Farmers’ interest in producing sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), a berry species with a high nutraceutical value, has increased in Poland and several other European countries, particularly under organic management. However, the expansion of the crop area has been paralleled by a higher occurrence particularly of the sea buckthorn fruit fly (Rhagoletis batava Hering, 1958), a tephritid species potentially causing severe damage to the berries. Trials to evaluate the mass trapping efficacy of various kinds of traps were carried out for up to five years in different locations, testing several attractants known to be effective with other fruit fly species. A commercial cone trap with an attractant designed for Ceratitis capitata and a homemade plastic bottle trap containing a 4% ammonium phosphate solution were found to be the most effective in attracting the flies in a preliminary trial and were further tested in various orchards for four years. Improved attractants were also assessed, together with the ammonium phosphate solution, but resulted in a limited increase in trapping. A reduction in the share of damaged fruits was observed in all trials, but with a generally low positive correlation with the number of catches, statistically significant only for the cone and bottle traps. The outcomes are discussed in view of the various factors determining mass trapping efficacy against flies of the family Tephritidae and the potential adoption of this control measure by farmers within an integrated pest management strategy, suitable to reduce the damage of the R. batava fly in organic sea buckthorn orchards, with an approach pursuing circular economy principles.

In addition to its obvious benefits, mineral fertilisation also poses a number of threats to the environment. A four-year study was conducted to verify the possibility of integrating the application of a bacterial consortium to reduce the dose of mineral phosphorus (P) fertilisers in field-grown tomato crops without negative effects on yield. The combination of the microbial consortium with a 60% dose of both simple and complex P fertilisers did not show statistical differences in crop productivity and fruit quality compared to the full dose fertilisation each year, even when considering the cumulative yield. This was paralleled by a similar level of leaf chlorophyll index. Plants grown in rhizoboxes showed that the inoculation favoured, in the case of the complex fertiliser, a modification of the root system architecture, though not confirmed statistically. In the case of this kind of fertiliser, the inoculation induced a significant increase in the rhizospheric bacterial metabolic activity, which could be partly accounted for by the agronomic performance. However, this was not paralleled by a modification of the metabolic biodiversity of the bacterial population. The study demonstrated that, for highly demanding crops such as tomato, a valid agrononomic target for the application of microbial-based products integrated into a reduced mineral P fertilisation strategy could reach crop productivity not different from that obtained without them. Such a strategy could favour the adoption of an integrated nutrient management strategy by farmers, with positive impacts also on the environment.