Gy Pinke
56002295100
Publications - 30
Pollinator benefits of small-scale landscapes depend also on semi-natural habitat
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Ecology
Publication Date: 2025-09-01
Volume: 62
Issue: 9
Page Range: 2249-2260
Description:
Farmland pollinators are influenced by landscape structure, including mean field size, floral resources, the amount of semi-natural habitats and crop type, but their relative importance and interactions for bumblebee colony performance are not well known. In our study, we focused on the concurrent role of crop type (oilseed rape vs. cereal), proximity to semi-natural habitats (close vs. far) and landscapes with small (average 2 ha) and large fields (average 17 ha) on experimentally exposed bumblebee colony fitness parameters; we also carried out a botanical survey and analysed pollen collected by the bumblebees. We conducted a homing experiment, with workers translocated 0.1–1 km from the colony, and measured the homing speed. We found a significantly higher colony traffic rate next to mass-flowering oilseed rape fields and close to semi-natural habitats. According to our structural equation model, higher traffic rates boosted colony growth rates, which in turn supported higher queen brood cell numbers. In the homing experiment, the relocated bumblebees returned to their home colony faster when it was located close to semi-natural habitats and when the flowering plant species richness was high. The homing speed was lower when semi-natural habitats were distant and flowering plant species richness was high, possibly due to fewer visual cues. Semi-natural habitats were more important for pollinators in large-scale than in small-scale agriculture. In small-scale landscapes, bumblebees returned more quickly when flowering plant species richness was low, presumably because the small-scale landscape structure (higher edge density) allowed for easier navigation by landscape visual cues. The abundance of flowering plants did not affect homing speed, presumably underlining the predominant role of orientation in small-field landscapes. Synthesis and applications: Mass-flowering crops and nearby semi-natural habitats enhance colony growth and queen production, emphasising the important role of abundant and diversified flower resources as well as neighbouring semi-natural habitats. Further, landscapes shaped by small-scale farming are crucial for sustaining and enhancing pollinator populations. Our results underscore the need to restore and maintain semi-natural habitats and to enhance floral resources. These efforts are especially effective in small-scale agricultural landscapes, which appear to improve bumblebee orientation and support biodiversity-friendly farming.
Open Access: Yes
Bringing Vicia villosa, V. pannonica, V. sativa, Trifolium incarnatum and T. alexandrinum into cultivation in Hungary: a historical review
Publication Name: Botanikai Kozlemenyek
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: 112
Issue: 1
Page Range: 61-86
Description:
We review the history of arable naturalization and initial cropping of five legume species in Hungary in the period between the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Nowadays, these species have an increasing importance as green manure and seed production. The cultivation of Vicia villosa Roth, an old established plant in the Carpathian Basin of Near Eastern origin, was started for green forage, mainly owing to encouraging experiences in Germany. It produced good yields even among unfavourable weather and edaphic conditions. Although Vicia pannonica Crantz is likely native to Hungary, it was brought into cultivation due to reports of satisfactory farming experiences from the USA. It had a good seed production capacity and also provided tasty forage in Hungary as well. Vicia sativa L. was probably cultivated already in the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages in the Carpathian Basin. Later, in the transitional period between the three-field system and crop rotation, its foreign cultivars were re-naturalised and sowed into the fallow as a forage crop. Trifolium incarnatum L., a plant of Mediterranean origin, was first cultivated in Hungary as a stubble–sowed crop, or for clover replacement, but later it became a relevant seed–export item. The seeds of Trifolium alexandrinum L. for its first Hungarian field experiments probably came directly from Africa. Mostly, it was cropped as a secondary sowed forage in irrigated fields and as a shift crop in rice growing areas.
Open Access: Yes
Forecasting Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) Density and Non-Chemical Control of Larvae: A Practical Review
Publication Name: Agriculture Switzerland
Publication Date: 2024-11-01
Volume: 14
Issue: 11
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The western corn rootworm (WCR) (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte; Chrysomelidae) is one of the most significant maize pests in Europe, with farmers spending a substantial amount (approximately 140 EUR) on its control. In the context of climate change, WCRs could pose an even greater threat to EU maize production, particularly as the European Union continues to withdraw an increasing number of effective yet environmentally harmful active agents. Biological control methods have now emerged to the forefront in creating sustainable agriculture. In this review, we carried out an extensive literature analysis on methods for forecasting WCRs and evaluated the practical applicability of the latest non-chemical control methods targeting its larvae. Effective forecasting is essential for successful pest management, enabling informed planning and the selection of the most suitable control methods. Several traditional predicting techniques remain in use today, but recent advancements have introduced modern electronic forecasting units combined with sensor-equipped pheromone and colour traps, as well as thermal sum calculations. Research has demonstrated that crop rotation is one of the most effective methods for controlling WCR larvae. Biological agents, such as entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bossiana and Mettarrhyzum anasoplia), entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora), and botanical insecticides such as azadirachtin can significantly reduce larval populations and root damage, thereby maintaining infestation levels below the economic threshold. Genetically modified maize plants that produce specific toxins, along with conventional breeding efforts to increase root system regeneration, are also promising tools for the sustainable management of this pest. This review summarizes the solutions for prediction of western corn rootworm infestations and non-chemical control of its larvae. Accurate forecasting methods provide a clear picture of infestation levels in a given area, enabling precisely targeted control measures. In all cases, the control should be directed primarily against the larvae, thereby reducing root damage and reducing the size of the emerging imago population. This review demonstrates that biological control methods targeting larvae can be as effective as pesticides, supporting sustainable pest management.
