A team led by Kanazawa University, Japan, discovered that applying the vitamin nicotinamide (NIM) to plants prevents development of fungal disease. Pre-treatment with NIM activates the plant immune response and increases amounts of antimicrobial compounds that suppress the growth of the fungus. The results could lead to novel approaches to tackling crop diseases, potentially replacing toxic fungicide sprays with new, safer ways to stimulate the plant s own defense systems.
A CABI-led study has revealed that the success of Classical Biological Control (CBC) in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is only rarely dependent on the released biological control agent, but more often on other factors, such as the target pest, its host plant, or the circumstances of the releases.
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IMAGE: Fluorescent innocuous organic substances used as testing techniques to simulate the trajectory followed by a pollutant. view more
Credit: University of Malaga
Led by Professor Andreas Hartmann, from the University of Freiburg (Germany), the researchers analyzed the presence of several pollutants in water from many karst aquifers of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, relating fast infiltration processes to an increased concentration of these substances. The findings of this research are published in the scientific journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
This way, they warn that during rainfall events -when aquifers recharge, especially during autumn rainfall- the concentration of pollutants and pathogenic microorganisms can significantly exceed the safe levels, causing serious consequences for human consumption.
A new study reveals that beetles, wasps and other beneficial arthropods are nearly twice as abundant and diverse in uncultivated field edges in the spring as they are in areas that are cropped - if those field edges are rich in an array of flowers and other broad-leaved plants and not just mowed grass.
A new study published by the open access publisher Frontiers has demonstrated that beer bagasse and rapeseed cake can be used as effective biodisinfestation treatments to reduce populations of soil parasites and increase crop yields.
Researchers demonstrated that using these organic treatments in soils significantly reduced root-knot nematodes and boosted beneficial soil populations, as well as reducing waste from the agricultural industry by incorporating organic by-products as a treatment instead of harmful chemical fumigants.