Global climate is estimated to change drastically over the next century and the ecosystems will be affected in this changing environment. Plant-associated beneficial microorganisms can stimulate plant growth and increase resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Nowadays, the effects of climate change factors such as increased carbon dioxide (CO2), drought and warming on plant-beneficial microorganism interactions are increasingly being investigated in the scope of plant growth and health. Recent studies have shown that high CO2 level has a positive effect on the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi, whereas the effects on plant growth promoting bacteria and endophytic fungi are more variable. Elevated CO2 conditions lead to increased colonization of beneficial fungi. Additionally, the results of increasing CO2 levels, warming and drought, depend upon the plant and the microbial genotype. Also, plant growth promoting microorganisms, especially bacteria, positively affect plants exposed to drought stress. Altered communities of beneficial microorganisms depending on climate changes, might have to compete with different microbial communities and, therefore microbial activities may also get affected. This work presents that climate change is an important factor affecting microorganism and plant interactions, needs to take into consideration the adaptation processes in plants and microorganisms and might require the selection of adapted plant cultivars.

Soft commodities, often referred to as tropics, constitute a significant element of international trade and are also important to the Polish economy. Moreover, Polish investors may invest in foreign markets of soft commodities through commodity-linked ETFs, offered by some brokerage houses. Obviously, each investment decision should be preceded by an analysis of asset performance. This paper provides results of statistical analysis of soft commodities returns over the period January 2007 to December 2016. They reveal the existence of weak positive correlation between the returns, non-normal distributions, negative trends, and serial autocorrelation.

Ethanol, chloroform and hexane extracts from plants namely Urtica dioica L., Mentha piperita, Thyme serpyllum and Chenopodium album L. were evaluated for their total phenolic and total flavonoid contents, antioxidant and antibacterial efficiencies. The antioxidant activities were screened utilizing DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS scavenging activity, CUPRAC activity and total antioxidant capacity. Antibacterial activity of the tested extracts was determined by disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. U. dioica and C. album extracts showed varying activities against the test bacteria. The hexane extracts of T. serpyllum and C. album showed the weakest copper reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) activity. 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity of the solvents are increased in the following order: Ethanol>Chloroform>Hexane. Our results revealed that all of the tested plants might be an alternative to synthetic antioxidant and antibacterial agents.

With the aim to find new sources of resistance to rice hoja blanca (white leaf) disease, transmitted by the insect Tagosodes orizicolus, 660 genotypes were evaluated under greenhouse and field conditions. Seven resistant genotypes were identified, and genomic studies were performed to demonstrate that the resistance in these sources is genetically different from that of Fedearroz 2000, which is currently the variety with the most resistance to hoja blanca. These new resistance sources constitute a resource that can be used to sustainably extend hoja blanca disease management throughout all of the rice-growing regions of tropical America. This is the first report of hoja blanca resistance in indica rice and different from that of Fedearroz 2000. | Con el objetivo de encontrar nuevas fuentes de resistencia a la enfermedad de la hoja blanca del arroz, transmitida por el insecto Tagosodes orizicolus, se evaluaron 660 genotipos en condiciones de invernadero y campo. Se identificaron siete genotipos con resistencia a la enfermedad y se realizaron estudios del genoma para evidenciar que eran genéticamente diferentes a Fedearroz 2000, la variedad de mejor comportamiento ante el virus, en el momento. Estas nuevas fuentes de resistencia constituyen un recurso que puede utilizarse para extender un manejo sostenible de la enfermedad, en todas las regiones productoras de arroz en América tropical. Este es el primer reporte de fuentes de resistencia, tipo indica, diferentes a Fedearroz 2000.