Open Access: Yes
Ethnobotanical and cultural significance of Chaerophyllum bulbosum in the Carpathian Basin
Publication Name: Kitaibelia
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 29
Issue: 2
Page Range: 141-159
Description:
Tuberous-rooted chervil (Chaerophyllum bulbosum) is one of the iconic plants in the Carpathian basin regarding ethnobotany. It is considered native to this region and it is known by about one hundred different Hungarian folk names and allophones. We have plenty of historical data about its gathering from the wild from the end of the 16th century, but certainly, it could have been collected much earlier by the people who lived here. In the whole Carpathian basin, mostly its tubers (and rarely the leaves as well) were gathered mainly by children, which were eaten in various forms and dishes, but most frequently raw as salad. Its popularity started to decline by the end of the 19th century, and in the middle of the 20th century, it was regarded as one of the ‘beets out of fashion’, which was slowly disappearing from the diet. From the 21st century, there is only one record about its gathering and consumption from Transylvania. In former times, along with other Chaerophyllum and Anthriscus species it was recommended to cure scorbute and diarrhoea and as a poultice for ulcers. In the Middle Ages, it was cultivated throughout Eastern and Central Europe, which could have also been true for the Carpathian Basin. Master Roger mentioned this species among the plants of devastated peasant gardens (1243, after the Mongol invasion). Thereafter, we have records only from the middle of the 19th century showing the obvious growing of its cultivated variety (called ‘chervil-beet’). However, its cultivation remained quite sporadic, and by the middle of the 20th century, it was already fully neglected. The plant occurred in Hungarian cookery books from the 16th century, especially in Transylvanian gastronomy. The remembrance of its former folk uses retained in Hungarian culture as well, it emerges in several poems and prose.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.17542/kit.29.056
Drivers of species composition in arable-weed communities of the Austrian–Hungarian borderland region: What is the role of the country?
Publication Name: Applied Vegetation Science
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 27
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Questions: Due to their high ecological and agronomical variability, borderland regions offer an excellent opportunity to study assembly patterns. In this study we compared the influence of various factors on summer annual weed communities consisting of both native and introduced species. Location: The borderland region of Austria and Hungary. Methods: We assessed the abundance of weed species in 300 fields of six summer annual crops, and collected information on 26 background variables for each plot. We applied redundancy analysis (RDA) to estimate multivariate species responses and variation partitioning to compare the relative importance of three groups of variables (environmental variables, management variables, and country as a singleton group), and we also checked for statistical association between country and the predictors of the other two groups. Results: The full RDA model explained 22.02% of the variance in weed species composition. Variation partitioning showed that environment and management had similarly high (~8%) influence on weeds, while country had a modest yet substantial (~1%) effect, and there was relatively little overlap between the variance attributable to the three groups. Comparing the individual variables, country ranked third (after preceding crop, and actual crop). The effects of 15 further variables were also significant, including seven management, and seven environmental variables, as well as the location of the sampling plots within the fields. Comparisons between the countries showed that farming type, preceding crops, tillage system, tillage depth and field size were significantly different between the countries. Conclusions: Country exhibited a small but significant influence on weed community composition, which could not be explained with easily accessible management and environmental variables. This suggests that the distinct historical agronomical background of the two countries, possibly involving some legacies of the former Iron Curtain period, still has an impact on the weed species composition of arable fields.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12764
Adaptation of Life Form Categorisation of Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois to the Hungarian Flora
Publication Name: Acta Botanica Hungarica
Publication Date: 2023-04-25
Volume: 65
Issue: 1-2
Page Range: 1-34
Description:
The categorisation of plant species according to their life form has a long history in plant ecology. The most popular system worldwide and also in Hungary is Raunkiaer's categorisation according to the position of buds (meristems) surviving the adverse season. The original system contains only seven categories, resulting in high diversity within each category. Therefore, different refinements are suggested. This paper aims to apply an internationally accepted refinement of Raunkiaer's categorisation, the Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois system, to the Hungarian flora.
Open Access: Yes
The utility of the ‘Arable Weeds and Management in Europe’ database: Challenges and opportunities of combining weed survey data at a European scale
Alicia Cirujeda
Michael Glemnitz
Jana Bürger
Guillaume Fried
Jevgenija Ņečajeva
Lena Ulber
Silvia Fogliatto
Michaela Kolářová
Eva Hernández Plaza
Matthias Schumacher
Bärbel Gerowitt
Gy Pinke
Sandrine Petit
Christoph Redwitz
Helen Metcalfe
Denise Fu Dostatny
José Luis González-Andújar
Francesco Vidotto
Jordi Izquierdo
Publication Name: Weed Research
Publication Date: 2023-02-01
Volume: 63
Issue: 1
Page Range: 1-11
Description:
Over the last 30 years, many studies have surveyed weed vegetation on arable land. The ‘Arable Weeds and Management in Europe’ (AWME) database is a collection of 36 of these surveys and the associated management data. Here, we review the challenges associated with combining disparate datasets and explore some of the opportunities for future research that present themselves thanks to the AWME database. We present three case studies repeating previously published national scale analyses with data from a larger spatial extent. The case studies, originally done in France, Germany and the UK, explore various aspects of weed ecology (community composition, management and environmental effects and within-field distributions) and use a range of statistical techniques (canonical correspondence analysis, redundancy analysis and generalised linear mixed models) to demonstrate the utility and versatility of the AWME database. We demonstrate that (i) the standardisation of abundance data to a common measure, before the analysis of the combined dataset, has little impact on the outcome of the analyses, (ii) the increased extent of environmental or management gradients allows for greater confidence in conclusions and (iii) the main conclusions of analyses done at different spatial scales remain consistent. These case studies demonstrate the utility of a Europe-wide weed survey database, for clarifying or extending results obtained from studies at smaller scales. This Europe-wide data collection offers many more opportunities for analysis that could not be addressed in smaller datasets; including questions about the effects of climate change, macro-ecological and biogeographical issues related to weed diversity as well as the dominance or rarity of specific weeds in Europe.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1111/wre.12562
Historical review of lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) Cultivation based on Hungarian bota nical, apicultural and agronomical studies
Publication Name: Botanikai Kozlemenyek
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 110
Issue: 1
Page Range: 43-60
Description:
Lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.), a plant of North American origin, has been cultivated in the Carpathian Basin since the end of the 19th century. It was sown for ornamental purposes, but at the same time its potential for beekeeping was also recognized. It was prophesied to save the future of the Hungarian apiculture, but in the period following the Second World War with the collapse of the large estate system, it was cultivated as a bee pasture only on a small scale. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Hungarian researchers have been studied its forage potential in several experiments. Despite the fi rst contradictory conclusions, it has been respected as a valuable forage crop for several livestock species since the 1970s. Its excellent potential for green manuring and soil disinfection has been also confi rmed in many experiments carried out in the Carpathian Basin for more than a century. Since the end of the 1970s, its exportoriented seed production has boomed both in small and large farms in the Little Hungarian Plain (in NW Hungary). Th is practice has been strongly linked to migratory beekeeping, which has elevated lacy phacelia to the most important melliferous plants producing monofl oral honey in Hungary. Its annual production area has fl uctuated between 1500 and 11,000 ha in the last 20 years.
