Sustainability and a more environment‐friendly approach is an emerging issue relevant to crop production. Abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, heat, cold or heavy metal pollution can severely compromise yields, and in this respect, plant protection practices should be highly efficient as well as safe for the environment and people. Among the many ways to achieve high productivity of healthy, safe and tasty food, the use of beneficial microorganisms as biostimulants is one of the most promising. Two types of soil fungi can be considered efficient natural plants stimulants: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Trichoderma spp. (TR). Generally, most investigations indicated AMF and TR were effective, as well as safe, for use as natural biopreparations dedicated to horticultural crops, although some reports pointed to their negative impact on plants. This review focuses on the mutual interaction of AMF and TR, as well as complex relationships with plants analysed on a multidimensional level: biochemical, morphological, ecological and agrotechnical. AMF and TR were found to be effective elicitors of root system development, nutrient uptake, plant stress response and production of secondary metabolites. As natural plant stimulants, beneficial fungi are compatible with modern trends of crop management, environmental conservation and functional food production. Herein, we demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of AMF and TR use in horticulture and their prospects, as well as the points that need further exploring.

The study presents a comparison of some nutritional values of juices made from organic and conventional apple, pear, blackcurrant, carrot, beetroot and celery. Higher soluble solids content (SSC) for organic juices than for conventional ones was recorded for blackcurrant (14.9% and 12.5%, respectively) and beetroot (12.3% versus 8.3%). The highest organic acids content was noted for blackcurrant (3.7 g malic acid 100 g^− 1), whereas the lowest was for celery (0.57 g 100 g^− 1 on average). Higher organic acids content was shown in apple, pear, and especially blackcurrant grown organically. Amounts of juice NH₄-N content were lower in organic vegetable juices than in conventional ones. The conventional farming method favoured greater NO₃-N accumulation for beetroot (846 mg NO₃-N kg^− 1 f.w.) than for organic juice (229 mg NO₃-N kg^− 1 f.w.). The data showed the organic juices to have polyphenols and ascorbic acid contents similar to, and antioxidant activity slightly higher than, conventional juices.

This review focuses on the recent information on the effect of different types of magnetic fields (MFs) and ultraviolet radiation (UV-C) on the processes that may finally affect fruit quality and its storage potential. Firstly, the biological effect of MFs on every plant’s growth and development level is described. The magnetic field interacts with a plant’s metabolism and changes the permeability of membranes affecting cells’ homeostasis. It also could affect early seedling development, stimulating enzyme activity and protein synthesis, and later on nutrient and water uptake of adult plants. In some cases, it makes plants more resilient, increasing their tolerance to environmental stresses. Also, MF treatment could lower the disease index of plants, thus improving the internal and external fruit quality indices. The second part of this review focuses on interesting perspectives of using UV-C radiation to reduce postharvest fruit diseases, but also to delay fruit ripening and senescence. The application of UV-C light to combat postharvest infections is associated with two mechanisms of action, such as direct elimination of microorganisms located on the fruit surface and indirect triggering of the plant’s defense reaction. Moreover, the use of hormetic doses of UV-C can additionally increase the nutritional properties of fresh fruit, lead to the accumulation of desired phytochemicals such as polyphenols, for example, to increase anthocyanin or resveratrol content, or elevate antioxidant activity.

Cornelian cherry ( Cornus mas L.), apple ( Malus domestica Borkh. cultivars Jonagold and Red Boskoop), pear ( Pyrus communis cv. Conference), and plum ( Prunus domestica L. cv. Common Plum) juices were assayed for their quality, organic acids, polyphenol content, and antioxidant activity (determined as a ferric-reducing antioxidant power [FRAP]). Cornelian cherry juice revealed the highest titratable acidity—2.58 g malic acid/100 g. The highest polyphenol content was also noted for Cornelian cherry—45.6 mg gallic acid (GA)/g. The medium level of polyphenols was proved for Jonagold apple (22.8 mg GA1/g). The lowest level was recorded for Common Plum (9.60 mg GA/g), followed by Conference pear and Red Boskoop apple (12.3 and 21.3 mg GA/g, respectively). The FRAP values were 1.97 mmol Fe/L for Common Plum juice, 2.37 mmol Fe/L for Conference pear juice, and 3.92 mmol Fe/L for both Red Boskoop and Jonagold apple juices. However, the obtained data indicated outstanding antioxidant properties for Cornelian cherry juice. In this case, FRAP reached 23.5 mmol Fe/L. The calculated correlation coefficient FRAP versus polyphenols indicates that the antioxidant status for Cornelian cherry is not only correlated with polyphenols but also with other biological compounds. The obtained results indicated that Cornelian cherry is a valuable source of substances with a high antioxidant activity.

A new method was proposed to produce alginate bio-films containing Pichia membranifaciens and Wickerhamomyces anomalus killer yeast to control the post-harvest fungal decay in organic apples caused by Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium italicum. Coatings with W. anomalus killer yeast effectively controlled the growth of P. italicum during storage at 22 °C. W. anomalus killer yeast incorporated in alginate reduced the P. italicum incidence from 90% (control) to 35% after 14 days of storage at 22 °C. Alginate biofilms with W. anomalus or P. membranifaciens also limited the incidence of the fungal decay of apples inoculated with B. cinerea compared with the control fruits, although the antagonistic capability against B. cinerea was lower than against P. italicum. The survival of W. anomalus cells in alginate coating was higher than P. membranifaciens. The incorporation of killer yeasts into alginate had no significant effect on the mechanical properties (tensile strength, percent elongation at break) of alginate coating, however, they increased the thickness of the biofilm. The bioactive coating reduced the fruit weight loss and had no significant effects on the fruit firmness during storage at 2 °C. As organic apples, produced without any synthetic fungicides, are especially prone to fungal decay during storage, the proposed alginate biofilms containing killer yeast seem to be a very promising solution by offering non-chemical, biological control of post-harvest pathogens.

Apple seedlings cv. Antonovka were grown in soil taken from an orchard with a distinctive specific apple replant disease. The influence of the different available soil phosphorus (P) level (0, 20, 40 and 80 mg P dm⁻³ of soil) and arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi (AMF) inoculation on the vegetative growth, chlorophyll fluorescence, and the frequency of mycorrhizae were assessed. Moreover, leaf and root mineral composition was ascertained by means of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method. The inoculation with AMF influenced seedlings growth as well as the biomass production and partitioning. The method of inoculation (granular, quick root dip or irrigation) had a great impact on the frequency of mycorrhizae (83.3, 98.8 and 100%, respectively) as well as on the abundance of arbuscules (36.4, 62.9 and 67.3%) as compared to the control (11.7%). The beneficial effect of AMF on leaf PSII efficiency was established. AMF inoculated plants had a significantly higher content of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and boron (N, K, P and B) in the shoots and a higher content of nitrogen, sulfur, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and titanium (N, S, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo and Ti) in the roots. Although roots showed a higher concentration of aluminium, barium, lithium, cadmium, lead and vanadium (Al, Ba, Li, Cd, Pb, and V) but upon AMF inoculation, the concentration of these cations was much lower.