http://www.plantstress.net/Scientific articles en Powdery mildew diseases cause severe losses in a wide variety of crop plants, for which no polyvalent fungicide measures are available for every disease situation. In addition, alternative treatments for plant disease protection have recently raised more interest due to restrictions and environmental concerns regarding the use of pesticides worldwide. This study was aimed at verify a new technology for integrated disease management strategies to protect crops against pathogenic fungi. Armurox®, a formulation of specific peptide compounds with soluble silicon (Si), acts as an active barrier in preventing haustorial penetration and stimulating plant defense mechanisms when the pathogen appears. This mode of action was tested on different plant pathosystems and its field effectiveness evaluated on several fruit and horticultural crops, compared with most used chemical treatments. The peptide biocompatible coformulant promotes greater Si foliar uptake in comparison with mineral silicate, as can be concluded from leaf Si deposition analysis, which in turns enhances plant resistance to fungi attack. 2011-12-29 http://www.plantstress.net//doc The herbicide glyphosate inhibits the shikimate pathway of the synthesis of amino acids such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. However, much uncertainty remains concerning precisely how glyphosate kills plants or affects cellular redox homeostasis and related processes in glyphosate-sensitive and glyphosate-resistant crop plants. To address this issue, we performed an integrated study of photosynthesis, leaf proteomes, amino acid profiles, and redox profiles in the glyphosatesensitive soybean (Glycine max) genotype PAN809 and glyphosate-resistant Roundup Ready Soybean (RRS). RRS leaves accumulated much more glyphosate than the sensitive line but showed relatively few changes in amino acid metabolism. Photosynthesis was unaffected by glyphosate in RRS leaves, but decreased abundance of photosynthesis/photorespiratory pathway proteins was observed together with oxidation of major redox pools. While treatment of a sensitive genotype with glyphosate rapidly inhibited photosynthesis and triggered the appearance of a nitrogen-rich amino acid profile, there was no evidence of oxidation of the redox pools. There was, however, an increase in starvation-associated and defense proteins. We conclude that glyphosate-dependent inhibition of soybean leaf metabolism leads to the induction of defense proteins without sustained oxidation. Conversely, the accumulation of high levels of glyphosate in RRS enhances cellular oxidation, possibly through mechanisms involving stimulation of the photorespiratory pathway. 2011-12-21 http://www.plantstress.net/scientific-articles/perturbations-amino-acid-metabolism-glyphosate-dependent-inhibition/doc This paper reports on progress and innovations recently introduced at the National Programme of Fruit Flies in Mexico. It offers data about an alternative for catch of especially the fruit flies Anastrepha spp., using together with the bait station MS2® and the efficient attractant CeraTrap®, which decreases the rates of MTD (flies/trap/day) in four weeks. New method was considered an environmentally friendly alternative with less injurious effects on beneficial fauna by reduced insecticide application. 2011-11-09 http://www.plantstress.net/scientific-articles/environmentally-friendly-ceratrap-control-fruit-flies-mexico/doc Field trials were conducted on olive trees (Olea europaea cv. Manzenilo and Picual) in Kidron (Israel) and Jaén (Spain) to assess the efficacy of a specifically developed enzymatic hydrolyzed protein (Dacus Trap®) against the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin). The efficacy of Dacus Trap was evaluated in comparison with standard farm control strategies (chemical treatments), assessing olive flies population and punctured drupes. The efficacy field trials results showed that i) olive fly population levels in Dacus Trap plots were similar as those obtained in chemical treated plots and ii) drupes punctures were lower on Dacus Trap plots than under the farm standard control strategies. The evaluated hydrolyzed protein helps to decrease the pest damage and maintain a similar efficacy levels to those obtained with standard chemical treatments. With the advantage that pesticide use is reduced or even unnecessary and consequently avoiding toxicological risks for humans and negative impact on the fauna and the environment. 2011-05-01 http://www.plantstress.net/scientific-articles/dacustrap-mass-trapping-olive-fruit-fly/doc The efficacy of CeraTrap (CT), a specifically developed enzymatic hydrolyzed protein, was evaluated against standard mass trapping (STD mass trapping) and standard chemical treatments (Chemical STD) with field trials carried out in citrus orchards assessing medfly captures and punctured fruit. Field trials were conducted on susceptible mandarin trees (Citrus reticulata cv. Esbal), orange trees (Citrus sinensis cv. Washington Navel) and clementine trees (Citrus clementina cv. Oronules) in Morocco, Italy and Spain. 2011-04-01 http://www.plantstress.net/scientific-articles/ceratrap-mass-trapping-fruit-fly/doc