Open Access: Yes
Iconic Arable Weeds: The Significance of Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), and Field Larkspur (Delphinium consolida) in Hungarian Ethnobotanical and Cultural Heritage
Publication Name: Plants
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
There are an increasing number of initiatives that recognize arable weed species as an important component of agricultural biodiversity. Such initiatives often focus on declining species that were once abundant and are still well known, but the ethnographic relevance of such species receives little recognition. We carried out an extensive literature review on the medicinal, ornamental, and cultural applications of three selected species, Papaver rhoeas, Centaurea cyanus, and Delphinium consolida, in the relevant Hungarian literature published between 1578 and 2021. We found a great diversity of medicinal usages. While P. rhoeas stands out with its sedative influence, D. consolida was mainly employed to stop bleeding, and C. cyanus was most frequently used to cure eye inflammation. The buds of P. rhoeas were sporadically eaten and its petals were used as a food dye. All species fulfilled ornamental purposes, either as garden plants or gathered in the wild for bouquets. They were essential elements of harvest festivals and religious festivities, particularly in Corpus Christi processions. P. rhoeas was also a part of several children’s games. These wildflowers were regularly depicted in traditional Hungarian folk art. In poetry, P. rhoeas was used as a symbol of burning love or impermanence; C. cyanus was frequently associated with tenderness and faithfulness; while D. consolida regularly emerged as a nostalgic remembrance of the disappearing rural lifestyle. These plants were also used as patriotic symbols in illustrations for faithfulness, loyalty, or homesickness. Our results highlight the deep and prevalent embeddedness of the three iconic weed species studied in the folk culture of the Carpathian Basin. The ethnobotanical and cultural embeddedness of arable weed species should also be considered when efforts and instruments for the conservation of arable weed communities are designed.
Open Access: Yes
Weed Composition in Hungarian Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) Seed Production: Could Tine Harrow Take Over Chemical Management?
Publication Name: Agronomy
Publication Date: 2022-04-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 4
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Phacelia tanacetifolia, an excellent cover, green manure and honey crop is now widely cultivated throughout the world. One of its principal European seed production regions is north‐western Hungary, where the recent withdrawal of a potent herbicide, linuron, created a new challenge for many growers. The goal of this study is to identify the main factors determining weed species composition in the phacelia fields of the region and to assess the efficiency of tine harrow and clopyralid herbicide in reducing weed abundance and biomass. We carried out a series of weed surveys across the study region following a two‐level design: (i) we estimated the cover of all weed species in 205 fields (broad‐scale survey, BS); and (ii) in 22 of these fields, we provided more precise biomass measurements (counting the individuals and measuring the dry weights of all weed species) in microplots samples (fine‐scale survey; FS). To characterize the fields, 34 background variables were also collected for all of the studied fields. In both investigations, Chenopodium album was by far the most abundant weed. Within the BS, using a minimal adequate model containing 11 terms with significant net effects, 20.93% of the total variation in weed species data could be explained. The variation in species composition was determined by environmental factors (soil pH, clay and K; precipitation and temperature), non‐chemical management variables (crop cover, preceding crop, irrigation and tillage system) and herbicides (linuron and clopyralid). Variation partitioning demonstrated the dominance of environmental and cultural components in shaping the weed species composition. Although the effect of mechanical treatments was most likely masked in the BS by the soil properties, our FS suggests that tine harrow could efficiently decrease the total number and biomass of weeds and can be a useful tool in the phacelia management of the future.
Open Access: Yes
Jacaranone Derivatives with Antiproliferative Activity from Crepis pulchra and Relevance of This Group of Plant Metabolites
Publication Name: Plants
Publication Date: 2022-03-01
Volume: 11
Issue: 6
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Jacaranones are a small group of specific plant metabolites with promising biological activi-ties. The occurrence of jacaranones is limited to only a few plant families, with Asteraceae being the most abundant source of these compounds. Therefore, jacaranones can also serve as chemotaxonomic markers. Our phytochemical investigation of Crepis pulchra L. (Asteraceae) resulted in three jacara-none derivatives (jacaranone, 2,3-dihydro-2-hydroxyjacaranone, 2,3-dihydro-2-methoxyjacaranone), and (6R,9S)-3-oxo-α-ionol-β-D-glucopyranoside, fulgidic acid, 12,15-octadecadienoic acid methyl es-ter, scopoletin and apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucoside. This is the first report on the isolation of jacaranones from a species belonging to the Cichorioideae subfamily of Asteraceae. Jacaranone derivatives were subjected to an in vitro antiproliferative assay against a panel of human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HeLa, and C33A), revealing high or moderate activities, with IC50 values ranging from 6.3 to 26.5 µM.
