Project goals

1. To determine the germination dynamics of ragweed treated with different concentrations of phenolic acids (in vitro).

2. To determine the inhibition of physiological processes in Ambrosia artemisiifolia plants foliar-treated with phenolic acids using destructive (content of

individual and total carotenoids, phenols, and antioxidant activity) and non-destructive (vegetation indices, chlorophyll fluorescence) methods.

3. To determine the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentrations of phenolic acids on beneficial microbiota, as well as the minimum insecticidal concentration of phenolic acids on beneficial soil fauna (in vitro and in situ).

4. To select the dose of each individual phenolic acid and their mixtures in combination with a single dose of the investigated herbicides (synergism/antagonism) (in vitro).

5. To determine the dose of six herbicides required for Ambrosia artemisiifolia control (ED90), followed by determining the ED90 for each herbicide in combination with the selected dose of phenolic acids.

6. To investigate the selectivity of the selected combination of reduced herbicide doses and phenolic acids against maize, soybean, and beneficial soil microbiota and fauna.