Changes in the bacterial spectrum of cabbage heads after storage under commonly used storage conditions were examined in this study. Cabbage seeds (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) were artificially inoculated with X. campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), a serious pathogen of cruciferous plants causing black rot. Isolation of bacterial cultures from Xcc-inoculated and non-inoculated cabbage heads were carried out in two time points—at the day of harvest and after four months of storage. According to our previous research and literature reports, the most frequent genera of bacteria were chosen for PCR testing, i.e., Bacillus cereus group, Bacillus subtilis group, Pseudomonas sp., and X. campestris pv. campestris. A few of the obtained bacterial cultures were negative for the four above-mentioned species. In those, other bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. In both Xcc-inoculated and non-inoculated cabbage heads, changes of the bacterial spectrum over time were observed. The severity of Xcc infection of heads increased after four months of storage. Bacillus species represented the most frequently occurring bacterial genus. The presence of the Bacillus subtilis group increased significantly after storage in non-inoculated cabbage heads. The minor part of the other genera identified by sequencing in the first sampling were not detected in the stored cabbage heads. This was associated with a possible antagonistic behavior of Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp.

No abstract

Viticulture, as a large part of the agriculture sector of the South Moravian Region, represents significant erosion-prone land use in which soils face various agronomic issues, such as poor organic carbon levels, erosion, and fertility loss. Service crops providing a so-called ecosystem service can reduce erosion and runoff, regulate pests and weeds and increase soil organic matter and fertility. However, these crops may generate some disservices, such as water and nutrient competition; and thus, it is important for winegrowers to find applicable options for service crops depending on local soil, climate conditions, and the expected service. Inter-row management in the South Moravian Region varies from bare soils to grass cover to different types of cover with herbaceous (flowering) species. A total of 113 vineyard sites were evaluated during the years 2016 and 2017. This study presents the actual state of inter-row management in vineyards and comparison within six wine-growing regions. A two-year evaluation shows significant differences in prevalent greening management between regions. Bare soil in vineyards, the most erosion-prone vineyard floor management, appear from 10% (e.g., Bzenec, Valtice) to 19% (e.g., Mikulov, V. Bílovice) of vineyard area within evaluated regions. Bare soil management is mostly used in new plantations to reduce water and nutrient competition; however, the erosion and the runoff rates are generally higher on this variant compared to other types of cover crop management, especially on slopes. Although, alternate greening is the most used type occurring from 50% to 74% of vineyards area in five of the six selected regions, the type of inter-row vegetation differs considerably. While in Bzenec and Mikulov there is a higher appearance of herbaceous cover with native species in later succession stages, in Velké Bílovice and Valtice grass cover and commercial plant mixtures are more frequent. Knowledge current stage can be useful for planning new plantation or anti-erosion measures.

A multiplex real-time PCR method based on fluorescent TaqMan® probes was developed for the simultaneous detection of the tomato pathogenic bacteria Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and bacterial spot-causing xanthomonads. The specificity of the multiplex assay was validated on 44 bacterial strains, including 32 target pathogen strains as well as closely related species and nontarget tomato pathogenic bacteria. The designed multiplex real-time PCR showed high sensitivity when positive amplification was observed for one pg of bacterial DNA in the cases of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato bacteria and 100 pg for bacterial spot-causing xanthomonads. The reliability of the developed multiplex real-time PCR assay for in planta detection was verified by recognition of the target pathogens in 18 tomato plants artificially inoculated by each of the target bacteria and tomato samples from production greenhouses.

Original article rup-Kristensen et al., 2003). Viticulture, one of the oldest thousand hectares of land in the Czech Republic (Bublíková, 2017). Vineyards where these environmentally-friendly practices are used offer attractive and stable habitats for a range of species, especially in inter-rows covered by diverse plant species, which are favourable for pollinators (Kehinde al., 2016) and can serve as functional migration corridors for German Society for Horticultural Science SummaryCover cropping is an increasingly popular agricultural practice that can help support biodiversity and reduce the negative impact of intensive agricultural production. This study focuses on the impact of inter-row vegetation change on invertebrate species occurrence and vegetation composition. The spontaneous cover crop evaluated in 2018 was changed in spring 2019 to a commercial plant mixture designed for vineyards' greening. Due to dry weather conditions, the sown vegetation coverage rate in 2019 was very low. There was a strong positive correlation between the number of invertebrates and the coverage rate and number of plant species. The sum of average numbers of invertebrates per six-meter-long plot in the inter-rows was 295.67 in 2018 and 142.67 in 2019. Phytophagous species, predators and parasitoids were present in higher numbers in 2018 than in 2019. The average number of phytophagous species was 47% lower and the average number of predators and parasitoids was 69% lower in 2019 than 2018. The coverage rate and plant diversity were lowest (~20%) in August and September 2019. Keywords biodiversity, ecosystem service invertebrates, vegetation, vineyardWhat is already known on this subject?• The impact of cover crop within vineyards has been the positive effects on water and nutrient cycle, erosion had been reported, however, some disservices may occur. Disservices mostly relate with water and nutrient competition or pest problems. Many authors suggest careful selection of cover crop to eliminate possible disservices. What is the expected impact on horticulture?• The use of cover crop is an important practice that diffuses many negative effects of agriculture. The of commercial plant mixtures. Depending on local vegetation, also the use of spontaneous cover crop should be considered.