Open Access: Yes
Two sides of one medal: Arable weed vegetation of Europe in phytosociological data compared to agronomical weed surveys
Sandrine Petit
Matthias Schumacher
Lena Ulber
Jevgenija Ņečajeva
Francesco Vidotto
Gy Pinke
Jana Bürger
Helen Metcalfe
Christoph Redwitz
Alicia Cirujeda
Silvia Fogliatto
Denise Fu Dostatny
Filip Küzmič
Urban Šilc
Florian Jansen
Bärbel Gerowitt
Michael Glemnitz
Zdeňka Lososová
Milan Chytrý
Erwin Bergmeier
Guillaume Fried
Jordi Izquierdo
Michaela Kolářová
Valerijus Rašomavičius
José Luis González-Andújar
Eva Hernández Plaza
Publication Name: Applied Vegetation Science
Publication Date: 2022-01-01
Volume: 25
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Questions: Two scientific disciplines, vegetation science and weed science, study arable weed vegetation, which has seen a strong diversity decrease in Europe over the last decades. We compared two collections of plot-based vegetation records originating from these two disciplines. The aim was to check the suitability of the collections for joint analysis and for addressing research questions from the opposing domains. We asked: are these collections complementary? If so, how can they be used for joint analysis?. Location: Europe. Methods: We compared 13 311 phytosociological relevés and 13 328 records from weed science, concerning both data collection properties and the recorded species richness. To deal with bias in the data, we also analysed different subsets (i.e., crops, geographical regions, organic vs conventional fields, center vs edge plots). Results: Records from vegetation science have an average species number of 19.0 ± 10.4. Metadata on survey methodology or agronomic practices are rare in this collection. Records from weed science have an average species number of 8.5 ± 6.4. They are accompanied by extensive methodological information. Vegetation science records and the weed science records taken at field edges or from organic fields have similar species numbers. The collections cover different parts of Europe but the results are consistent in six geographical subsets and the overall data set. The difference in species numbers may be caused by differences in methodology between the disciplines, i.e., plot positioning within fields, plot sizes, or survey timing. Conclusion: This comparison of arable weed data that were originally sampled with a different purpose represents a new effort in connecting research between vegetation scientists and weed scientists. Both collections show different aspects of weed vegetation, which means the joint use of the data is valuable as it can contribute to a more complete picture of weed species diversity in European arable landscapes.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12460
Rise and fall of Stachys annua (L.) L. in the Carpathian Basin: a historical review and prospects for its revival
Publication Name: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
Publication Date: 2021-10-01
Volume: 68
Issue: 7
Page Range: 3039-3053
Description:
Stachys annua (L.) L., a melliferous archaeophyte plant became a dominant weed of the cereal stubbles of the Carpathian Basin in the medieval three-field system. By the middle of the nineteenth century, this plant provided more than two-thirds of the Hungarian honey production, and its high quality monofloral honey turned into a characteristic brand of the Hungarian apiculture. Recognizing its importance, S. annua also briefly became a minor crop cultivated in “bee gardens” and arable fields in the late nineteenth century, possibly also in response to the first signs of its upcoming decline. Starting with the advent of the steam plough, the twentieth century has brought a drastic decline for S. annua due to a combination of deeper and earlier tillage operations, agrochemicals, and new competing weed species (in particular the common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia). The last remnant stands of this previously dominant weed species are of considerable ecological and historical value as farmland biodiversity hotspots. These sites are important refuge for rare weeds, wild pollinators (including bumblebees), and declining farmland birds, which could be targeted by eco-schemes under the European Union’s (EU’s) greening Common Agricultural Policy. The rediscovery of the cropping potential of S. annua and the development of an appropriate technology would also allow its cultivation as a valuable bee forage, catch crop, green cover, or oilseed plant in the future.
Open Access: Yes
The status of arable plant habitats in eastern europe
Publication Name: Changing Status of Arable Habitats in Europe A Nature Conservation Review
Publication Date: 2021-01-29
Volume: Unknown
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 75-87
Description:
Today large parts of Eastern Europe can be considered as strikingly species-poor "agrarian-deserts". Nevertheless, the region also retains relatively large areas of species-rich farmland. Changes in the weed flora in this region, with special regard to the disappearing weed species, is the subject of relatively small numbers of international scientific studies compared to the western part of Europe. The average weed species number per plot seems to have declined less in eastern than in western countries since the Second World War. However, by the turn of the Millennium the number of threatened weed species had increased considerably, which is apparent in the recently updated national weed red lists. Many studies indicate that lower farming intensity and diversified farming systems at higher altitudes provided better conditions for the occurrence of rare species and greater diversity than intensively farmed lowlands. Unfortunately, only a few traditionally managed small fields remain in extreme habitats, and they are continuously being abandoned. Regrettably, Eastern Europe mostly lacks any conservation initiatives which directly target the preservation of rare and threatened arable weeds, consequently further declines are anticipated.
