feedback to the other. In order to obtain input on research questions and experimental design, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and ISU held six focus groups across Iowa in 1998 before long-term site establishment. Producers and agricultural professionals at the focus groups supported the need for long-term agroecological research (LTAR) sites in four distinct agroecological zones in Iowa. The goal of each LTAR is to examine the short- and long-term physical, biological, and socioeconomic effects of organic and conventional farming systems. By establishing long-term experiments, we are testing the hypothesis that longer crop rotations, typical of organic farms, provide yield stability, improve plant protection, and enhance soil health and economic benefits compared to conventional systems with shorter rotations and greater off-farm inputs. Examples of research results from two LTAR experiments in Iowa include similar pepper (Capsicum annuum) and soybean (Glycine max) yields in the conventional and organic systems. Organic systems used mechanical weed control and locally produced compost in place of synthetic fertilizers. Feedback from the local farm associations that are responsible for farm stewardship and farm finances is inherent in the LTAR process.

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Birch tar oil is an effective mollusc repellent: field and laboratory experiments using Arianta arbustorum (Gastropoda: Helicidae) and Arion lusitanicus (Gastropoda: Arionidae)

Agricultural and Food Science ◽

10.2137/145960610791015050 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

I. LINDQVIST ◽

B. LINDQVIST ◽

K. TIILIKKALA

Keyword(s):

Plant Protection ◽

Land Snail ◽

Land Snails ◽

Economic Damage ◽

Plant Protection Product ◽

Arion Lusitanicus ◽

Northern Fennoscandia ◽

Arianta Arbustorum ◽

Tar Oil

Populations of two molluscs, the land snail Arianta arbustorum and the Iberian slug Arion lusitanicus, have increased substantially in many places in the northern Fennoscandia in recent years. This has resulted in considerable aesthetic and economic damage to plants in home gardens and commercial nurseries. Birch tar oil (BTO), is a new biological plant protection product, and was tested against these molluscs. In this study we examined whether 2 types of BTO, used either alone, mixed together, or mixed with Vaseline®, could be applied as 1) a biological plant protection product for the control of land snails by direct topical spray application, 2) as a repellent against snails when painted on a Perspex® fence, and 3) as a repellent against slugs when smeared on pots containing Brassica pekinensis seedlings. Both the fences and the pots with seedlings were placed in each field with a high population of the target organism. When applied as a spray on snails, BTO did not act as a toxic pesticide but rendered the snails inactive for a period of several months. The BTO barriers were effective in repelling both snails and slugs. However, the repellent effect of BTO alone against the molluscs was short-term. Repeated treatments were required to keep the slugs away from the plants and we found that the interval between treatments should not exceed two weeks. A collar fastened around the rim of the pots, combined with the BTO treatment, did not give any additional benefit in hindering slugs from invading the plants. Most noticeably, the BTO+Vaseline® mixture prevented the land snails from passing over the treated fences for up to several months. The results of these experiments provide evidence that BTO, especially when mixed with Vaseline®, serves as an excellent long-term repellent against molluscs.;

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Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Plant protection products and their residues (PPR) related to the choice of endpoints to assess the long term risk to mammals

EFSA Journal ◽

10.2903/j.efsa.2006.344 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Plant Protection ◽

Plant Protection Products

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Bacillus subtilisEarly Colonization ofArabidopsis thalianaRoots Involves Multiple Chemotaxis Receptors

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.01664-16 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 73

Author(s):

Rosalie Allard-Massicotte ◽

Laurence Tessier ◽

Frédéric Lécuyer ◽

Venkatachalam Lakshmanan ◽

Jean-François Lucier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Root Exudates ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Orphan Receptor ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Plant Growth Promoting ◽

Growth Promoting ◽

First Contact

ABSTRACTColonization of plant roots byBacillus subtilisis mutually beneficial to plants and bacteria. Plants can secrete up to 30% of their fixed carbon via root exudates, thereby feeding the bacteria, and in return the associatedB. subtilisbacteria provide the plant with many growth-promoting traits. Formation of a biofilm on the root by matrix-producingB. subtilisis a well-established requirement for long-term colonization. However, we observed that cells start forming a biofilm only several hours after motile cells first settle on the plant. We also found that intact chemotaxis machinery is required for early root colonization byB. subtilisand for plant protection.Arabidopsis thalianaroot exudates attractB. subtilis in vitro, an activity mediated by the two characterized chemoreceptors, McpB and McpC, as well as by the orphan receptor TlpC. Nonetheless, bacteria lacking these chemoreceptors are still able to colonize the root, suggesting that other chemoreceptors might also play a role in this process. These observations suggest thatA. thalianaactively recruitsB. subtilisthrough root-secreted molecules, and our results stress the important roles ofB. subtilischemoreceptors for efficient colonization of plants in natural environments. These results demonstrate a remarkable strategy adapted by beneficial rhizobacteria to utilize carbon-rich root exudates, which may facilitate rhizobacterial colonization and a mutualistic association with the host.IMPORTANCEBacillus subtilisis a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium that establishes robust interactions with roots. Many studies have now demonstrated that biofilm formation is required for long-term colonization. However, we observed that motileB. subtilismediates the first contact with the roots. These cells differentiate into biofilm-producing cells only several hours after the bacteria first contact the root. Our study reveals that intact chemotaxis machinery is required for the bacteria to reach the root. Many, if not all, of theB. subtilis10 chemoreceptors are involved in the interaction with the plant. These observations stress the importance of root-bacterium interactions in theB. subtilislifestyle.

