Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum var. durum) is an important crop in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean countries. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is considered as one of the most damaging diseases, resulting in yield and quality reduction as well as contamination of grain with mycotoxins. Three winter durum wheat cultivars originating from Austria, Slovakia, and Poland were analyzed during 2012–2014 seasons for FHB incidence and Fusarium mycotoxin accumulation in harvested grain. Moreover, the effects of sowing density and delayed sowing date were evaluated in the climatic conditions of Southern Poland. Low disease severity was observed in 2011/2012 in all durum wheat cultivars analyzed, and high FHB occurrence was recorded in 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 seasons. Fusarium graminearum was the most abundant pathogen, followed by Fusarium avenaceum. Through all three seasons, cultivar Komnata was the most susceptible to FHB and to mycotoxin accumulation, while cultivars Auradur and IS Pentadur showed less symptoms. High susceptibility of cv. Komnata was reflected by the number of Fusarium isolates and elevated mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and moniliformin) content in the grain of this cultivar across all three seasons. Nivalenol was identified in the samples of cv. Komnata only. Genotype-dependent differences in FHB susceptibility were observed for the plants sown at optimal date but not at delayed sowing date. It can be hypothesized that cultivars bred in Austria and Slovakia show less susceptibility towards FHB than the cultivar from Poland because of the environmental conditions allowing for more efficient selection of breeding materials.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00114-017-1528-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) and cornflower (Centaurea cyanus L.) are two overwintering weed species found in crop fields in Europe. They are characterised by a similar life cycle, similar competitive efforts, and a spectrum of herbicides recommended for their control. This review summarises the biology and herbicide resistance phenomena of corn poppy and cornflower in Europe. Corn poppy is one of the most dangerous dicotyledonous weeds, having developed herbicide resistance to acetolactate synthase inhibitors and growth regulators, especially in Mediterranean countries and Great Britain. Target site resistance to acetolactate synthase inhibitors dominates among herbicide-resistant poppy biotypes. The importance of non-target site resistance to acetolactate synthase inhibitors in this species may be underestimated because non-target site resistance is very often associated with target site resistance. Cornflower, meanwhile, is increasingly rare in European agricultural landscapes, with acetolactate synthase inhibitors-resistant biotypes only listed in Poland. However, the mechanisms of cornflower herbicide resistance are not well recognised. Currently, herbicides mainly from acetolactate synthase and photosystem II inhibitors as well as from synthetic auxins groups are recommended for the control of both weeds. Integrated methods of management of both weeds, especially herbicide-resistant biotypes, continue to be underrepresented.

Cultivation of spring cereal mixtures (SCMs) is one of the ways to increase the yield of crops in mountainous areas of Poland. There are only a few current long-term studies on this topic. Our study aimed at analyzing yield and competitiveness as well as the economic indicators of spring cereals in pure or mixed sowings in integrated or organic crop rotations over nine years. A field experiment including pure sowings of oats, spring barley, or spring triticale and their two-component SCMs, each in two systems, organic and integrated crop rotation, was carried out in the Mountainous Experimental Station in Czyrna, Poland, in the years 2011–2019. On average, cereals in the pure sowings and mixtures yielded 18% lower in the organic rotations compared with the integrated ones. However, SCMs yielded higher than the pure sowings, and displayed a higher leaf area index and land equivalent ratio. The average gross margin without subsidies was almost two times higher in the organic crop rotations than in the integrated ones, which was influenced mainly by the cultivation of barley in pure sowing. Summing up, the cultivation of SCMs in the mountainous areas of southern Poland is advised because of both productive and economic factors.

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The spread of invasive plants is one of the most significant causes of biodiversity loss in natural, semi-natural, and anthropogenic habitats in Poland. This two-year study aimed to assess the rate of self-renewal of Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) and giant goldenrod (S. gigantea Aiton), and the possibility of achieving full generative development on fallow land restored to agricultural use with mechanical treatments. The following research objects were examined: the control (no mechanical treatments); one-time mowing; two-time mowing; one-time mowing plus one-time rotary tilling; and one-time mowing plus two-time rotary tilling. The phenological development of Solidago spp. was observed every 14 days from June to September each year. In October of each growing season, the aboveground parts of goldenrods’ biomass were measured, and selected morphological parameters were assessed. Two-time mowing and one-time mowing with two-time rotary tilling resulted in the highest reductions in the share of goldenrods in the generative stages of development, of 64.0% and 51.7% compared to the control, respectively. The two-time mowing treatment was the most effective at inhibiting goldenrods’ biomass accumulation, with a 57.7–77.0% decrease in biomass compared to the control. This treatment also reduced the number of flowering shoots and inflorescence lengths of both Solidago species.