Open Access: Yes
Isolation of chemical constituents from Filago vulgaris and antiproliferative activity of the plant extract and its flavonoid against human tumor cell lines
Publication Name: Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Publication Date: 2020-07-01
Volume: 33
Issue: 4
Page Range: 1593-1597
Description:
Phytochemical investigation of the whole plant of Filago vulgaris Lam. (Asteraceae) resulted in the isolation and characterization of seven compounds, including a rare methoxylated flavonol (araneol), tetrahydrofurofuranolignans (pinoresinol and syringaresinol), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, vanillic acid and scopoletin. The structures of the compounds were determined by NMR and mass spectroscopy. All compounds were first obtained from this species and reported for the genus Filago. Our results demonstrate that highly methoxylated flavonols lacking substituents on ring B and lignans can be regarded as taxonomic markers for the tribe Inuleae. The lipophilic extract of F. vulgaris was found to have antiproliferative activity against HeLa cells (62.1±0.9% inhibition at 30 µg/ml), and araneol was highly effective against this tumour cell line (IC50 8.36 μM).
Open Access: Yes
Weed surveys and weed mapping in Europe: State of the art and future tasks
Publication Name: Crop Protection
Publication Date: 2020-03-01
Volume: 129
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Long-term national European weed surveys, large scale classical phytosociological programs and camera-based documentation systems lead to results which can be documented in form of maps. Comparisons of these visual representations of relative weed positions can be used for the prediction of changing weed spectra and of plant biodiversity changes. Statistical methods connected with mapping software are used for the analysis of environmental factors and of farm managing practices influencing the occurrence of weeds. Maps produced by sensor-driven weed detection devices still differ considerably from maps produced via classical phytosociological approaches. Computer algorithms may allow the precise identification of some weeds in camera images. The present technical solutions are, however, still far from those achieved by experienced botanists. Many weed detection tools based on algorithms are not able to distinguish between closely related weeds yet. A few European countries have a long tradition of surveying weeds in major crops by traditional tools. Various software packages are employed for the analysis, documentation and visualisation of survey results. Large scale comprehensive maps including the infestation of crops over different countries are, however, often biased as not every national research group uses the same methods for the assessment of weed infestation. The ranking of the most common species seems, however, to allow comparable conclusions. The recognition of trends in spectrum changes can only be derived from long term studies as we see it. Our review reflects discussions within the Weed Mapping Working Group of the European Weed Research Society over the last ten years. We try to identify new research trends and to respond accordingly with new research projects. What we see today is a shift from traditional mapping approaches towards the use of digital devices as for example in precision farming projects. Another issue of increasing importance is the mapping of herbicide resistant biotypes.
Open Access: Yes
European weed vegetation database – A gap-focused vegetation-plot database
Publication Name: Phytocoenologia
Publication Date: 2020-01-01
Volume: 50
Issue: 1
Page Range: 93-100
Description:
This report presents the European Weed Vegetation Database, a new database of vegetation plots documenting short-lived vegetation of arable and ruderal habitats from Europe and Macaronesia. The database comprises the phytosociological classes Papaveretea rhoeadis, Sisymbrietea, Chenopodietea and Digitario sanguinalis-Era-grostietea minoris. It is a gap-focused database containing mainly plots of this vegetation from the areas not yet represented in the European Vegetation Archive (EVA), to facilitate its accessibility for researchers to answer various questions. As of the end of 2018, it contained 24,734 plots, predominantly from Southern Europe. The data can be used for phytosociological studies, various kinds of interdisciplinary research as well as for studies for agronomy, nature management and biodiversity conservation.
Open Access: Yes
Arable Weeds and Management in Europe
Alicia Cirujeda
Michael Glemnitz
Jana Bürger
Guillaume Fried
Jevgenija Ņečajeva
Lena Ulber
Silvia Fogliatto
Michaela Kolářová
Eva Hernández Plaza
Matthias Schumacher
Bärbel Gerowitt
Gy Pinke
Sandrine Petit
Christoph Redwitz
Helen Metcalfe
Denise Fu Dostatny
José Luis González-Andújar
Francesco Vidotto
Jordi Izquierdo
Publication Name: Vegetation Classification and Survey
Publication Date: 2020-01-01
Volume: 1
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 169-170
Description:
“Arable Weeds and Management in Europe” is a collection of weed vegetation records from arable fields in Europe, initiated within the Working Group Weeds and Biodiversity of the European Weed Research Society (EWRS). Vegetation-plot data from this scientific community was not previously contributed to databases. We aim to prove the usefulness of collection for large scale studies through some first analyses. We hope to assure other weed scientists who have signalled willingness to share data, and plan to construct a full data base, making the data available for easy sharing. Presently, the collection has over 60,000 records, taken between 1996 and 2015. Many more studies for potential inclusion exist. Data originate mostly from studies exploring the effect of agricultural management on weed vegetation. The database is accompanied with extensive meta-data on crop and weed management on the surveyed fields. The criteria for inclusion were a minimum amount of information on the cultivated crop, and a georeference. Most fields were surveyed repeatedly, i.e. transects, multiple random plots, or repeated visits. All surveys aimed to record the complete vegetation on the plots. Sometimes, taxa were identified only to genus level, due to survey dates very early in the vegetation period. Plant taxonomy is standardized to the Euro+Med PlantBase.
