Elaboration of new environmentally friendly plant protection product from coniferous trees biomass against plant diseases

Nowadays there still are different chemical pesticides applied in plant protection. To protect plants from harmful activity of pests and diseases, more attention should be paid to development and establishment of environmentally friendly regulation actions. Conifer trees produce a wide variety of compounds, such as terpenoids and phenolics, which have antimicrobial activity or increase plant resistance to a range of microorganisms. General aim of current study is the development of new, innovative plant protection products for agriculture, thus facilitating the integration of science and production for sustainable usage of forest resources and development of integrated and biological agriculture. Specific aim of the research was to develop new environmentally friendly plant protection product, usable in organic farming and integrated pest management. Various products of processing of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and spruce (Picea abies L.) biomass were tested. Different solvents (ethanol, butanol, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide and water) were used for extraction. During 2010 to 2012 several laboratory and field investigations were carried out to test the effectiveness of different pine and spruce biomass extracts against important diseases of berry crops. Fungicidal activity of coniferous trees biomass extracts was compared in the laboratory against different phytopathogenic fungi: Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Phytophthora cactorum, Mycosphaerella fragariae, Verticillium dahlia and Rhizopus sp. The inhibition of intensity of mycelium growth, sporulation and spore germination was determined for the studied fungi species. Extracts, subjected to laboratory tests, were formulated and applied in field experiments. Field investigations on strawberry cultivars 'Senga Sengana' and primocane raspberry 'Gerakl' were done in the Pure Horticultural Research Centre. Along with the field trials, the safety of preparations will be evaluated according to the requirements of EU Parliament and Council Regulation Nr. 1107/2009.