Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies aims to engage, inform, and catalyse scholarly discourse within research and real-world practices that work towards the minimisation of vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout developing communities with special emphasis on Africa.

Bacterial endophytes reside within the tissues of living plant species without causing any harm or disease to their hosts. These endophytes can be isolated, identified, characterized, and used as biofertilizers. Moreover, bacterial endophytes increase the plants’ resistance against diseases, pests, and parasites, and are a promising source of pharmaceutically important bioactives. For instance, the production of antibiotics, auxins, biosurfactants, cytokinin’s, ethylene, enzymes, gibberellins, nitric oxide organic acids, osmolytes, and siderophores is accredited to the existence of various bacterial strains. Thus, this manuscript intends to review the sustainable applications of endophytic bacteria to promote the growth, development, and chemical integrity of medicinal and herbal plants, as well as their role in plant physiology. The study of the importance of bacterial endophytes in the suppression of diseases in medicinal and herbal plants is crucial and a promising area of future investigation.

Camellia sinensis is the most consumed beverage worldwide. It contains a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins, catechins, and polyphenols, generated through a condensation reaction of cinnamic acid with three malonyl-CoA groups. In addition to the metabolic processes occurring within this plant, there are also some plant-associated bacterial endophytes. These bacteria reside in the living tissues of the host plants without causing any harmful effect to them, thereby stimulating secondary metabolite production with a diverse range of biological effects. Omics technologies reveal understanding of the biological phenomena of transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a comprehensive review of various methods used to identify distinct plant compounds, namely transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analysis. The role of endophytic bacteria in C. sinensis metabolism, and C. sinensis antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, are also carefully highlighted.

We evaluated the phytosanitary risk associated with illegal importation of pest-infested plant commodities into South Africa. Samples were collected from different South African ports of entry over 8 years (2011 to 2019) and data were analysed descriptively using Statistical Software Package. Pests were frequently detected on commodity species such as Citrus (18.31%), Zea mays (13.22%), Phaseolus vulgaris (12.88%), Musa spp. (9.15%) and Fragaria ananassa (5.08%). The highest number of pests intercepted occurred on fresh fruits (44.06%), followed by grains (26.44%) and vegetables (14.23%). The most intercepted organisms were Callosobruchus rhodesianus (7.79%), Dysmicoccus brevipes (7.11%), Callosobruchus maculates (6.10%) and Phyllosticta citricarpa (4.74%). The majority of intercepted organisms were non-quarantine organisms (70.50%), followed by pests of unknown status (17.28%), quarantine pests (10.84%) and potential quarantine pests (1.35%). Phyllosticta citricarpa, Bactrocera dorsalis, Spodoptera frugiperda and Prostephanus truncatus were the only quarantine pests intercepted in terms of South African regulatory status. The interception was mainly from southern African countries, particularly Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. The findings present the level of phytosanitary risk associated with illegal importation and/or non-compliance in regard to plants and plant commodities from different countries through South African ports of entry. Crop production, biodiversity, food security, existing export markets, and access to new export markets could be threatened as importing countries may impose stringent phytosanitary measures to limit the chances of introduction and establishment of quarantine pests into their territories. Significance Illegal importation of plant commodities may lead to the introduction, establishment and spread of pests that are of quarantine significance to South Africa. Introduction of pest species such as Phyllosticta citricarpa, Bactrocera dorsalis, Spodoptera frugiperda and Prostephanus truncatus into South Africa could result in undesirable impacts on the ecosystem, agriculture, biodiversity and economy of the country. Access to new export markets of plant commodities could be threatened as importing countries may impose stringent phytosanitary measures to limit the chances of introduction and establishment of these quarantine pests into their territories.