List of Reviewers 2023Editorial

Editorial Department

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1)  

Net blotch (Pyrenophora teres Drechsler): An increasingly significant threat to barley productionReview

Andrija Tomić, Vojislav Trkulja, Slavica Matić, Nenad Trkulja, Renata Iličić, Marco Scortichini, Tatjana Popović Milovanović

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):1-30 | DOI: 10.17221/122/2023-PPS  

Pyrenophora teres is a pathogen causing a net blotch disease in cultivated barley, which is present worldwide and can thus significantly reduce barley yields. This fungus also infects wild barley and other plants of the Hordeum genus, as well as barley grass, wheat, oats and plants from various genera, including Agropyron, Bromus, Elymus, Hordelymus and Stipa. Based on the symptoms it causes on the infected barley plants, the pathogen can be divided into two forms: P. teres f. teres, which causes net-like symptoms, and P. teres f. maculata, which causes blotchy symptoms. Infected seeds, stubble...

Medlar (Mespilus germanica), a novel natural host for Hop stunt viroid (HSVd)Original Paper

Hatice Diğdem Oksal

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):31-40 | DOI: 10.17221/93/2023-PPS  

Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) infects various plants such as citrus, hop, almond, grapevine, pear, plum, peach, mulberry, fig, and pistachio. Medlar trees in an orchard in Malatya province of Türkiye were surveyed for the presence of HSVd in 2021. Twenty leaf and flower samples were collected and tested by RT-PCR methods using pathogen-specific primers. HSVd was found in five of the twenty medlar samples showing novel sequence variations. Two of the five HSVd variations were chosen at random and registered in GenBank. Both Turkish HSVd isolates had genomes that were 300 nucleotides long. The complete genome sequence of these variations was compared to isolates...

The combined application of Bacillus velezensis BCP6 and Jinggangmycin (JGM) to control soft rot caused by Pectobacterium aroidearum on Amorphophallus konjacOriginal Paper

Mengjia Zhu, Siyuan Ren, Changlong Chen, Yu Tian, Zhijian Long, Zhiqiang Lin, Hua Xie, Ying Cao

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):41-52 | DOI: 10.17221/77/2023-PPS  

Amorphophallus spp. is an important group of crop and medicinal plants, but it is susceptible to infection by soft rot disease during both field growth and storage stages. This results in huge economic and yield losses, which must be properly addressed. Combined applications of Biological Control Agents (BCAs) and compatible chemicals have been recently considered as a more effective and reliable method to control bacterial soft rot. In the present study, we investigated the control effects against soft rot pathogenic bacteria Pectobacterium aroidearum MY11, using a BCA strain (i.e. Bacillus velezensis BCP6) and screening for three...

Controlling Phytophthora blight of pepper in Guizhou Province of China using Stellera chamaejasme extracts and synthetic chemical fungicidesOriginal Paper

Jiling Dang, Xingren Shi, Yuquan Lin, Mark L. Gleason, Jia Feng

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):53-64 | DOI: 10.17221/84/2023-PPS  

Phytophthora blight of pepper, caused by Phytophthora capsici Leonian, is a destructive disease in pepper production. Extracts of the plant species Stellera chamaejasme Linn, previously known in China as a source of herbal medicine, were also used in former years as a toxin against aphids, mites, and plant-pathogenic fungi. Extracts of S. chamaejasme (SC) and seven commercial fungicides were investigated for their inhibition of mycelial growth and germination of cysts of the pathogen in vitro. The SC alone, infinito (fluopicolide + propamocab + hydrochloride), fluazinam, dimethomorph, and their mixtures with SC strongly inhibited...

Antifungal effect of fresh and stored olive mill wastewater and its ethyl acetate extract against plant pathogenic fungiOriginal Paper

Raja Jarboui, Mona Saber Azab, Hallouma Bilel, Shaima M.N. Moustafa

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):65-79 | DOI: 10.17221/91/2023-PPS  

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) has serious environmental implications due to its high organic matter content, particularly its phenolic compounds. Using OMW in crop protection has been suggested as an environmentally friendly alternative to reduce the impact of chemical pesticides on human health and the environment. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of fresh and stored OMW, as well as its ethyl acetate extract, against several phytopathogenic fungi: Syncephalastrum racemosum, Paramyrothecium roridum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Verticillium dahliae. OMW was stored at 25 °C and 45 °C for three months, and both fresh and...

The effect of conidia density and application frequency of the entomopathogenic fungus Aschersonia aleyrodis in controlling silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Linnaeus)Original Paper

Sudarjat, Fitri Widiantini, Yula Salsabila, Syariful Mubarok

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):80-88 | DOI: 10.17221/74/2023-PPS  

One of several important pests that attack tomato plants is the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). An eco-friendly method to control B. tabaci utilizes the entomopathogenic fungus, namely Aschersonia aleyrodis. This study aimed to determine the effect of A. aleyrodis conidia density and the frequency of its application to control silverleaf whitefly (B. tabaci) pest on tomato plants under screen house conditions. This study used a randomized completely block design (RCBD) to test ten combination treatments. Each treatment was repeated three times. The results showed that application of A. aleyrodis at...

Sex ratio dynamic of the field population of the sugarcane rust mite Abacarus sacchari (Acari: Eriophyidae)Original Paper

Nur Asbani, Hardev Sandhu, Oscar Liburd, Julien Beuzelin, Ronald Cherry, Gregg Nuessly

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):89-96 | DOI: 10.17221/50/2023-PPS  

Sugarcane in southern Florida suffers from sugarcane rust mite (SRM) infestations, Abacarus sacchari, from summer to early fall. The mite’s sex ratio is important in understanding the mite's demography and population dynamics. This is the first report on the sex ratio of the field population of the SRM. The objectives of the study were to determine the sex ratio of the SRM and the factors that affect any changes in the sex ratio. To determine the sex ratio, mites were sampled from a sugarcane canopy each month over a 12-month period and the sex ratio was expressed as the proportion of females to the total number of sexed mites. The population...

The predators of aphids on apples in the region East Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)Original Paper

Dejana Stanic

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):97-105 | DOI: 10.17221/64/2023-PPS  

Predators of aphids on apples were studied during the growing season in 2021 and 2022 in the region of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Eleven predator species were found on eight apple cultivars in the colonies of three aphid species, Aphis spp., Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini and Dysaphis devecta Walker. Seven species were identified from the family Syrphidae: Episyrphus balteatus (De Geer), Meliscaeva (Episyrphus) auricollis (Meigen, 1822), Eupeodes flaviceps (Rond.), Eupeodes corolae (Fabr.), Scaeva pyrastri (L.), Syrphus ribesii (L.) and Syrphus vitripennis Mg. The larvae...

Obituary of Ing. Věra Mokrá, CSc. (1932-2023)Biographical Notice

Veronika Strnadová, Marcela Mrázková

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(1):106-107 | DOI: 10.17221/7/2024-PPS  

A prominent scientist in the field of plant virology, our dear colleague Mrs. Ing. Věra Mokrá, CSc., passed away on July 20, 2023. Over the course of almost sixty years (from 1959 to 2008, when she finally retired), Věra Mokrá played a key role in the research of ornamental plant viruses. She was not only one of the founders of the field of virology of ornamental plants in Czechoslovakia, but she also contributed to its significant development and managed to raise the research level to the world level within several decades (Bojňanský 1992). It is very important to remember  her difficult life, often literally pioneering work and rich professional...