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Genetic Diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, the Fusarium Wilt Pathogen of Banana, in Ecuador

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9091133 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1133

Author(s):

Freddy Magdama ◽

Lorena Monserrate-Maggi ◽

Lizette Serrano ◽

José García Onofre ◽

María del Mar Jiménez-Gasco

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Fusarium Wilt ◽

Population Biology ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Compatibility Group ◽

Race 1 ◽

Race 4 ◽

Latin America Countries

The continued dispersal of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical race 4 (FocTR4), a quarantine soil-borne pathogen that kills banana, has placed this worldwide industry on alert and triggered enormous pressure on National Plant Protection (NPOs) agencies to limit new incursions. Accordingly, biosecurity plays an important role while long-term control strategies are developed. Aiming to strengthen the contingency response plan of Ecuador against FocTR4, a population biology study—including phylogenetics, mating type, vegetative compatibility group (VCG), and pathogenicity testing—was performed on isolates affecting local bananas, presumably associated with race 1 of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). Our results revealed that Foc populations in Ecuador comprise a single clonal lineage, associated with VCG0120. The lack of diversity observed in Foc populations is consistent with a single introduction event from which secondary outbreaks originated. The predominance of VCG0120, together with previous reports of its presence in Latin America countries, suggests this group as the main cause of the devastating Fusarium wilt epidemics that occurred in the 1950s associated to the demise of ‘Gros Michel’ bananas in the region. The isolates sampled from Ecuador caused disease in cultivars that are susceptible to races 1 and 2 under greenhouse experiments, although Fusarium wilt symptoms in the field were only found in ‘Gros Michel’. Isolates belonging to the same VCG0120 have historically caused disease on Cavendish cultivars in the subtropics. Overall, this study shows how Foc can be easily dispersed to other areas if restriction of contaminated materials is not well enforced. We highlight the need of major efforts on awareness and monitoring campaigns to analyze suspected cases and to contain potential first introduction events of FocTR4 in Ecuador.

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Issues for seagrass conservation management in Queensland

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc000321 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 321 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

W. J. Lee Long ◽

R. G. Coles ◽

L. J. McKenzie

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Chelonia Mydas ◽

Seagrass Habitat ◽

Northern Coast ◽

Seagrass Meadows

Coastal, reef-associated and deepwater (> 15 m) seagrass habitats form a large and ecologically important community on the Queensland continental shelf. Broad-scale resource inventories of coastal seagrasses were completed in the 1980s and were used in marine park and fisheries zoning to protect some seagrasses. At least eleven of the fifteen known species in the region reach their latitudinal limits of distribution in Queensland and at least two Halophila species may be endemic to Queensland or northeastern Australia. The importance of seagrasses to Dugongs Dugong dugon, Green Turtles Chelonia mydas and commercially valuable prawn fisheries, will continue to strongly influence directions in seagrass research and conservation management in Queensland. Widespread loss of seagrasses following natural cyclone and flood events in some locations has had serious consequences to regional populations of Dugong. However, the impacts to Queensland fisheries are little studied. Agricultural land use practices may exacerbate the effects of natural catastrophic events, but the long-term impacts of nutrients, pesticides and sediment loads on Queensland seagrasses are also unknown. Most areas studied are nutrient limited and human impacts on seagrasses in Queensland are low to moderate, and could include increases in habitat since modern settlement. Most impacts are in southern, populated localities where shelter and water conditions ideal for productive seagrass habitat are often targets for port development, and are at the downstream end of heavily modified catchments. For Queensland to avoid losses experienced by other states, incremental increases in impacts associated with population and development pressure must be managed. Seagrass areas receive priority consideration in oil spill management within the Great Barrier Reef and coastal ports. Present fisheries legislation for marine plant protection, marine parks and area closures to trawl fishing help protect inshore seagrass prawn nursery and Dugong feeding habitat, but seagrasses in deep water do not yet receive any special zoning protection. Efficacy of the various Local, State and Commonwealth Acts and planning programmes for seagrass conservation is limited by the expanse and remoteness of Queensland's northern coast, but is improving through broad-based education programmes. Institutional support is sought to enable community groups to augment limited research and monitoring programmes with local "habitat watch" programmes. Research is helping to describe the responses of seagrass to natural and human impacts and to determine acceptable levels of changes in seagrass meadows and water quality conditions that may cause those changes. The management of loss and regeneration of sea grass is benefiting from new information collected on life histories and mechanisms of natural recovery in Queensland species. Maintenance of Queensland's seagrasses systems will depend on improved community awareness, regional and long-term planning and active changes in coastal land use to contain overall downstream impacts and stresses.

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