The studies were carried out in Wielkopolska region (western Poland) in oat and winter rye cultures. Density and species structure of Thysanoptera were studied. Average density of adult Thysanoptera on oat reached 371.4 individuals/m², and was higher than on rye, where it reached 107.5 individuals/m². Limothrips cerealium Haliday was a dominant species on oat as well as on winter rye.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important diseases that occurs in cereal regions worldwide and causes serious economic damage. This disease can be caused by several Fusarium species with Fusarium graminearum sensu stricto being the most common pathogen isolated from several crops. The aim of this study was to report the occurrence of F. graminearum sensu stricto on rye grains collected from field samples in Argentina and to determine the potential ability to produce deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) and zearalenone (ZEA). Based on morphological characteristics, the isolate was identified as F. graminearum sensu stricto. To confirm molecularly, portions of the RED and TRI genes were sequenced and showed 99% similarity with the F. graminearum sensu stricto sequences available in the NCBI database. The potential to produce DON, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON) and ZEA was determined. Moreover, Koch´s postulates were carried out. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. graminearum sensu stricto associated with rye kernels in Argentina.

The fertilizing value of rye, potato and molasses decoctions was evaluated in a microplot experiment, in which maize and turnip were used as testing plants. Based on the analysis of chemical composition of decoctions it was found that these decoctions used as fertilizing material were unbalanced with respect to their N, Pand K contents. The potato decoction is characterized by the most favourable N:K ratio from the point of view of the nutritional requirements of plants. The rye decoction contains too little potassium and that from molasses - too much of this element in relation to N content. The use of the molasses decoction in fertilizing is possible after its correction with phosphorus. The rye decoction requires correction with potassium for appropriate use in fertilization. In addition, application of the decoctions studied caused an increase in the organic C and total N contents in soil and improvements in the sorption properties of soil. The molasses decoction caused a decrease in the available forms of P in soil. The decoctions applied in experiments considerably increased yields and nutrient content in plants studied, both in the direct and after- effect.

The object of the studies conducted in the years 2000–2002 on a field of 3 years’ monoculture of soybean was rhizosphere soil of soybean cultivated after tansy phacelia, winter wheat, white mustard, rye, agrimony and soybean as previous crops. The purpose of the studies was to determine the effect of cultivating the above listed previous crop plants on the formation of microorganism communities in the rhizosphere soil of soybean. The lowest total number of fungal colonies was found in the rhizosphere soil of soybean cultivated after rye and winter wheat (21.09 × 10³ and 22.58 × 10³ c. f. u., respectively), while the highest number was found in soil after soybean (36.95 × 10³ c. f. u.). The highest total number of bacteria was found in 1 g of dr yweight of the rhizosphere soil of so ybean cultivated after agrimony, and the lowest after soybean (5.80 × 10⁶ and 4.09 × 10⁶ c. f. u., respectively). The largest proportion of pathogenic fungi was characteristic of the rhizosphere soil of soybean cultivated after soybean, and the smallest – of the rhizosphere soil of soybean after agrimony as a previous crop. The dominating species among pathogenic fungi in all experimental objects was Fusarium oxysporum. The rhizosphere soil of soybean cultivated after soybean was the poorest in saprophytic fungi (35.2% of all isolations). On the other hand, the highest number of saprophytes, including antagonistic ones, was found in the rhizosphere soil of soybean after agrimony and winter wheat.

Rye is an important crop widely cultivated in Europe, but one of the hardest to improve due to its allogamy and self-incompatibility. The market for rye-based products is constantly growing thanks to the popularity of organic farming, feed production and diverse industry applications. To address these demands, new highly productive hybrid rye varieties are needed. Currently, full potential of heterosis in rye breeding is hard to reach due to the limited success in in vitro cultures. This review summarizes the progress in rye in vitro cultures and proposes novel approaches to overcome recalcitrance in this species.