Increasing vulnerability of crops to pests and diseases, problems with soil erosion, a decline in biodiversity and a number of other negative impacts caused by agricultural intensification and monocultural production have been the subjects of many studies in recent decades. Today, cover cropping has become a promising practice to defuse these negative impacts, and it is emerging in many wine-producing regions, including the Czech Republic. However, the importance of permanent natural and semi-natural habitats in agricultural production should not be neglected. In this study, the effect of adjacent non-crop vegetation on plant and insect diversity was evaluated. The highest plant species richness of inter-row vegetation was found in vineyards with a high proportion (>40%) of non-crop vegetation within a 500-m radius. Regarding the agricultural impact of inter-row vegetation, the high proportion of non-crop vegetation could have been related to the higher presence of opportunistic and non-harmful weeds, compared with the presence of dangerous weed species. The number of insect families present in inter-rows was probably affected more by the vegetation coverage rate than by the proportion of adjacent non-crop vegetation. However, the occurrence of the Hymenoptera species, often representing beneficial organisms, was related to localities with a high proportion of adjacent non-crop vegetation.

Agriculture, including the viticulture practices of the 1950s-1980s, has led to a great decrease in diversity and simplification of the landscape. Such an environment does not support biodiversity, thus does not provide an ecosystem service, and is very vulnerable to changes and pest attacks. This agricultural production needs high inputs and so cannot be considered to be sustainable. The aim of our work was to assess the diversity of the vineyard sites of South Moravia according to proportions of noncrop vegetation, cropland and bare soil vineyards. The relationship between land-use and locality was analysed with Canoco 5 software for ordination analysis. Areas with bare soil vineyards, cropland and intensive orchards can be regarded as areas that decrease the diversity of the landscape, while elements such as non-crop vegetation and extensive old orchards support and increase landscape diversity. This landscape with high diversity provides an environment for a number of plant and animal species, which leads to the preservation and support of the biodiversity of the whole ecosystem. The highest landscape diversity was assessed in the Mikulov region, with 12% non-crop vegetation and the Strážnice region (8%), while the worst situation is in Valtice region, where 53% and in Znojmo 43% of the total are designed for grapevine production (vineyard sites) and used as cropland.

Plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM) play vital roles in maintaining crop fitness and soil health in stressed environments. Research have included analysis-based cultivation of soil-microbial-plant relationships to clarify microbiota potential. The goal of the research was to (i) evaluate the symbiotic microorganism effects on tomato seedling fitness under stressed conditions simulating a fragile soil susceptible to degradation; (ii) compare the plant-microbial interactions after inoculation with microbial isolates and fungi-bacteria consortia; (iii) develop an effective crop-microbial network, which improves soil and plant status. The experimental design included non-inoculated treatments with peat and sand at ratios of 50:50, 70:30, 100:0 (v:v), inoculated treatments with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Azospirillum brasilense (AZ) using the aforementioned peat:sand ratios; and treatment with peat co-inoculated with AMF and Saccharothrix tamanrassetensis (S). AMF + AZ increased root fresh weight in peat substrate compared to the control (4.4 to 3.3 g plant–1). An increase in shoot fresh weight was detected in the AMF + AZ treatment with a 50:50 peat:sand ratio (10.1 to 8.5 g plant-1). AMF + AZ reduced antioxidant activity (DPPH) (18–34%) in leaves, whereas AMF + S had the highest DPPH in leaves and roots (45%). Total leaf phenolic content was higher in control with a decreased proportion of peat. Peroxidase activity was enhanced in AMF + AZ and AMF + S treatments, except for AMF + AZ in peat. Microscopic root assays revealed the ability of AMF to establish strong fungal-tomato symbiosis; the colonization rate was 78–89%. AMF + AZ accelerated K and Mg accumulation in tomato leaves in treatments reflecting soil stress. To date, there has been no relevant information regarding the successful AMF and Saccharothrix co-inoculation relationship. This study confirmed that AMF + S could increase the P, S, and Fe status of seedlings under high organic C content conditions. The improved tomato growth and nutrient acquisition demonstrated the potential of PGPM colonization under degraded soil conditions.