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Abstract
Pectobacteriaceae are plant pathogens responsible for serious diseases on many crops of interest including potato. Currently, regarding the several disadvantages of conventional control by chemicals, the application of bio-agents as alternatives is increasingly being explored. The present investigation was conducted in order to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the fungal strain Trichoderma asperellum T34 as an antagonist against phytopathogen Dickeya solani on tubers of three potato varieties (Agata, Monalisa, and Picobello). For this, half-tubers were inoculated by T34 suspension with concentrations of 103 and 105 cells mL−1 at 6, 9, and 12 h before bacterial infection (D. solani at concentrations of 107 and 108 cfu mL−1). The results of infection assays without the antagonist indicated that Picobello variety was the least sensitive to soft rot, Monalisa and Agata varieties showed medium and high sensitivity, respectively. The antagonism assays revealed strong antibacterial activities, manifested by the regression of softened tissues gradually with the time of preincubation with T34, leading to a complete disappearance of disease symptoms using 12 h. Hence, the application of antagonistic Trichoderma strains as antimicrobial agents in the control of harmful plant pathogens is a subject of great interest and can be considered a promising strategy to handle soft rot diseases.
Abstract
Germalus kozari sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea: Geocoridae) is now described. Comparative notes, keys, diagnoses, and distribution data to allied Indomalayan species is provided. Germalus greeni is reported for the first time from outside of India and Sri Lanka.
Abstract
Nemoura kozari sp. n. is described on the basis of morphology of male adults collected in the Eastern Carpathians. The new species is classified as a member of the Nemoura marginata species group. It was found in medium elevations of the Krasna Mts, Ukraine, and the Rodna Mts, Romania, inhabiting slowly flowing, small brooks. New diagnosis of the marginata group and enumeration of its members are provided.
The categorisation of plant species according to their life form has a long history in plant ecology. The most popular system worldwide and also in Hungary is Raunkiaer’s categorisation according to the position of buds (meristems) surviving the adverse season. The original system contains only seven categories, resulting in high diversity within each category. Therefore, different refinements are suggested. This paper aims to apply an internationally accepted refinement of Raunkiaer’s categorisation, the Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois system, to the Hungarian flora.
As part of the PADAPT project, the authors compiled the invasion biological database of the alien vascular flora of Hungary, which contains the nativeness, residence time, introduc- tion mode and invasion status of 878 alien or cryptogenic taxa. In the absence of adequate evidence, the classification of some species was only possible into uncertain, transitional cat- egories. The definitions of most categories are compatible with several international termi- nologies, but are primarily based on Central European traditions. Of the 560 taxa that have already been naturalised in Hungary, 85 are invasive, and 22 of them are transformer alien vascular plants. Only 5 of these transformers are included in the European list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (Ailanthus altissima, Asclepias syriaca, Elodea nuttallii, Heracleum mantegazzianum and H. sosnowskyi), which require uniform preventive interventions and treatments throughout the continent, while the rest of transformers in Hungary (e.g., Robinia pseudoacacia, Fallopia × bohemica and Solidago gigantea) draw attention to the unique, local and/ or regional invasion biological situation of the Pannonian Basin and Central Europe.
The Teucrium genus is an important source of essential oil-bearing plants. The essential oils of this genus are endowed with important phytochemical diversity, exert widespread biological properties, and have several uses in traditional medicine. Teucrium takoumitense is an endemic aromatic and medicinal plant, grown in a very limited area in southeastern Morocco. To the best of our knowledge, there is no published report on the phytochemical or biological studies of Teucrium takoumitense essential oil (EO) harvested from the Errachidia region in Southeast Morocco. GC/MS analysis, total phenolic compounds, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial tests on the EO of this plant were carried out in this study. The results of GC/MS analysis showed that β-ocimene (10.12%), δ-bisabolene (8.35%), linalool (8.16%), β-eudesmol (8.05%), and δ-cadinene (7.89%) are the major compounds in the EO. Important antioxidant activity (IC50 DPPH = 2.4 mg/mL, IC50 ABTS = 1.58 mg/mL, IC50 FRAP = 0.71 mg/mL, and TAC value = 230.72 AAE mg/g EO) and potent anti-inflammatory effect evaluated by phenol induced inflammation in rat ears were induced by the volatile oil. Moreover, the volatile oil induced antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. In conclusion, Teucrium takoumitense EO was found to be rich in volatile compounds and exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. More studies are recommended to be evaluated on the extracts of this plant and conservation interventions need to be carried out to maintain its sustainability.
Genus Barbilophozia is reported and described as a new generic record for India from union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Western Himalaya. Two species, namely Barbilophozia lycopodioides and Barbilophozia barbata are described in the present communication.
Eighteen species of foliicolous lichens have been mentioned earlier from the Fiji Islands in various literature sources and based on collections since 1860. Current records originate from the collections of Göran Thor from 1985 and Sarolta and Tamás Pócs from 2003. G. Thor visited lowland rainforests of Island Viti Levu, S. and T. Pócs collected also in higher elevations (up to ca 1,000 m) in submontane, montane and montane mossy (cloud) forests on Kadavu, Taveuni and Viti Levu Islands. These relatively small collections (of ca 300 and 150 leaves, respectively) resulted in 78 species of the 85 lichen species known today, among them 67 species are new for the foliicolous lichen flora of the area in this publication. New taxa described are Phylloblastia taveuniensis Farkas, Porina kadavuensis Farkas, furthermore the genus Tamasia Farkas (Ramalinaceae) and species Tamasia fijiensis Farkas containing cyanobacterial photobiont.
Abstract
Scale insect (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) fauna on imported tropical and subtropical fruits collected between 2013 and 2021 was investigated. The study revealed two armored scale insect (Diaspididae) species new to the fauna of Hungary (namely Aonidiella citrina (Coquillett) and Lepidosaphes pinnaeformis (Bouché)). Number of species of the Hungarian scale insect fauna increased to 279, while number of species collected on imported tropical and subtropical fruits changed to 16.
During the study on flora of Hyrcanian forests and collecting specimens in order to plant in Hyrcanian habitat of National Botanical Garden of Iran, among the collected specimens, some specimens of the Quercus castaneifolia (Chestnut leaved oak) from south of Sari city in Mazandaran Province in North of Iran seemed to be interesting and were different from the other known subspecies of Q. castaneifolia. Results of morphological study of the species showed that there are clear differences between shape of the cupule and some micro-morphology traits of the leaf trichomes and pollen. Thus, based on the botanical traits of the new taxon and according to summarised data from the obtained results of the other subspecies and variety of the Q. castaneifolia, this taxon was identified as a new subspecies and named: Quercus castaneifolia subsp. recurvatus Zare et Panahi which is described here. The new taxon is related to Quercus castaneifolia subsp. castaneifolia var. castaneifolia and well characterised by having different shape and arrangement of the involucral bracts on the acorn cupule comparing with the others.
