Plant Protection Science

ISSN 1212-2580 (Print)
ISSN 1805-9341 (On-line)

An international open access peer-reviewed journal published by the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences and financed by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. Founded 1921 (by 1997 under the title Ochrana rostlin)

The journal is administered by an international Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief: prof. Ing. Aleš Lebeda, DrSc.
Co-editor: prof. Ing. Radovan Pokorný, Ph.D.
Executive Editor: Ing. Eva Karská
Technical Editor: Ing. Bc. Ilona Adamírová
The journal is published quarterly

Aims & Scope

original papers, short communications, critical reviews, personal news, and book reviews covering all areas of diseases and pests of plants, weeds and plant protection. Articles are published in English.

Current issue

Scope and potential of herbicidal values of the fungal pathogens and its secondary metabolites for sustainable weed managementReview

Vaddi Saitheja, Kanthan Thirukumaran, Vaithiyanathan Sendhilvel, Ramasamy Karthikeyan, M. Karuppasami Kalarani, Sampathrajan Vellaikumar, Panneerselvam Parasuraman, SP Sangeetha, Thangaraj Abhinaya

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):109-126 | DOI: 10.17221/31/2024-PPS

Weeds are the major menace to agriculture, which greatly impact crop growth and development, resulting in economic yield loss or crop failures. Therefore, it is indispensable to take up appropriate weed management practices to prevent the effects of weeds on crops. Chemical herbicides have immense potential for effective control of weeds, but, in the long run, the persistent nature of herbicides adversely affects the soil microbes and also that terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Bioherbicides are products derived from plant extracts, allelochemicals or microbes and their secondary metabolites with weed-suppressing abilities. Most microbial bioherbicides...

Exploring the weed host range of resistance-breaking variants of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) across life cycles in TürkiyeOriginal Paper

Hakan Fidan, Ailar Gonbad, Yasin Emre Kitis

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):127-138 | DOI: 10.17221/118/2023-PPS

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is destroying tomato and pepper resistance all over the world, including Antalya (Türkiye). Two greenhouses that show infection of TSWV in the Serik (coastal) and Elmali (highland) areas were chosen for research between 2019 and 2021 to better understand the disease's life cycle. During the surveys, we focused on weed hosts to better understand TSWV disease's cycle. TSWV infection was determined in 58 peppers, 34 tomatoes, 270 weeds, and 20 other vegetable samples. Weed samples revealed essentially no symptoms, however, grown plants showed classic TSWV symptoms. The Asteraceae family had the highest...

Powdery mildews (Erysiphales) species spectrum on plants of family Lamiaceae in the Czech RepublicOriginal Paper

Marketa Michutova, Barbora Mieslerova, Ivana Šafránková, Barbora Jilkova, Maria Neoralova, Ales Lebeda

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):139-150 | DOI: 10.17221/21/2024-PPS

This article focuses on the occurrence of powdery mildews in the Lamiaceae family in the Czech Republic. A comprehensive analysis of morphological characteristics supported by molecular analysis of partial ITS sequences and analysis of host species gained important insights regarding the occurrence and diversity of powdery mildews. Thirty-four plant samples of the Lamiaceae family infected by powdery mildew collected in the Czech Republic between 2015–2022 were analysed. In these samples, the occurrence of all newly described species within the former Golovinomyces biocellatus complex was confirmed (G. biocellatus, G. salviae,...

Preliminary study on horizontal transfer and loss of the AM toxin gene of AlternariaOriginal Paper

Ting Chen, Jiling Dang, Peng Zhang, Jinju Shi, Jia Feng

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):151-160 | DOI: 10.17221/106/2023-PPS

The genus Alternaria has a global distribution and consists of a diverse group of pathogens. Plant-pathogenic Alternaria spp. can reduce the crop yield and pose serious threats to agricultural production. The pathogen A. mali is recognised as the key the pathogenic mechanism in the early defoliation of apples, which produces the host specific toxin (HST) that was named as an apple specific toxin (a specialised toxin of A. alternata pv. mali, AM toxin). The phenomenon of horizontal transfer of the AM toxin gene from different strains of A. alternata was found, and the relationship between the AM toxin and pathogenicity...

