Under the changing climatic conditions, one of the most pressing issues in wheat production is the improvement of the yield quality, the lack of which has a negative impact on animal and human health. More than 25% of the world’s population are affected by micronutrient deficiencies in food products, a problem which is known as hidden hunger. Thus, effective micronutrient management is crucial for improving both the quantity and quality of wheat production by increasing the plant’s ability to tolerate various environmental stresses and diseases. In this review, previous works were assessed to investigate the significance of micronutrient fertilizers and their interaction effects on the wheat grain yield and quality, including high-quality and nutritionally rich products. The application of micronutrients mixed with macronutrients significantly increases plant growth, physiological traits, yield components, the grain yield, and the quality traits. Among the types of applications, the foliar application of nutrients is very profitable due to its efficiency in terms of economics, ecology, and the qualitative and quantitative yield. In short, in-depth studies are needed to determine the best concentrations, forms, and times of application of micro-fertilizers to the wheat field and to mitigate the challenges of the increasing wheat demand due to steadily rising world population growth and reducing the rates of nutritional deficiency.

The number of effective herbicides available to farmers is steadily decreasing due to increasing herbicide resistance. It seems very important to address and effectively deal with the main weed management challenges (low crop yield and environmental pollution) by investigating the potential of newly introduced materials, such as biocompatible polymer-based nanoparticles. The current review aims to encourage agricultural or environmental researchers to conduct new research on the synthesis and application of modified herbicides, such as nanoherbicides, for application in weed management and to provide a comprehensive foundation on the topic. Such nanosystems could help with the promotion of the controlled release of active ingredients and extend their action time, resulting in a reduction in dose and application number; improve the physical and chemical characteristics of the herbicide to increase foliar adhesion; prevent degradation that results from environmental factors (such as sunlight, temperature, microorganisms, or pH); and decrease herbicide leaching and contamination of the environment. Furthermore, it has been indicated that some polymeric nanocarriers can penetrate biological barriers, including membranes and plant cell walls, and translocate across vascular tissues, resulting in a more efficient delivery of active ingredients. Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) is a biocompatible material that is easily decomposable by enzymes and fungi. PCL nanoparticles could be applied as nanocarriers of herbicides in agriculture due to their low toxicity, their potential for large-scale synthesis from inexpensive materials, their ability to dissolve herbicides, their high loading capacity, and their ability to help minimize the chemical decomposition of herbicides.

Behzad A, Diakite S, Astarkhanova TS, Pakina EN, Allen D, Mohammadi PM, Diarra O, Saquee FS. 2024. Effectiveness of Rhodococcus erythropolis strain OPI-01 on the fungal development in winter wheat. Biodiversitas 25: 1063-1070. One of the means of sustainable wheat production is using bacterial pesticides, which can synthesize phytohormonal substances with antibacterial and antifungal action. Therefore, the work aimed to study the effect of different doses of a new growth regulator Restart, ZH (Rhodococcus erythropolis D strain OPI-01) on winter wheat yield. The findings of field experiments on the effect of plant growth regulator R. erythropolis strain OPI-01 method of pre-sowing treatment of seeds (at 0.1 L/t and 0.2 L/t), and soil spraying just before sowing (-0.5 l/ha) revealed that on average, during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons, the number of productive stems increased by a margin of 23-30, the number of grains in 1 ear increased in the experimental units by 16.2-19.4%, and the length of the ear by 0.3-0.7cm, gluten varied from 32.3 to 33.8%, yield increased from 27.8-33.0% relative to the control. Disease severity and incidence of powdery mildew, brown rust and Septoria disease in plots amended withR. erythropolis strain OPI-01 was 2-fold less than in the control plots. Research trials show the efficacy of R. erythropolis strain OPI-01 under field conditions as a plant growth regulator and a potential microbial fungicide against some foliar diseases of winter wheat. It would be exciting to study the mechanism of R. erythropolis on wheat pathogens in vitro and in planta which are still less developed in the literature.

