Worldwide pesticides are used by farmers for growing more food on less land by protecting crops from pests, diseases and weeds as well as raising productivity per hectare. Also, pesticides enable farmers to produce safe, quality foods at affordable prices. Therefore, the market for agricultural pesticides is anticipated to rise by $ 26.23 billion between 2021 and 2025. Pesticide residues can be discovered in a wide range of common foods and drinks, such as prepared meals, water, wine, fruit juices, snacks, and animal feeds. Furthermore, it should be noticed that chemical pesticides have been linked to a variety of detrimental health consequences, including impacts on the skin, gastrointestinal system, nervous system, respiratory system, reproductive system, and endocrine system. The current review was carried out using an objective mixture of primary and secondary information, including inputs from key participants in pesticides industry. Also, it aims at highlighting the urgent need for a new concept in agriculture involving a drastic reduction in the use of chemical pesticides, driving the market to bio-based pesticides.

Important land surfaces from hill and mountain areas from the northern hemisphere formerly used for cropping were abandoned. Often, the abandoned land evolved by natural succession to grassland, shrubland or even to forest. The main goal of this paper is to bring new datasets necessary for the understanding of the evolution of ex-arable grassland vegetation from the forest steppe area into relationship with climate. The researches were performed in the locality of Grădinari (Caraş-Severin County, Western Romania) on an ex-arable plot abandoned since 1995. The vegetation data were collected for 19 years (time interval 2003–2021). The analyzed vegetation features were floristic composition, biodiversity and pastoral value. The climate data considered were air temperature and rainfall amount. The vegetation and climate data were correlated statistically, with a view to highlighting the potential impact of the temperature and rainfalls during the evolution of succession process on the grassland’s floristic composition, biodiversity and pastoral value. The pressure of the increased temperatures on the natural restoration process of the biodiversity and pastoral value of ex-arable forest steppe grassland could, at least partially, be mitigated by random grazing and mulching works.

Fusarium graminearum (Fusarium Head Blight - FHB) is a dangerous pathogen of the cereals producing mycotoxins harmful for human and animal health. The quality of the wheat grains is severely affected in the years with FHB epidemics due to the high mycotoxins level that can overpass maximum allowable concentrations, with implications for food safety. The purpose of the work was to investigate some variables involved in the contamination of the wheat grains with several harmful mycotoxins (DON, ZON and T-2) in conditions of FHB natural infection in an epidemic year. The main finding of the results highlighted that the low ears densities of wheat crop canopy determinate high FHB attack frequency, too. Climate conditions from May 2019 were very favourable for the evolution of FHB epidemics in western Romania. This fact was confirmed by the experimental results of FHB attack, and later by the concentrations of mycotoxins (DON) over the maximum allowable concentrations from the wheat grains at the harvesting moment. The overpass of DON concentration was found in 15 from the total 16 wheat varieties from the experiment. Positive significant correlations were found between DON and T-2 and between DON and fungus attack intensity. According with the results, in FHB epidemic year some of the most influential factors in the contamination of the wheat grains with DON, ZON and T-2 in the order of their importance are: ears density, frequency of the attack on ear, number of diseased ears and attack intensity on ears

In the southern region of Romania, crop rotation and soil management practices play an important role in controlling weed infestation and soil water dynamics in corn cultivation. Studies suggest that rotation crops, combined with appropriate soil tillage techniques, can significantly reduce the number and diversity of perennial and annual weed species, helping to decrease weed pressure. Additionally, these practices influence soil water retention and distribution, directly impacting the development of the corn crop and yield. Adapting these techniques to the specific pedoclimatic conditions of southern Romania is essential for optimizing water resource use and supporting sustainable agriculture. The soil tillage system with the disk or chisel associated with the 4- or 5-year rotation creates the conditions for a superior storage of water in the soil and the preservation of a reserve necessary for the plants. The aim of present research is focused on the effects of crop rotation and tillage systems on weeding and soil moisture for the maize crop on cambic chernozem in the Southern part of Romania.

Currently, there have been numerous authorized derogations from environmental standards under CAP 2022 and 2023. These derogations are pushed hard by the agribusiness-lobby and criticised by many scientists. Despite of this, EU allows Member States to derogate from two Good Agricultural Environmental Conditions (GAECs) in the now freshly implemented CAP (2023-2027). These derogations concern GAEC 7 (crop rotations) and the first requirement of GAEC 8 (maintenance of non-productive areas). All those derogations from environmental obligations are supposedly implemented in order to ensure food security in the EU. Although the derogations on GAEC 7 & 8 might have a better impact in terms of food production, the added requirement will not change the deleterious impact of the measure on biodiversity and soil health.

In Romania, the field weed species Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. is native. In the last decade, the creeping thistle has become increasingly difficult to control due to agricultural systems based on monoculture and minimal or no tillage. The invasive nature of the species and its resistance to current herbicides make it increasingly difficult to control, especially in organic farms. Therefore, there is currently great interest in controlling the species with the help of biological agents. This review is based on extensive documentation on the use of fungal biological agents in the control of the creeping thistle. The studies reviewed show that there is interest in biological control, particularly in organic farming. Ten fungal biological agents with the potential to initiate infections in the creeping thistle are currently being investigated. The fungi tested are Puccinia punctiformis, Phomopsis cirsii, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Alternaria cirsinoxia, Phoma destructiva, Phoma exiqua, Stagonospora cirsii, Septoria cirsii, Phyllosticta cirsii and Fusarium sp. Of these, only Puccinia punctiformis, Phomopsis cirsii and Septoria cirsii have high and very high specificity for creeping thistle. The fungus Puccinia punctiformis stands out by the highest specificity and can be successfully used in the biological control of Cirsium arvense. However, the mass production of spores is tricky because there are no methods to cultivate this biotrophic fungus. Studies published between 2013 and 2024 show the high potential of Puccinia punctiformis to initiate infections that destroy or reduce the density of the creeping thistle in agricultural crops.