Open Access: Yes
Drivers of Ambrosia artemisiifolia abundance in arable fields along the Austrian-Hungarian border
Publication Name: Preslia
Publication Date: 2019-12-06
Volume: 91
Issue: 4
Page Range: 369-389
Description:
The Carpathian Basin is one of the most important regions in terms of the invasion of the common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) in Europe. The invasion history of this weed, however, seems to have been assessed differently in Austria and Hungary: Scientists in both countries assumed that this species had become abundant earlier and had caused more problems in their own than in other country. The goal of this study is to resolve the historical misunderstandings and scrutinize the related popular beliefs by a concise literature overview and an extensive analysis of the current patterns in ragweed infestations in crops in the borderlands in eastern Austria and western Hungary. The abundance of A. artemisiifolia was measured in 200 arable fields across the region, along with 31 background variables. Data were analysed using binomial generalized linear models (GLM), decision tree models and variation partitioning. Ambrosia artemisiifolia occurred more frequently in Hungary, but there were no significant differences in the proportion of larger cover values recorded in these two countries, and 'cover values > 10%' were even slightly more common in Austria.We found that previous crops of maize and soya bean and conventional farming were associated with the higher abundances in Austria, while organic farming was associated with relatively higher frequencies of heavy infestations in Hungarian fields. In the overall analysis crop cover was the most important variable with low crop cover associated with high ragweed abundance. Temperature and phosphorous fertilizer were negatively, while precipitation and soil phosphorous concentration positively associated with the abundance values. Land-use variables accounted for more of the variance in the abundance patterns of common ragweed than environmental variables. The current patterns in ragweed distributionmight indicate that a saturation process is still underway on the Austrian side. The saturation lag of 20-30 years is possibly due to several factors and the role of the Iron Curtain in determining cross-border exchange of propagules could be decisive. Nevertheless, the discrepancies uncovered in the accounts of the invasion of Hungarian and Austrian authors might also be seen as legacies of the Iron Curtain, which were caused by mutual limitations on access to national data and literature of the other country in a critical period of rapid ragweed spread. These discrepancies, that had a long-lasting effect on the work of scientific communities, are documented here in detail for the first time.
Open Access: Yes
When herbicides don't really matter: Weed species composition of oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) fields in Hungary
Publication Name: Crop Protection
Publication Date: 2018-08-01
Volume: 110
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 236-244
Description:
Oil pumpkin is a major emerging alternative crop with several unresolved weed management questions in central-eastern Europe, one of the focal regions of oil pumpkin production worldwide. This study aims to assess the importance of three groups of factors: environment, non-chemical management (all management excluding herbicides), and chemical weed management, in determining the weed species composition of oil pumpkin crops in Hungary. We surveyed the weed flora of 180 oil pumpkin fields across the country, along with 32 background variables. Applying a minimal adequate model consisting of 18 terms with significant net effects, 30.8% of the total variation in weed species data could be explained. Most variation in species composition was determined by environmental factors, with climatic conditions (precipitation and temperature) being most influential. The net effects of seven non-chemical management variables (preceding crop, N and P fertilisers, seeding rate, crop cover, cultivating tillage, and manual weed control), and two herbicides (S-metolachlor and linuron) were also significant. Variation partitioning demonstrated the dominance of environmental factors, and it also showed that non-chemical management practices accounted for five times more variance than herbicides. Within non-chemical management, the relative impact of cultural variables was nearly five times larger than that of mechanical weed management. Among the abundant weeds, Chenopodium polyspermum and Ambrosia artemisiifolia were positively associated with precipitation, Datura stramonium and Hibiscus trionum correlated with higher temperature, and Chenopodium album favoured larger potassium content of the soil. High seeding rate and crop cover suppressed Amaranthus retroflexus, cultivating tillage reduced Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Setaria pumila, while conspicuous tall weeds like Abutilon theophrasti and Chenopodium album were most vulnerable to manual weed control. Although the short stature of pumpkin with its poor weed-suppressive ability could unfavourably influence the results of some cultural practices, our findings suggest that the weed vegetation of oil pumpkin fields can be efficiently managed also with environmentally benign methods.
Open Access: Yes
Explaining variability in the production of seed and allergenic pollen by invasive Ambrosia artemisiifolia across Europe
Levani Kalatozishvili
Andreas Lemke
Heinz Müller-Schärer
Gy Pinke
K. Nagy
Suzanne T.E. Lommen
Caspar A. Hallmann
Eelke Jongejans
Bruno Chauvel
Melinda Leitsch-Vitalos
Alla Aleksanyan
Huseyin Onen
Zita Dorner
Mihály Zalai
Peter Tóth
Cristina Preda
Maja Šćepanović
Guillaume Fried
Paulina Anastasiu
Barbara Tokarska-Guzik
Annamária Fenesi
Gerhard Karrer
Viktor Tiborcz
Gergely Zagyvai
Gabriella Kazinczi
Robert Leskovšek
Danijela Stešević
Publication Name: Biological Invasions
Publication Date: 2018-06-01
Volume: 20
Issue: 6
Page Range: 1475-1491
Description:
To better manage invasive populations, it is vital to understand the environmental drivers underlying spatial variation in demographic performance of invasive individuals and populations. The invasive common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, has severe adverse effects on agriculture and human health, due to its vast production of seeds and allergenic pollen. Here, we identify the scale and nature of environmental factors driving individual performance of A. artemisiifolia, and assess their relative importance. We studied 39 populations across the European continent, covering different climatic and habitat conditions. We found that plant size is the most important determinant in variation of per-capita seed and pollen production. Using plant volume as a measure of individual performance, we found that the local environment (i.e. the site) is far more influential for plant volume (explaining 25% of all spatial variation) than geographic position (regional level; 8%) or the neighbouring vegetation (at the plot level; 4%). An overall model including environmental factors at all scales performed better (27%), including the weather (bigger plants in warm and wet conditions), soil type (smaller plants on soils with more sand), and highlighting the negative effects of altitude, neighbouring vegetation and bare soil. Pollen and seed densities varied more than 200-fold between sites, with highest estimates in Croatia, Romania and Hungary. Pollen densities were highest on arable fields, while highest seed densities were found along infrastructure, both significantly higher than on ruderal sites. We discuss implications of these findings for the spatial scale of management interventions against A. artemisiifolia.
