Green Strategies of Powdery Mildew Control in Hop: From Organic Products to Nanoscale Carriers

Abstract

Humulus lupulus L. is a long-lived, perennial, herbaceous, and dioecious climbing plant. The foremost producers in the European Union are Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain. The Spanish cultivated area is concentrated in the province of León. Powdery mildew, caused by Podosphaera macularis, menaces hop production and quality in all hop growing regions located in the Northern hemisphere, colonizing leaves, petioles, inflorescences, and finally cones. In this work, powdery mildew control was monitored, comparing nine fungicide strategies: five organics, two integrated disease management (IDM)-based, with and without Nutragreen® nanoscale carrier, and two conventional treatments (CON) with and without Nutragreen® nanoscale carrier. The organic treatments were able to diminish P. macularis on leaves, but no effect was observed in cones. CON treatments reduced the infection on leaves and cones and increased the cone quantity and quality. Likewise, IDM-based treatments provided satisfactory results as they diminished powdery mildew on leaves and cones. Finally, dose reduction using a Nutragreen® nanoscale carrier showed beneficial effects in the control of powdery mildew compared to the commercial dose. Hence, the use of nanoscale carries permits a 30% reduction in pesticide dose, which optimizes yield and hop quality, reduces risks linked to pesticides, and aids in compliance with public and international policy demands.

Fractionation of High-Value Compounds from Hops Using an Optimised Sequential Extraction Procedure

“…Hop is a long-lived dioecious perennial climbing plant of the Cannabaceae family [3]. Although the plant is native to Europe, western Asia and North America, it is mostly restricted to latitudes between 35 • and 55 • due to its need for moderate temperatures and rainfall [3]. Only female plants produce the inflorescence, known as strobiles, cones or hops, where the lupulin glands are found [2].…”

Recent Approaches towards Control of Fungal Diseases in Plants: An Updated Review

“…Moreover, the emergence of resistant strains of fungal phytopathogens makes plant fungal diseases become increasingly challenging to treat. Accordingly, development of healthy, non-toxic, and eco-friendly alternate approaches (green strategies of fungal control) to chemical and synthetic fungicides is very helpful in the control of plant fungal infections [3][4][5][6]. These safe and effective alternative control means against plant fungal diseases include biological control of phytopathogenic fungi [7], microbial fungicides [7,8], botanical fungicides [9], agronanotechnology [10,11], and fungal cell deactivation and evacuation using ghost techniques [12].…”