<em>Trichoderma</em>: Invisible Partner for Visible Impact on Agriculture

Species of genus Trichoderma may benefit as plant pathogen control agent (mycofungicide) and plant growth promoter (biofertilizer) and their application may lower the production costs and environmental impact. Direct effects of these fungi on plant growth and development are crucially important for agricultural uses and for understanding the roles of Trichoderma in natural and managed ecosystems. The Trichoderma potential as bioagent is utilized through the commercial production of Trichoderma-based product. Commercial products of Trichoderma-based biofungicides account for about 60% of the biofungicide market, while the availability and dispersion of Trichoderma-based biofertilizers are more widespread than commonly known with a tendency to expand due to the easier registrations. Limiting factors for availability of commercial products are expensiveness of registration requirements as they must be registered as pesticides, especially patenting, efficacy testing, toxicological, and biosafety testing. This chapter intends to give insight into agricultural importance of Trichoderma and current status of implementation of Trichoderma products in developing and in the developed countries

Downy Mildew of Basil: A New Destructive Disease Worldwide

Oomycete pseudofungus (Peronospora belbahrii) is a causal of devastating basil downy mildew disease because once infected basil plants are no longer marketable. The host range is limited to basil and hyssop. Coleus was previously considered as host as well, but pathogen causing downy mildew on coleus has been shown genetically different and specified as P. belbahrii sensu lato. Therefore, P. belbahrii is described as a complex species, likely defined by plant host. The P. belbahrii is air-borne and seed-borne pathogen and it does not need a vector for dispersal. The disease was firstly reported from Africa where it is assumed to have originated on sweet basil and 70 years later it was reported from Europe. Currently, basil downy mildew is of pandemic occurrence and the pathogen is present in almost all areas around the world where basil is cultivated. Since the pathogen is transmitted by the seed, there is a high risk of the pathogen spread by the seed trade

High quality and healthy seed guarantees high yield

Ulaskom Hrvatske u EU usljedile su velike promjene u zakonskoj regulativi proizvodnje, dorade i distribucije sjemena. Prije ulaska u EU na većini poljoprivrednih gospodarstava sijano je isključivo certificirano sjeme žitarica. Stupanjem na snagu Zakona o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o zaštiti biljnih sorti u Republici Hrvatskoj (NN 124/11) koji je usklađen s propisima EU na gospodarstvu se smije sijati tzv. „farmerovo sjeme“. U nekim zemljama, članicama EU, takvo sjeme se sije isključivo po propisanim uvjetima. Kod nas ti uvjeti još nisu strogo propisani te se pojam "farmerovo" ili "farmersko sjeme" često među poljoprivrednim proizvođačima poistovjećuje s pojmom "tavanuša", čijom sjetvom se u tlo mogu unijeti uzročnici biljnih bolesti i korovi. Cilj provedenog istraživanja je odrediti kvalitetu certificiranog, farmerovog i farmerovog sjemena nepoznate sorte (tavanuša). Istraživanje je provedeno u ovlaštenom laboratoriju za kontrolu kvalitete poljoprivrednog sjemena Visokog gospodarskog učilišta u Križevcima na pet uzoraka certificiranog sjemena pšenice iz dvije ovlaštene dorade, pet uzoraka farmerovog sjemena i pet uzoraka farmerovog sjemena nepoznate sorte (tavanuša). Ispitivano je zdravstveno stanje sjemena, proveden je test ispiranja sjemena (kontrola na prisutnost hlamidospora uzročnika smrdljive snijeti Tilletia spp.), klijavost i čistoća sjemena. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je sjetva certificiranog sjemena jedini siguran put do visokog i kvalitetnog prinosa. Certificirano i kvalitetno dorađeno sjeme ima veću energiju i klijavost, uzročnici bolesti imaju nižu pojavnost te nema sjemena korova.Croatian accession to the EU brought about big changes in the legislation of seed production, processing and distribution. Before joining the EU, only certified grain seed was planted on most farms. When the Act on Amendments to the Act on Protection of Plant Varieties in the Republic of Croatia (OG 124/11) that complied with the EU legislature came into force, farms were allowed to plant the so-called “farmer\u27s seed”. In some EU Member States farmer\u27s seed is planted only under prescribed conditions. Since those conditions are still not strictly regulated in Croatia, farmer\u27s seed is in Croatia often identified as a seed of unknown variety and origin, which can bring plant pathogens causing diseases and weeds into soil when planted. The purpose of this research was to determine the quality of certified seed, farmer\u27s seed, and farmer\u27s seed of unknown variety. The research was conducted in the Laboratory for Agricultural Seed Quality Testing at the College of Agriculture in Križevci. Five samples of certified wheat seed from two authorized seed producers, five farmer\u27s seed samples and five farmer\u27s seed samples of unknown variety were used. Health, germination and purity of all of seed samples were tested, and seed rinsing (testing for the presence of chlamydospores of fungus Tilletia spp.) was performed. The results of this research showed that certified seed planting is the only safe way to ensure both high quality and yield. Certified and well processed seed not only has higher energy and seed germination power, and lower incidence of plant pathogens, but it does not contain weed seeds

Release of Trichoderma viride Spores from Microcapsules Simultaneously Loaded with Chemical and Biological Agents

Recent studies of bioactive agents, simultaneous encapsulation in chitosan/alginate microcapsules revealed that encapsulation in the same compartment does not inhibit activity either of Trichoderma viride spores nor copper cations. The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of formulation variables (concentration of copper cations, chitosan layer and microcapsule size) on T. viride spores release. Results showed that the increase in copper cation concentration promoted, but the increase in microcapsule size and presence of the chitosan layer on microcapsule surface reduced T. viride spores release. Fitting to simple Korsmeyer–Peppas empirical model elucidated the underlying mechanism of release. Fickian diffusion controlled release from microcapsules without chitosan layer and smaller microcapsules with chitosan layer, whereas anomalous diffusion mechanism (a combination of the diffusion and erosion mechanisms) was found to be the rate-controlling mechanism from larger microcapsules with chitosan layer. The investigation showed that proper selection of formulation variables helps in designing microcapsules with the desirable release of T. viride for plant protection and nutrition