Open Access: Yes
Anti-inflammatory activity of melampyrum barbatum and isolation of iridoid and flavonoid compounds
Publication Name: Natural Product Communications
Publication Date: 2018-03-01
Volume: 13
Issue: 3
Page Range: 235-236
Description:
Melampyrum barbatum Waldst. & Kit. Ex Willd. (Scrophulariaceae) has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of rheumatic complaints and different skin diseases. In the course of our study the anti-inflammatory activity of the aerial parts of M. Barbatum was evaluated. A MeOH extract was prepared and consecutively partitioned with CHCl3 , EtOAc and n-BuOH. The fractions were assayed in in vivo carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema model. The intraperitoneally administered n-BuOH phase exerted marked inhibitory effect (33.6 %, p < 0.01). Multistep chromatographic separation afforded mussaenoside and aucubine from n-BuOH fraction. Moreover, 8-epiloganin, loganic acid and mussaenoside were obtained from EtOAc fraction and apigenin, luteolin, benzoic acid and galactitol from CHCl3 fraction. These data validate the ethnomedicinal use of M. Barbatum for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and reveal that iridoids and flavonoids could be responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of this species.
Open Access: Yes
Weed species composition of small-scale farmlands bears a strong crop-related and environmental signature
Publication Name: Weed Research
Publication Date: 2018-02-01
Volume: 58
Issue: 1
Page Range: 46-56
Description:
Weed species loss due to intensive agricultural land use has raised the need to understand how traditional cropland management has sustained a diverse weed flora. We evaluated to what extent cultivation practices and environmental conditions affect the weed species composition of a small-scale farmland mosaic in Central Transylvania (Romania). We recorded the abundance of weed species and 28 environmental, management and site context variables in 299 fields of maize, cereal and stubble. Using redundancy analysis, we revealed 22 variables with significant net effects, which explained 19.2% of the total variation in species composition. Cropland type had the most pronounced effect on weed composition with a clear distinction between cereal crops, cereal stubble and maize crops. Beyond these differences, the environmental context of croplands was a major driver of weed composition, with significant effects of geographic position, altitude, soil parameters (soil pH, texture, salt and humus content, CaCO3 , P2 O5 , K2 O, Na and Mg), as well as plot location (edge vs. core position) and surrounding habitat types (arable field, road margin, meadow, fallow, ditch). Performing a variation partitioning for the cropland types one by one, the environmental variables explained most of the variance compared with crop management. In contrast, when all sites were combined across different cropland types, the crop-specific factors were more important in explaining variance in weed community composition.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1111/wre.12281
Spread of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia l.) on arable land in the Žitný ostrov
Publication Name: Journal of Central European Agriculture
Publication Date: 2017-01-01
Volume: 18
Issue: 1
Page Range: 29-41
Description:
Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is an invasive alien species indigenous to North America. Ragweed is a big threat to agriculture and has a serious impact on human health. The most important area with ragweed occurrence within Europe is Pannonian Plain in Central Europe. This research introduces for the first time the unique, direct broad-scale survey of A. artemisiifolia in relation to real-life occurrence and infestation in the field. To understand the distribution of ragweed in the territory the geospatial analysis was applied to create 2D map in ArcGIS environment. The field survey was undertaken during summer 2014 in the Žitný ostrov (Slovakia). The investigation revealed that spatial occurrence of A. artemisiifolia is not homogeneous and there is also striking territorial heterogeneity of infestation rate. Ragweed was observed at 80 (47.2%) out of 169 sites. The infestation of arable land (mostly stubbles) varied from weak infestation, 24 sites (1-30 plants*10 m-2) to heavy infestation, 26 sites (˃80 plants*10 m-2). The research on associated plant communities was also carried out. Stubble field’s vegetation was found to be highly species poor, on an average only 2.5 species*10 m-2. Among 40 recorded species the most frequent (noticed at 25% sites) were Datura stramonium, Chenopodium album, and Mercurialis annua. This broad-scale survey provides an overview and useful information on considerations needed to make decisions about ragweed control and potential future expansion. The presented study offers also inventory of ragweed frequency over the large area.
Open Access: Yes
Weed species composition of conventional soyabean crops in Hungary is determined by environmental, cultural, weed management and site variables
Publication Name: Weed Research
Publication Date: 2016-12-01
Volume: 56
Issue: 6
Page Range: 470-481
Description:
The goal of this study was to identify factors determining weed species composition in soyabean crops in Hungary, where its expanding production faces difficult weed problems. The abundance of weed flora was measured in 262 fields across the country, along with 38 background variables. Using a minimal adequate model containing 24 terms with significant net effects, 21.6% of the total variation in weed species data could be explained. Plot location (edge vs core position, the single site variable in our analysis) was found to be the most important explanatory variable that was followed by a set of environmental (temperature, precipitation, altitude, soil texture, pH, Ca, K, Na and humus content), cultural (cultivar maturity, organic manure, fertiliser P and N, row spacing) and weed management (flumioxazin, pendimethalin, dimethenamid, propaquizafop, bentazone, quizalofop-p-ethyl, quizalofop-p-tefuril, linuron, thifensulfuron) factors. Variation partitioning revealed that environmental variables accounted for about four times more variance than cultural and about two and half times more than weed management variables. Chenopodium album, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Hibiscus trionum, Echinochloa crus-galli and Convolvulus arvensis were the most dominant and frequent weeds, but their abundance was influenced by different factors. The responses of weed species to the studied variables provide new information about their ecological behaviour, and our findings also can be used to develop better weed management strategies.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1111/wre.12225
Myrsinane, Premyrsinane, and Cyclomyrsinane Diterpenes from Euphorbia falcata as Potassium Ion Channel Inhibitors with Selective G Protein-Activated Inwardly Rectifying Ion Channel (GIRK) Blocking Effects
Publication Name: Journal of Natural Products
Publication Date: 2016-08-26
Volume: 79
Issue: 8
Page Range: 1990-2004
Description:
GIRK channels are activated by a large number of G protein-coupled receptors and regulate the electrical activity of neurons, cardiac atrial myocytes, and β-pancreatic cells. Abnormalities in GIRK channel function have been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain, drug addiction, and cardiac arrhythmias. In the heart, GIRK channels are selectively expressed in the atrium, and their activation inhibits pacemaker activity, thereby slowing the heart rate. In the present study, 19 new diterpenes, falcatins A-S (1-19), and the known euphorprolitherin D (20) were isolated from Euphorbia falcata. The compounds were assayed on stable transfected HEK-hERG (Kv11.1) and HEK-GIRK1/4 (Kir3.1 and Kir3.4) cells. Blocking activity on GIRK channels was exerted by 13 compounds (61-83% at 10 μM), and, among them, five possessed low potency on the hERG channel (4-20% at 10 μM). These selective activities suggest that myrsinane-related diterpenes are potential lead compounds for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.
