Wild potatoes contain valuable genetic diversity that can help to develop resistance to pathogens in cultivated Solanum tuberosum , a globally important crop. This study investigates the bioactivity of acyl solamines from Solanum bulbocastanum leaves against Alternaria solani , the causal agent of early blight on potato and tomato, and the generalist fungal phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea . An enrichment and purification proced...

In the past, breeding for incorporation of insect pest resistance or tolerance into cultivars for use in integrated pest management schemes in oilseed rape/canola ( Brassica napus ) production has hardly ever been approached. This has been largely due to the broad availability of insecticides and the complexity of dealing with high-throughput phenotyping of insect performance and plant damage parameters. However, recent change...

Discovering mechanisms of plant–virus–vector interactions is fundamental to understand their ecology and evolution and to apply this knowledge in plant protection. To study the influence of varying Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) transmission efficiencies on host plant preference of Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) clones, we performed host choice experiments with two barley cultivars (BYDV susceptible cv. ‘Rubina’ and BYDV tolerant c...

A microcosm study was conducted at two different temperatures under laboratory conditions to investigate the regulatory capacity and the interactive performance of two soil fauna species ( Aporrectodea caliginosa , earthworms, and Proisotoma minuta , collembolans) on the reduction of Fusarium toxins in contaminated maize stubbles. Single and mixed species treatments were exposed to artificially infected maize stubbles highly c...

Background and aim Plant pathogenic and mycotoxin-producing Fusarium species are globally widespread and lead to large annual yield losses in maize production (ecosystem disservice). Systems with reduced tillage and mulching are particularly under threat. In the present study, the bioregulatory performance (ecosystem service) of the common earthworm species Lumbricus terrestris was analysed regarding the suppression of three e...