Plant diseases cause losses of approximately 16% globally. Thus, management measures must be implemented to mitigate losses and guarantee food production. In addition to traditional management measures, induced resistance and biological control have gained ground in agriculture due to their enormous potential. Endophytic fungi internally colonize plant tissues and have the potential to act as control agents, such as biological agents or elicitors in the process of induced resistance and in attenuating abiotic stresses. In this review, we list the mode of action of this group of microorganisms which can act in controlling plant diseases and describe several examples in which endophytes were able to reduce the damage caused by pathogens and adverse conditions. This is due to their arsenal of molecules generated during the interaction by which they form a kind of biological shield in the plant. Furthermore, considering that endophytic fungi can be an important tool in managing for biotic and abiotic stresses due to the large amount of biologically active substances produced, bioprospecting this class of microorganisms is tending to increase and generate valuable products for agriculture.

Plant diseases cause losses of approximately 16% globally. Thus, management measures must be implemented to mitigate losses and guarantee food production. In addition to traditional management measures, resistance induction and biological control have gained ground in agriculture due to their enormous potential. Endophytic fungi colonize plant tissues internally and have the potential to act as biological control agents, as elicitors in the process of resistance induction and in attenuating abiotic stresses. In this review, we list the action of this group of microorganisms as potential agents which can act in controlling plant diseases and describe several examples in which endophytes were able to reduce the damage caused by pathogens and adverse conditions. This is due to their arsenal of molecules generated during the interaction by which they form a kind of biological shield in the plant. Studies on these microorganisms have grown due to the existing diversity and the multiple benefits they can offer. Finally, considering that endophytic fungi can be an important tool in managing diseases due to the large amount of biologically active substances produced, bioprospecting this class of microorganisms is tending to increase and generate valuable products.

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto de tratamientos de boro edáfico y frecuencia del calcio foliar en floración, sobre la producción y ocurrencia de la pudrición apical de híbridos de tomate italiano, cultivados en el sistema convencional en dos temporadas de cultivo. Se realizaron dos experimentos en el área experimental perteneciente a la Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, campus de Frederico Westphalen (Brasil), en los años 2012 y 2013. El diseño experimental fue de bloques al azar con un arreglo factorial 2×2×3×3 cuyo factores fueron dos híbridos (San Vito y Neptuno), en dos épocas de cultivo (primavera-verano y verano-otoño), tres dosis de boro (0; 2,0 y 4,0 g/planta) y tres frecuencias de aplicación de calcio (ausencia de aplicación, aplicación semanal y quincenal) y cuatro repeticiones. El trasplante de plántulas se realizó el día 04 de septiembre de 2012 para la primavera-verano y el 26 de enero para el verano-otoño. El híbrido Neptuno es más productivo en comparación con el híbrido San Vito, pero más susceptible a la pudrición apical. Las dos épocas de cultivo pueden ser recomendadas para el cultivo del tomate italiano en Rio Grande do Sul, aunque el cultivo de primavera-verano presenta mayor productividad cuando se compara al verano-otoño. La frecuencia de aplicación quincenal de CaCl2 al 0,6% se constituye en la mejor opción de manejo de fertilización, en el sentido de obtener mayor productividad y menor número de frutos con incidencia de pudrición apical. El incremento de la dosis de boro condiciona mayor número de frutos por planta y aumento de la productividad.

The use of highly toxic pesticides to control soil pathogens, such as Fusarium spp. and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum has generated concern, due to the irreversible impacts caused on the environment, in addition to selecting resistant isolates. In this way, essential oils appear as an efficient alternative in control of diseases. Facing the problem of soil pathogens control and high antimicrobial fungicide that essential oils present, this work aimed to evaluate the in vitro fungicidal potential of essential oils in control of Fusarium spp. and S. sclerotiorum. A completely randomized design, factorial scheme 2×4×8 was used, with two isolates (Fusarium spp. and S. sclerotiorum), four essential oils (Aloysia citriodora, Cymbopogon winterianus, Lippia alba and Ocimum americanum), eight essential oil concentrations (0.0; 0.2; 0.4; 0.6; 0.8; 1.0; 1.2 and 1.4 ?L·mL-1), and ten replicates. The essential oils inhibited mycelial growth of the fungi in different concentrations, being their potential justified by the presence of antifungal chemical compounds. Essential oils of A. citriodora, C. winterianus, L. alba and O. americanum present high fungicidal potential, being viable alternatives for formulation of commercial products, boosting the pesticides industry.

Devido a relevante importância econômica, tanto para o setor alimentício quanto farmacêutico, a oliveira vem sendo cada vez mais cultivada em todo o mundo. Para isso, a obtenção de mudas de qualidade com uniformidade e idoneidade varietal surge como fator altamente relevante na implantação dos pomares de oliveiras. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver protocolo de estabelecimento in vitro a partir de segmentos nodais de duas cultivares de oliveira sob diferentes concentrações de hipoclorito de sódio e concentrações de BAP. O experimento foi conduzido no delineamento inteiramente casualisado, em esquema fatorial triplo (2x3x3), sendo duas cultivares de oliveira (Arbequina e Koroneiki), três concentrações de BAP (0,00; 2,22 e 4,44 µM) e três concentrações de hipoclorito de sódio (0,6; 0,8 e 1,0% de cloro ativo) para a descontaminação dos explantes. Cada tratamento contou com três repetições e a unidade experimental constituída por cinco tubos de ensaio com um explante cada. Após 28 dias, foi possível observar que os tratamentos testados não foram eficientes no estabelecimento in vitro de Olea europaea cv. Arbequina. A concentração de 2,22 µM de BAP adicionada ao meio WPM e a concentração de 1,0% de hipoclorito de sódio, utilizada na desinfestação dos explantes, são ideais para o estabelecimento in vitro de Olea europaea cv. Koroneiki.