Open Access: Yes
Effects of environmental and management factors on species and trait composition in arable weed communities
Publication Name: Botanikai Kozlemenyek
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Volume: 103
Issue: 2
Page Range: 249-262
Description:
One of the exciting topics of weed science is to identify the most important ecological and management variables influencing the composition of arable weed communities. This paper reviews the findings of relevant publications from the last 15 years. According to floristic approaches six ecological (altitude, sea-sonality, temperature, precipitation, soil pH, soil texture) and three management variables (crop, preceding crop, degree of intensification) were most often identi-fied as the most important factors determining the species composition of arable weed communities. It can be concluded that there is a general positive correlation between the length of a gradient and its importance. According to functional approaches the most frequent correlations were found between the plant traits of stature, seed size, seed production, germination time, flowering period, life form and some specific variables.
Open Access: Yes
Occurrences of Nanocyperion species in West Hungary - Role of moist plough-lands in conservation
Publication Name: Journal of Plant Diseases and Proctection Supplement
Publication Date: 2008-04-28
Volume: Unknown
Issue: 21
Page Range: 413-417
Description:
In the last decades in Hungary biotopes of Nanocyperion species have been reduced significantly according to the melioration and the declining of pasturing. Owing to the habitat loss more species such as the examined Lindernia procumbens, Eleocharis ovata, Centunculus minimus, Limosella aquatica, Juncus sphaerocarpus and Elatine triandra became endangered all over the country. During the researches site requirements of these species were analysed as well as their connection with the cultivated species and the soil cultivation carried out on the plough-lands. According to our experiences in West Hungary actual occurrences of Lindernia procumbens, Centunculus minimus, Juncus sphaerocarpus and Elatine triandra are related strongly to the plough-lands. Eleocharis ovata and Limosella aquatica occur on plough-lands less frequently, exist mainly on other pioneer moist habitats. It can be established in case of all the 6 examined species that their habitat spectrum has extended by the increasing in the territory of ploughs forming spacious convenient biotopes for these species. © Eugen Ulmer KG.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: DOI not available
Investigation of weed vegetation on wet segetal fields in South-Western Hungary
Publication Name: Journal of Plant Diseases and Proctectio Supplement
Publication Date: 2006-12-01
Volume: Unknown
Issue: 20
Page Range: 567-576
Description:
Inland water on soils with bad water balance can lead to serious yield losses. Soil management and plant protection is nearly impossible in these marshy vernal pools, wherefore very special vegetation develops. On the basis of 58 phytocoenological surveys made in South-Western Hungary the vegetation of the vernal pools will be characterised. From phytosociological point of view our surveys stand to Ranunculo sardoi-Alopecuretum geniculati and Myosuro-Ranunculetum sardoi associations the nearest, where the proportion of Nanocyperion elements is significant. The following endangered species occure in these vernal pools: Elatine alsinastrum, Limosella aquatica, Lindernia procumbens, Montia fontana, Peplis portula. However vernal pools in segetal fields are causing losses from economical aspects, they can contribute to increase agrobiodiversity and have an important role in maintaining numerous threatened and protected plant species (Red Data List, IUCN, Corine Biotopes Project, Bern Convention). © Eugen Ulmer KG.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: DOI not available
First step from an arable weed to a honey crop: Breaking seed dormancy of Stachys annua
Publication Name: Acta Agrobotanica
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: 78
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Stachys annua (L.) L.– a typical annual weed species in stubble fields – was the most important melliferous plant in the Carpathian Basin during the 19th century. The agricultural intensification led to a drastic decline in the species, and previous efforts for its cultivation were unsuccessful due to its unevenly germinating seeds. This study aims to identify an effective method for overcoming the primary seed dormancy of S. annua. In laboratory experiments, we evaluated the effects of moist stratification for 4 weeks (in cold/warm sand) as well as using a gibberellic acid (GA) solution (250 mg/L) on seed germination under two light-temperature regimes (a “constant” regime at 20°C in continuous darkness, and a “fluctuating” regime with 14 h light at 20°C followed by 10 h dark at 10°C). Our results indicate that freshly matured seeds were mostly dormant at maturity. Gibberellic acid has a substantial role in breaking seed dormancy and can help substitute for the cold requirement. The best combination consisted of a GA treatment following a short (4 weeks) warm stratification, which led to a high (98%) germination rate in darkness at 20°C. The results indicate that, under natural circumstances, the seeds of S. annua require a longer period for their primary dormancy to be released. Our findings can establish the basis for the development of a dormancy-breaking technology to achieve uniform germination allowing future cultivation of the plant in bee gardens and arable fields.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.5586/aa/207013
