Tomato brown rugose fruit virus or Tobamovirus fructirugosum (ToBRFV) is a quarantine pest of the EAEU, EPPO and some other countries. The virus affects tomatoes, peppers and several weed species. Yield losses of tomato fruits as a result of infection with ToBRFV can reach 70%. Due to the development of intensive necrosis and deformation, the fruits of infected plants become unmarketable.

ToBRFV is characterized by a variety of pathways and is capable of remaining for a long time in plant residues, soil, water, hydroponic solutions and on various inert surfaces. Seed infection is of great importance in the spread of ToBRFV.

According to the national report, ToBRFV was first detected in the Russian Federation in 2023, which accounted for 5 quarantine phytosanitary areas in 4 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In 2024, a further expansion of its area was observed.

The most important prerequisite for preventing the spread of phytopathogenic viruses is the identification of their infection sources, which can be achieved by comparing the nucleotide sequence of the identified isolates and isolates of a given pathogen of different geographic origins.

This article presents the results of a study of the genetic characteristics of the ToBRFV isolates identified in Stavropol Krai, Volgograd Oblast and Moscow Oblast, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

This study provides an assessment of the biological effectiveness of fungicides with different active ingredients in relation to Cochliobolus carbonum Nels, Diaporthe helianthi Munt.-Cvet. et al. and Cercospora kikuchii (Matsumoto & Tomoyasu) Gardner. The listed fungi are quarantine pests that significantly reduce seed germination, lower grain quality, and reduce oil yield and quality. Due to the fact that seed material is the main pathway, there is a pest risk of introducing quarantine fungi into the territory of Russia. Pre-sowing seed treatment with chemicals is a reliable method of controlling fungal diseases. The 8 tested fungicides registered for these crops, in the case of soybeans and corn non-registered fungicides, were analyzed. Minimum concentrations of active substances that completely deprive quarantine fungi of viability were established. The biological efficiency of the preparations was assessed in laboratory conditions on a solid nutrient medium of 2% potato dextrose agar (PDA) with the addition of fungicides of different active compositions in concentrations of 100, 10 and 1%. It was found that in relation to fungi C. carbonum and D. helianthi, fungicides Scarlet, ME; Pioneer, SC; Klad, SC and Deposit Supreme, ME showed 100% biological efficiency in all tested concentrations. The fungicide preparation TMTD, Water SC worked effectively against Diaporthe helianthi in all concentrations, as evidenced by the absence of colony growth on Petri dishes. In relation to Cercospora kikuchii, the following preparations were effective: Scarlet, ME; TMTD, Water SC; Deposit Supreme, ME and Vitalon, SC in concentrations of 100 and 10%. The preparations Klad, SC; Oplot, Water SC and Pioneer, SC showed their activity only in 100% concentration, where they actively suppressed the growth of the C. kikuchii colony.

Bacterial ear rot of wheat Rathayibacter tritici (Carlson & Vidaver) Zgurskaya et al. is included in the Common List of Quarantine Pests of the Eurasian Economic Union. Rapid identification of the pathogen is an important element in the field of plant quarantine. The “real time” PCR method (real-time PCR) is the most optimal for laboratory diagnosis. Currently, there are only two real-time PCR tests for identification of Rathayibacter tritici developed by Postnikova et al., 2017. The tests are designed to identify Rathayibacter tritici in pure bacterial cultures. The original article does not contain information on the values of the main parame- ters of the real-time PCR test applicability – analytical specificity, including exclusivity and inclusivity, and analytical sensitivity, as well as on testing the test for detecting the pathogen in plant samples. The aim of this work was to assess the applicability of previously known real-time PCR tests for the identification of R. tritici. The study materials were R. tritici strains, as well as 26 strains of bacteria of the genus Rathayibacter, including all existing species within this genus. As a result of assessing the applicability of real-time PCR tests for the identification of the causative agent of bacterial ear rot of wheat Rathayibacter tritici, it was found that the inclusivity value – the ability of the test to identify the entire diversity of bacterial strains within a species – for the studied tests is 83.3%. The use of these tests allowed us to identify 5 out of 6 strains of the target object – Rathayibacter tritici. The exclusivity value – the ability of the test to distinguish target strains from non-target ones – was 100% for both tests. The real-time PCR tests developed by Postnikova et al., 2017, despite their high exclusivity (100%), are not applicable for phytosanitary diagnosis, since in the case of their use the risk of false negative results and, as a consequence, the introduction of the quarantine pest into new territories is quite high.

In the course of summarizing the results of the 2021–2024 tests on collecting thrips with a synthetic attractant using sticky traps in protected ground conditions, it was noted that the insects are distributed nonuniformly. By nonuniform distribution we mean the presence of areas where the number of thrips exceeds the average value by more than three standard deviations. The occurrence of limited areas with a high number of thrips in greenhouses is due to the emergence of colonies from single insects at the beginning of the season. Probably, the main reasons for the appearance of outbreaks are the very low number of thrips after “winter frosts” or effective treatment with chemicals. The number of thrips is very insignificant, only single specimens remain alive, which manifest themselves as a “colony-forming unit” in separate, fairly far-distant places. Then, most of their colonies do not spread far from the primary outbreak for some time - several generations. It is the presence of only a few living insects per several tens of square meters at the beginning of the “invasion” or at the beginning of the growing season that leads to such a large unevenness appearing at a distance from several meters to several tens of meters. 

Collecting some of the thrips with traps with attractants at the very beginning of the season may help to keep the pest population below the economic threshold of harmfulness in an integrated protection system without the use of chemical pesticides throughout the season.

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is an invasive plant of North American origin that has spread widely throughout the world as a result of human economic activity and the expansion of trade routes in the 20th century (Essl et al., 2015; Genton et al., 2005; Hejda et al., 2009). The article presents an overview of A. artemisiifolia distribution in Crimea, compiled on the basis of reports from the Border State Inspectorates, the Crimean Plant Quarantine Laboratory and our own research. The species can grow in a wide range of environmental conditions, but more often inhabits disturbed habitats (road shoulders, railways, cultivated land, pastures, landfills, wastelands) (Abramova, 1997; Bassett et al., 1975). Numerous modern scientific studies predict a significant expansion of the common ragweed range under climate change (Rasmussen et al., 2017; Afonin et al., 2022a; Afonin et al., 2022b; Qin et al., 2014). In Crimea, A. artemisiifolia was first detected in the mid-1950s. However, despite the control measures taken, the area of its distribution continues to steadily increase. According to the Reports of the Crimean Plant Quarantine Laboratory, the distribution area of common ragweed has increased from 0.5 ha (1954) to 1,300 ha (1990). Currently, a massive spread of A. artemisiifolia is observed against the background of favorable economic development of the territory of Crimea. This situation is of serious concern at both the federal and regional levels, which stimulates the active search for and implementation of modern techniques to control this dangerous quarantine plant (Order of the Council of Ministers, 2018). Cовета министров, 2018).