Background: Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of grey mould, is a polyphagous fungus that infects a wide range of plants, including tomato. In many countries, including Algeria, the management of grey mould is a challenging problem, even with chemical control. This necessitates the search for other strategies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the biocontrol potential of two rhizospheric bacterial isolates for the protection of tomato against B. cinerea. Results: On tomato plants, the two bacterial isolates consistently provided high levels of protection (on average 72.1% for SJ19 and 52.3% for SJ4). Their applications as a 1:1 mixture reinforced their effect (87.8% protection), indicating their compatibility and a potential use as a consortium. In vitro, the isolates significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of B. cinerea strains, both through direct confrontation in dual-culture assays (12–69% inhibition) and through the production of volatile compounds (36–46% inhibition). The two isolates, applied as seed treatment and as drench on seedlings, also showed strong growth-promoting effects on tomatoes. They substantially increased the length and fresh weight of shoots and roots, as well as stem diameter, leaf number and chlorophyll content, compared to untreated plants. Conclusion: The two bacteria tested in this study showed a high potential for use as biostimulants and as biofungicides against tomato grey mould.

Fusarium culmorum is the causal agent of root rot and crown rot in soft wheat. The aim of this study was to investigate the control mechanism of Talaromyces pinophilus HD25G2 as a biocontrol agent against F. culmorum. This involved the isolation and molecular identification of Fusarium and Talaromyces strains from soft wheat. The assay included the inhibition test of F. culmorum mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar and soft wheat media at two water activity values (0.98 and 0.95), its production of mycotoxins, and the fungal cell wall-degrading enzymes implicated in the antagonistic effect of T. pinophilus. The results showed that T. pinophilus and its extract free of cells reduced the growth of F. culmorum by over 55%. Interestingly, the T. pinophilus HD25G2 showed high chitinase, protease, and cellulose production on solid media. In addition, chitinolytic and proteolytic activities were estimated at the values of 1.72 ± 0.02UI and 0.49 ± 0.01UI, respectively. However, the mycotoxin evaluation assay revealed that F. culmorum HD15C10 produced zearalenone (ZEA) and the biocontrol agent enhanced its production, but the early inoculation of T. pinophilus, before F. culmorum growth onset, inhibited 100% its growth and, therefore, prevented the presence of ZEA. Hence, this strain can be proposed as a biocontrol agent against F. culmorum, and it can be further investigated for biocontrol of Fusarium root and crown rot in vivo.

The Atlas pistachio fruits are an important source of food due to their high fat content and medicinal interest in arid lands. For a better use, it is necessary to understand the diversity and distribution of lipids in their fruit. The purpose of the present study is to determine oil content, fatty acid, and phytosterol composition using gas chromatography of three ecotypes in Algeria during two consecutive years. The seed oil contents ranged from 32 to 47.8% depending on both year and ecotype. Unsaturated fatty acids (FA) represent at least 71% of total FA. The fruit contains a considerable level of phytosterols. The highest level of oil content and unsaturated FA were observed in the fruit of Bechar regardless of the part of the fruit. The study indicated that oil quality of the Atlas pistachio seed varies according to genotype and environmental conditions, and the findings could help breeders for diversity and selection program management.

The present study aims to determine the contents of total polyphenol (TPC) and total flavonoid (TFC) and evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Cistanche violacea (Desf.) Beck. The extraction of bioactive compounds from the whole plant of C. violacea (Desf.) Beck was carried out by three different methods, including maceration, Soxhlet, and ultrasound, with ethanol and water as solvents. The results showed that the ultrasound ethanolic extract recorded the greatest amounts of TPC with 188.95 ± 2.2μg gallic acid equivalent/mg dry extract, while for TFC, it was the maceration ethanolic extract with 40.26 ± 6.02µg quercetin equivalent/mg dry extract. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) results showed the presence of phenolic compounds, with 32 identified compounds in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts. The different extracts showed antioxidant capacities for DPPH, ABTS, phenanthroline, and reducing power assays. The highest antioxidant ability was observed with the ethanolic extract obtained by the maceration method (IC50 33.35 ± 1.4 and IC50 < 12.5 μg/mL for DPPH and ABTS tests). The antimicrobial investigation on seven microbial strains revealed that the ethanolic extract ultrasound showed moderate antibacterial activity (18.66 ± 1.1mm) against only Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, while the other extracts showed weak or no antimicrobial activity. This work suggests that C. violacea (Desf.) Beck has antioxidant properties of natural origin, which justify its traditional use in treating many conditions related to oxidative stress.