The main objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of essential oil (EO) and hydrolate (HY) obtained from a new Romanian variety of hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L., Lamiaceae family), namely ‘Cătălin’. The chemical composition and the concentration of the compounds was established by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main constituents identified in hyssop EO and HY were cis-pinocamphone (34.63% and 67.00%), trans-pinocamphone (11.72% and 14.58%), thujenol (1.39% and 6.05%). The evaluation of the antioxidant capacity was performed by three methods (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP), EO proving a higher oxidizing activity compared to HY one. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was evaluated in vitro, in order to detect its ability to inhibit G- phytopathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae) and plant pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum). Eugenol, linalool and estragole standards were used as reference volatile compounds. Regarding Pseudomonas syringae (LMG5090) bacterium, assays showed that hyssop oil does not inhibit its growth. Estragole and eugenol showed pronounced antibacterial activity in all tested concentrations, both in the first 24 hours of incubation and after 3 days. Linalool instead has bacteriostatic activity only at high concentrations (50% and 100%), an inhibitory activity that is maintained only in the first 24 hours of incubation. The results obtained against Fusarium oxysporum reveal that the EO tested has no fungicidal activity but only fungistatic, and it is able to delay mycelial growth and the degree of inhibition depending on the concentration used.

In the context of the current climate change, it has become urgently necessary to develop adequate systems to protect horticultural crops. In Romania, the losses caused to these cultures by the extreme weather phenomena, as well as the lack of active intervention measures to combat or limit them, represent the main argument for addressing this field in particular. Vegetable crops are generally sensitive to extreme weather phenomena. In the climatic conditions in our country, the extreme phenomena occur between March and September, which coincides with the vegetation period of the crops. Of these, hail causes significant damage, and in some cases, at high intensity and long-lasting, can cause the calamity of vegetable crops. Another effect can arise in the drought years, when, in the absence of rainfall, the weeds enter into a fierce competition with vegetables, as regards the specific consumption of water and nutrients. The paper presents a review regarding the current methods of vegetable crops protection against the extreme weather phenomena and of weed control in these crops, grown in organic system. Combining the available solutions, adopting integrated strategies for non-chemical weed control can be an important premise for researchers and farmers to protect vegetable crops.

The operation of harvesting medicinal plants is one of the important factors, which influences the quality of plant material and thus its value. In order to optimize the cultivation technologies and to adapt them to the local conditions, INMA Bucharest has developed and tested a multifunctional equipment for the mechanized harvesting of medicinal plants (annual and perennial), cultivated on small and medium areas. This equipment, of small capacity, equipped with interchangeable working parts, performs the harvesting operation by cutting, at a certain height from the ground. The paper presents the results obtained when testing the experimental model of Multifunctional equipment for harvesting medicinal and aromatic plants in the crops of three species of medicinal plants, grown on small areas. Determining for each crop some qualitative working indices (average working height, cutting degree, collecting degree, losses, etc.) as well as some energy indices (working speed, hourly fuel consumption, working capacity, etc.) allows the evaluation of the technical and working performances of the Multifunctional equipment for harvesting medicinal and aromatic plants.

Recent agricultural research aims to identify novel applications for plant extracts as efficient defenses against weeds, insects, or phytopathogenic agents. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate two new varieties of basil (Ocimum basilicum L., fam. Lamiaceae), Yellow basil, “Aromat de Buzau” variety and Red-violet basil, “Serafim” variety. The basil varieties were studied under different aspects regarding biochemical characterization using GC-MS, antioxidant activity evaluated under three methods (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP), and antimicrobial properties (for three G-bacteria: Perctobacterium carotovorum, Pseudomonas marginalis, Pseudomonas syringae and three phytopathogenic fungi: Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea). The results showed that linalool (39.28%; 55.51%), estragole (31.48%; 9.78%), and eugenol (5.42%; 7.63%) are the main compounds identified in the extracts, validating the high antioxidant activity of the studied essential oils and floral waters. When applied in high concentrations, essential oils have shown a potential bactericidal effect on P. carotovorum as well as a potential fungicidal effect on R. solani and B. cinerea.

Over time, many methods of preserving fruit by drying/dehydration applied at the industrial level (convection, microwave, high frequency currents, infrared radiation, lyophilisation, etc.) have been discovered and perfected to improve the quality of dehydrated products as well as their resistance to storage. The application of many of them is quite expensive, the parameters of the drying process (processing time and energy consumption) having high values. Technological progress in this field involves the development of new dehydration techniques, optimizing existing ones or combining them, aiming to increase energy efficiency, obtain healthy products with high rehydration capacity, reduce costs and negative impact on the environment. The paper presents a brief summary of the basic principles of the DIC (Instant Controlled Pressure Drop) process, as well as the advantages of its uses in industrial fruit dehydration technologies or as pre-treatment.