The common grape vine, Vitis vinifera, is a widely known plant with commercial and pharmacological value. The plant hosts a variety of microorganisms known as endophytes that can live within the tissues of the plant for a considerable time period, or even their whole life cycle. The fungus Beauveria bassiana is a well-studied endophyte which can colonize a variety of plants in many ways and in different parts of the plant. In this study, we examined the effect of the endophytic fungus B. bassiana on the growth of V. vinifera. The results demonstrated not only a successful colonization of the endophyte, but also a noteworthy impact on the growth of the V. vinifera root without harming the plant in any way. The fungus was also re-isolated from the parts of the plant using inst bait method. Overall, the study demonstrates the capability of B. bassiana to colonize V. vinifera plants, adding to the already existing knowledge of its endophytic activity, and highlighting its beneficial impact on the root growth.

Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of chemical compounds which are emitted during the processes of tobacco combustion. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are expected to produce less harmful compounds due to the absence of tobacco leaf combustion. However, potential risks of the passive exposure to the aerosol exhaled by e-cig users have been raised in the last decade. In this study, the aerosols with diameter less than 1 μm (PM₁) produced by vaping of various e-cig liquids were compared to those generated by smoking conventional cigarettes in real time. The mass and number concentration along with the number size distribution were measured in a closed room of 35 m³ volume. Our results showed that aerosols emitted from e-cig liquids had a different profile compared to those from conventional cigarettes. Although e-cigs initially produced higher particle mass and number concentrations, their emissions had much shorter lifetime of approximately 10–20 s, in comparison with the conventional and hand-rolling cigarette particulate emissions which had a dissipation time of approximately 1.4 h in a 35 m³ room. E-cigs emitted aerosols which volatilized rapidly, as they probably consisted almost only of propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin.

Stored product pests can be detrimental to agricultural produce. As much as chemical pesticides are effective control agents, they involve several environmental and health risks. Within the framework of studies on alternative pest management methods, interest has focused on a plethora of plants whose extracts have demonstrated promising action as insecticides. Azadirachta indica and the derived neem oil have been extensively tested against many harmful insect species. In contrast, Cannabis sativa L. and its main compound, CBD, a highly concentrated cannabinoid, have not been investigated much. The present study examined the potential insecticidal activity of CBD and neem oils against 4th instar larvae of Tribolium confusum, Oryzaephilus surinamensis and Plodia interpunctella on wheat, rice and corn seeds. Treatment efficacy was expressed in terms of larval mortality. Mortality was observed in relation to dosage, time exposure intervals and product types. The results showed clear pesticidal activity for both oils, which at high doses induced significant mortality. The treatments produced significantly fewer offspring in the insect species tested than the control. The efficacy of treatment in progeny suppression was, as expected, dose dependent.

Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms with many forms and certain demands about the soil they colonize, which reveal the conditions that prevail therein. Although they can often kill pests without damaging plants or humans, they are not widely used as pesticides as they are not easy to handle and require much time before they act. Nevertheless, insects can be used as baits to trap these entomopathogenic fungi, giving information about their distribution within the terroir. The purpose of this study was to investigate the soil distribution of entomopathogenic fungi species in soil samples from two vine soil terroirs. Nine fungi were identified in total, but M. anisopliae and B. bassiana showed the greatest frequency, which was expressed by difference in adult bait mortality among species. These fungi had not been previously documented in vine terroirs.

The present study investigates the interaction between cannabidiol (CBD) oil and three biopesticides: Azatin and two baculovirus formulations (Madex and Helicovex), both separately and in combination, in order to investigate their interaction against adults of four major coleopteran stored-product pests: Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and Trogoderma granarium (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). CBD, which has been understudied for its insecticidal properties, was applied at three different doses (500, 1500 and 3000 ppm). The biopesticides were administered at 1500 ppm. Interactions in the combined treatments were mathematically estimated as not synergistic and mostly competitive except for the combined treatments of CBD (1500 and 3000 ppm) with Azatin (1500 ppm) which were marked by an additive interaction. In its individual application, CBD oil generated the highest insect mortality while its effect was clearly dose-dependent. The findings reveal a promising effect of CBD oil against these coleopterans which had not been previously tested together.

Gnomoniopsis castaneae is the cause of the chestnut brown rot but has been also regarded as an important mortality factor for the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus. The question to whether G. castaneae could serve as a natural biocontrol agent against insect pests is investigated in the present study. We used three serious insect pests as experimental model insects: Plodia interpuctella and Trogoderma granarium, which are important pests of stored products, and Myzus persicae, a cosmopolitan, serious pest of annual and perennial crop plants. Although chemical pesticides represent effective control means, they are also related to several environmental and health risks. In search for alternative pest management methods, scientific interest has been focused, inter alia, on the use of entomopathogenic fungi. While Isaria fumosorosea has long been recognized as an effective control agent against several pests, G.castaneae has been very little studied. The present study examined whether and to what extent G. castaneae and I. fumosorosea exhibit insecticidal activity against fourth-instar larvae of P. interpunctella and T. granarium and adults of M. persicae. Mortality was examined in interrelation with dosage and time exposure intervals. Both fungi exhibited pesticidal action. However, G. castaneae induced noteworthy mortality only at very high doses. In general, we concluded that G. castaneae failed to cause high insect pathogenicity at normal doses and may not be an efficient biocontrol agent compared with other entomopathogens. On the other hand, our study reiterates the pathogenic potential of I. fumosorosea. More studies are needed to further our insight into the potential of EF species as a component of IPM.