The purpose of the present work was to estimate the effectiveness of grapefruit extract and Pythium oligandrum in protection of common bean, runner bean and pea from soil-borne pathogenic fungi. The investigated preparations were used for seed dressing and spraying plants at the beginning of anthesis. The results pointed out that the applied products considerably improved emergence, healthiness and yielding of the examined plant species. Besides, Biosept 33 SL showed a better effect than Polyversum. Independently on the species, the fewest plants, with the greatest proportion of infected ones and the smallest yield of seeds were obtained from the untreated control. Alternaria alternata, Fusarium spp., Pythium irregulare, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were frequently isolated from infected roots and stem bases as well as from seeds of bean and pea. Fusarium oxysporum tuned out to be dominant. The proportion of the above listed fungi in the treatments with Biosept 33 SL or Polyversum was smaller than in the control. At the same time, the role of those fungi in infecting the plants of common bean, runner bean and pea treated with Biosept 33 SL was only a little smaller than after using Polyversum.

The influence of bean seed surface lipids on infestation of seeds by Acanthoscelides obtectus Say was investigated. The experiments were performed in dual-choice bioassays on three bean varieties: Blanka, Bor and Longina. The collected data for natural and solvent washed seeds concerned the number of ovipositions, embryo mortality, lack of seed-boring activity, dead larvae inside seeds and developed insects. The results clearly indicated that bean seed surface lipids are involved in all infestation stages, and could be used to distinguish resistant and non-resistant varieties of been. Chemical analyses revealed the following groups of surface lipids: wax esters, long chain primary alcohols, n-alkanes, sterols, fatty acids, squalene, aldehydes, monoacylglycerols, ketones and fatty acid esters. Quantitative composition of surface lipids was analysed using selected chemometric procedures to determine correlation with bioactivity. Cluster analysis of surface lipid composition enabled to distinguish resistant and non-resistant varieties. Fatty acids and monoacylglycerols were found to deter bean weevil infestation, while alkan-1-ols acted as attractants.

Essential oils from four plants , i.e. geranium, rosa, lemon and mint were tested for their activity in vitro and in vivo against Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli, the cause of root rot and wilt of beans. In vitro, they were found to have an inhibitory effect against the mycelial growth of R. solani and F. oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli. Complete inhibition in fungal growth was observed at a concentration of 4% of each essential oil and Topsin M at 400 ppm as well. In greenhouse the four essential oils were tested as seed coating and/or foliar spray. Results of seed coating at a concentration of 1% clearly demonstrate a good protection of emerged bean seeds against invasion of R. solani and F. oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli compared with the fungicide treatment. A similar trend was observed in a lower extent when the essential oils were applied as bean seeds coating followed by seedlings foliar spray under field conditions. Obvious yield increase as bean green pods, in all treatments, was significantly higher than in the control.

Clethodim herbicide (Cle) and three Trichoderma strains (Tri) were applied either alone or in combination (Cle + Tri) for controlling weeds, root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne arenaria) and Rhizoctonia root rot disease (Rhizoctonia solani) as well as for evaluating their effects on total microbial count in the rhizosphere and the number of Rhizobium nodules on roots in two faba bean cultivars cultivated in naturally heavily infested fields. The evaluated characters were very similar for the two tested cultivars (Nubariya 1 and Sakha 3). Treatment with Cle alone highly reduced the fresh and dry matter of tested weeds (Amaranthus viridis, Cynodon dactylon and Cenchrus ciliaris), followed by Cle + Tri and Tri alone. Cle + Tri highly reduced nematode parameters viz. numbers of J2 in soil or roots, females, eggs, galls and egg-masses when compared with each treatment alone. Tri alone caused a great decrease in Rhizoctonia root rot infection, followed by Cle + Tri and Cle alone. Total microbial count and Rhizobium nodules were affected only with Cle treatment. Plant growth parameters (shoot length, shoot fresh and dry weight and numbers of branches and leaves) and yield parameters (fresh pod and dry weight, seed number per pod, seed weight and ash pod weight of plant) were greatly improved for Cle + Tri treatments when compared with either Tri or Cle alone.