The disease quantification analysis of cotton Verticillium wilt using the two methods of disease index and fungal biomass present high consistencyOriginal Paper

He Zhu, Yue Li, Xiao-Bin Ji, Dan-Dan Zhang, Jie-Yin Chen, Xiao-Feng Dai, Zi-Sheng Wang, Dan Wang

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):161-171 | DOI: 10.17221/109/2023-PPS

Verticillium dahliae is a broad host-range pathogen that causes vascular wilt in plants. The Verticillium wilt disease severity assay on plants caused by V. dahliae mainly includes two methods, one is a plant disease grade classification based on disease severity statistics [namely the disease index (DI)], and the other is the V. dahliae biomass quantification in plants (namely the fungal biomass). In this study, the relationships of pathogenicity with the DI, pathogenicity with the biomass, and the correlation analysis of the DI and relative fungal biomass were analysed. The results showed that pathogenicity assessment of V....

In vitro antifungal activity and mechanism of action of carvacrol against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary

Lei Yang, Xue Ma, Lijun Wang, Guogen Yang, Lijun Zhou, Zhilin Zhang, Xiaomeng Li

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):172-180 | DOI: 10.17221/121/2023-PPS

This study aimed to examine the antifungal effects of nine monoterpenes on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum via the mycelial growth rate method. The effects of carvacrol on the morphological structures of hyphae were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The oxalic acid (OA), total protein contents, and the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, including chitinase, cellulase and β-1,3-glucanase, were assessed. The results showed that the antifungal rates of carvacrol, thymol and eugenol reached 100% at a concentration of 400 mg/L, and the EC50 values of carvacrol, thymol, and eugenol were 43.40, 56.22, and 86.63 mg/L, respectively....

Comparative analysis of unmanned aerial vehicle and conventional spray systems for the maize fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) managementOriginal Paper

P.S. Shanmugam, T. Srinivasan, V. Baskaran, A. Suganthi, B.Vinothkumar, G. Arulkumar, S. Backiyaraj, S. Chinnadurai, V. Somasundaram, N. Sathiah, N. Muthukrishnan, S.V. Krishnamoorthy, K. Prabakar, S. Douresamy, Y.S. Johnson Edward Thangaraj, S. Pazhanivelan, K.P. Ragunath, R.Kumaraperumal, S. Jeyarani, R. Kavitha, A.P. Mohankumar

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):181-192 | DOI: 10.17221/96/2023-PPS

Insecticidal interventions at critical stages of maize are an important strategy for managing invasive insect pest fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith). Conventional spraying systems cannot be used over larger areas, and the insecticide application using unmanned aerial vehicles is becoming popular among peasants. As the FAW resides inside the maize whorls, targeted insecticide application is necessary for effective management. The efficacy of (UAV) spray with different types of nozzles was compared with the conventional spray system, namely high-volume spray and Control droplet applicator. The other spray systems' droplet...

Effect of legume (Fabaceae Lindl.) seeds on selected life activities in J2 stage of Meloidogyne haplaOriginal Paper

Renata Dobosz, Roman Krawczyk

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):193-206 | DOI: 10.17221/17/2024-PPS

Meloidogyne hapla is a serious pest of many cultivated plants. In response to the economic significance of the species, efforts are being made to develop a new method to reduce its harmful effects on crops. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of diffusates from seeds of selected species of legumes on the motility of second-stage juveniles and to evaluate the effect of meal from seeds of selected species of legume on the capacity to infect the roots of tomato plants by the J2 stage. The experiment examined the effect of diffusates on the motility of the J2 stage performed in Petri dishes, at temperatures of 10 °C, 17 °C and 21 °C....

Aceria artemisiifoliae Vidović & Petanović (Acari: Eriophyoidea) on common ragweed – the second record in the worldShort Communication

Peter Tóth, Monika Tóthová, Nikola Andjelković, Slavica Marinković, Tatjana Cvrković, Biljana Vidović

Plant Protect. Sci., 2024, 60(2):207-211 | DOI: 10.17221/13/2024-PPS

Common ragweed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (Asteraceae) is an invasive plant species in Europe native to North America. Most of the records of known eriophyid mites on different ragweed species are from their native range. Our field experiments in Slovakia, 2016–2023, aimed to identify specific species feeding on common ragweed. We searched for symptomatic plants and collected growing tips, which were then preserved in 70% ethanol for further study. A recently described species of eriophyid mite, Aceria artemisiifoliae Vidović & Petanović (Acari: Eriophyoidea), was found in western and eastern Slovakia. This is the first...