Field and storage trials were conducted to assess the response of exotic and local yam genotypes to major diseases (anthracnose, yam mosaic virus (YMV) and dry rot) and pests (i.e., mealy bug and nematodes) for the identification of parents with desired complementary traits for crossing. The experiment was conducted at the Njala Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) experimental site in Sierra Leone during two cropping seasons, 2020 and 2021. A total of 113 genotypes of yam comprising 15 D. rotundata, 4 D. prahensilis, 7 D. esculenta, 74 D. alata, 7 D. bulbifera, and 4 D. cayenensis were assessed. Results showed a significant (p < 0.001) linear relationship between yield and disease severity among yam genotypes. In-field disease (anthracnose and yam mosaic virus) infection accounted for 38% of the total variation observed in the fresh tuber yield. Findings on fresh tuber yield revealed that for every ton increase in yield of yams, anthracnose and YMV severities at five months after planting (MAP) decreased by 0.5 and 3.1 units, respectively. About 30 genotypes had low infection of disease, of which two belonged to D. rotundata (TDr 205 and TDr 96/00587), two belonged to D. prahensilis (PSLY074-13 and BMSLY085-13), three belonged to D. bulbifera (MOSLY022-12, MOSLY024-12 and KESLY09-12), and one belonged to D. esculenta (WRSLY083-13), while the remaining were D. alata. About 27 genotypes had intermediate infection, and 14 had high disease susceptibility, all of which belonged to D. alata. Storage disease infection had a highly significant (p < 0.002) linear relationship among yam genotypes. Dry rot, mealy bug, and nematode infection accounted for 15.1% of the total variation in fresh tuber weight loss. The findings were relevant for selecting parents with complementary traits of interest targeted at yam population improvement.

A study was conducted at the Federal Research Center, Nemchinovka, Moscow, Russia, from 2022–2024, to assess the performance of spring wheat genotypes for diseases, growth, yield and quality traits under foliar microfertilizer and fungicides. The trial was laid out in a split-block design with three replications. Disease identification was done through visual, microscopic, and DNA sequencing. Two genotypes, namely Belyana and Radmira were used. Results revealed that climatic variations influenced disease prevalence. Belyana exhibited moderate resistance to septoria leaf blotch and powdery mildew, while Radmira had higher susceptibility to the diseases. Fungicide applications significantly reduced disease incidence and severity by 2 to 5 times compared to the control, with Colosal Pro, CME being most effective for Belyana and Alto Super, KE for Radmira. Treatment Colosal Pro, CME plus Ultramag SuperSera-900 demonstrated the highest biological efficiency. Plots with fungicide + microfertilizer exhibited increased yields by 23.98% for Belyana and 21.43% for Radmira compared to the untreated controls. Belyana exhibited higher disease tolerance, while Radmira consistently outperformed Belyana for productive stems, grain weight, and yield across years and treatments. The fungicides + sulfur-based microfertilizer treatment was more effective in reducing disease severity and enhancing yield, particularly under unfavorable climatic conditions. The findings suggest the use of integrated disease management strategy for mitigation of fungal disease impacts on spring wheat. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing disease control strategies and improving spring wheat production and productivity in the Moscow Region. Choice of fungicide, crop genotype, and growth stage are critical to maximize efficacious use of the cultivation technology.

Background. Global climate change and excessive nitrogen application has become a significant issue and inevitably threatens sustainable wheat production, not only with direct negative effects on crop growth but also with profound impacts on biology and pest and disease management. Purpose. This review addresses the current challenges, namely the negative effects of climate change and the forms and excess of nitrogen-rich fertilizers on the development of fungal diseases in wheat, as well as management strategies. Materials and methods. To achieve the stated objective of the study, the scientific literature published during the last 20 years on the impacts of climate change and the forms and excesses of nitrogen fertilizers on the development of fungal diseases and on the yield of wheat were reviewed. Results. Thus, in mitigating these challenges, it is necessary to optimize the dose of nitrogen fertilizers, apply nitrogen in the form of nitrate, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, and coated urea fertilizers, to use silicate fertilizers such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium silicate, and to perform a long rotation of wheat through perennial legumes and leguminous crops, as well as to develop, through genome editing, varieties with high yield potential, resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses, and of good end-use quality, or plant new cereals that have needs for heat and a longer reproductive growth period. Conclusion. To develop an effective agricultural management strategy, future research should be based on the study of the interactions among crops, pests, pathogens and farming system under climate change, taking into account all parameters such as temperature increase and CO2, extreme precipitation, etc. A sufficient number of results must be published to be able to draw meaningful conclusions.