Use of by-products from the industrial distillation of lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) essential oil as effective bioherbicides.

Weeds are one of the main problems causing losses in agricultural crops, which are nowadays mainly combated by the massive use of chemical herbicides. The development of new effective, sustainable, environmentally and health-friendly bioherbicides is a fundamental need worldwide. In this work, hydrolates and lavandin distilled straws produced during the distillation of the essential oil of lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) were tested as potential bioherbicides.

Analysis of -microorganism interactions: basis for understanding plant-microbe and plant-pathogen interactions.

is a bryophyte gaining significance as a model plant in evolutionary studies in recent years. This is attributed to its small-sequenced genome, standardized transformation methodology, global distribution, and easy and rapid culturing. As an evolutionary model, contributes to our understanding of the evolution of plant defensive responses and the associated hormonal signaling pathways.

Associations between shade tolerance and wood specific gravity for conifers in contrast to angiosperm trees: Foundations of the conifer fitness-enhancing shade tolerance hypothesis.

For decades, researchers have held that wood specific gravity was an indicator or surrogate for both shade tolerance and successional status. However, recent research in dry tropical forests has shown very different associations regarding wood specific gravity. Past analyses of the tolerance and wood properties of tree species have focused on pooled coniferous and angiosperm species in temperate regions; fewer analyses have been conducted separately for conifers and angiosperm species.

Systemic biochemical changes in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) against Rhizoctonia solani by kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L.) green manure application.

Background: In the search for new alternatives to avoid the problems associated with the use of synthetic chemical fungicides in agriculture, the use of green manure (GrM) could help combat fungal diseases of crops, such as those produced by the necrotrophic pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. In the case of the use of Brassica tissues as GrM, it could have an elicitor capacity for systemic plant resistance.

Results: We used kale leaves as a GrM and applied it to pepper plants infected with R.

Potential of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Pasture Species in Spanish Dehesas to Produce Enzymes under Salt Conditions.

Endophytic fungi have been found to produce a wide range of extracellular enzymes, which are increasingly in demand for their industrial applications. Different by-products from the agrifood industry could be used as fungal growth substrates for the massive production of these enzymes, specifically as a way to revalorize them. However, such by-products often present unfavorable conditions for the microorganism's growth, such as high salt concentrations.

Trichoderma hamatum can act as an inter-plant communicator of foliar pathogen infections by colonizing the roots of nearby plants: A new inter-plant "wired communication".

Trichoderma is a genus of filamentous fungi widely studied and used as a biological control agent in agriculture. However, its ability to form fungal networks for inter-plant communication by means of the so-called inter-plant "wired communication" has not yet been addressed. In our study we used the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the fungus Trichoderma hamatum (isolated from Brassicaceae plants) and the pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Xanthomonas campestris (necrotrophic fungus and hemibiotrophic bacteria, respectively).

First study on the root endophytic fungus Trichoderma hamatum as an entomopathogen: Development of a fungal bioinsecticide against cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis).

Cotton leaf worm (Spodoptera littoralis) is a pest that produces important losses in horticultural and ornamental crops in greenhouse, being classified as quarantine pest A2 by EPPO. One of the strategies proposed to control agricultural pests in a health and environmentally friendly way is biological control with entomopathogenic fungi. The genus of filamentous fungi Trichoderma includes different species with direct (infection, antibiosis, anti-feeding, etc.

A potential role of salicylic acid in the evolutionary behavior of Trichoderma as a plant pathogen: from Marchantia polymorpha to Arabidopsis thaliana.

Recognition of the interaction of Trichoderma during the evolution of land plants plays a potential key role in the development of the salicylic acid defense pathway and the establishment of a mutualistic relationship. Marchantia polymorpha is a common liverwort considered in recent years as a model plant for evolutionary studies on plant-microorganism interactions. Despite the lack of research, remarkable results have been reported regarding the understanding of metabolic and evolutionary processes of beneficial and/or harmful interactions, owing to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of different plant defense pathways.

Protective Effects of Filtrates and Extracts from Fungal Endophytes on in .

Fungal endophytes have been found to protect their hosts against multiple fungal pathogens. Frequently, the secondary metabolites produced by the endophyte are responsible for antifungal activity. To develop new bio-products that are more environmentally friendly than synthetic pesticides against , a serious pathogen of many plant species, the antifungal activity of filtrates or extracts from four endophytes was evaluated in different in vitro tests and in plants of .

High-resolution planet satellite imagery and multi-temporal surveys to predict risk of tree mortality in tropical eucalypt forestry.

Global high-resolution imagery is a well-assimilated technology in forest mapping. The release of the Norway's International Climate & Forests Initiative (NICFI) Planet tropical basemaps time-series starting in 2015 at a 4.77-m resolution represents a unique opportunity to forecast climate change consequences such as drought episodes.

Straightening the crooked: intraspecific divergence of stem posture control and associated trade-offs in a model conifer.

Although the straightening capacity of the stem is key for light capture and mechanical stability in forest trees, little is known about its adaptive implications. Assuming that stem straightening is costly, trade-offs are expected with competing processes such as growth, maintenance, and defence. We established a manipulative experiment in a common garden of Pinus pinaster including provenances typically showing either straight-stemmed or crooked-stemmed phenotypes.