PINOCEMBRIN DIHYDROCHALCONE AND COMPOSITIONS THEREIN AND THEIR USE AS PESTICIDES

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of priority to Italian Patent Application No. 102019000022740 filed December 2, 2019.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates in general to the use of a compound having fungicidal and bactericidal properties in agriculture.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Plant pests and diseases represent major challenges to productivity in modern agriculture.

[0004] Fusarium spp. is a large genus of filamentous fungi belonging to phylogenetic lineage of Ascomycetes. Many species of Fusarium are pathogenic to plants and cause serious diseases like wilt or 'rot' of economically important plants mostly vegetables. In addition, Fusarium species infects cereals causing head blight and ear rot in maize and cause mycotoxins to accumulate under certain conditions (J.E.E. Jenkins, Y.S. Clark and A.E. Buckle, 1998).

[0005] Soil-borne plant pathogens cause crucial damage to agricultural crops. The phytopathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia spp. belongs to the phylogenetic lineage of Basidiomycetes and causes a wide range of commercially significant plant diseases, such as brown patch, damping off in seedlings, root rot and belly rot. All Rhizoctonia diseases in plants, and subsequent secondary infections, are difficult to control (Erlacher et al., 2014). Adequate control of Rhizoctonia spp. is crucial for productivity of various agricultural crops such as rice and various vegetables.

[0006] Pythium spp. is a phytopathogenic fungus-like organism which belongs to the phylogenetic lineage of eukaryotic microorganisms called Oomycetes which causes the widespread "damping off" disease of tobacco, tomato, mustard, chilies and cress seedlings (Martin & Loper, 2010).

[0007] Sclerotinia spp. is a plant pathogenic fungus belonging to the phylogenetic lineage of Ascomycetes. Sclerotinia spp. causes disease called white mold in many plant hosts, most of them vegetables (ANR publication 8042. Sclerotinia diseases - ISBN 978-1-60107-220-7).

[0008] Pectobacterium carotovorum is a bacterial plant pathogen belonging to the phylogenetic lineage of Gamma Proteobacteria that causes soft rot disease in many vegetables (cabbage, potato, onion, radish, etc.) during cultivation, transportation and storage, resulting in considerable economic damage mainly during post-harvest storage (Lee et al., 2013).

[0009] Pseudomonas spp. is a plant pathogenic bacterial genus also belonging to the phylogenetic lineage of Gamma Proteobacteria. Pseudomonas spp. causes leaf and stem lesions in economically significant crops plants and orchards such as: pith necrosis in parsnip and tomato, brown blotch and leaf sheath brown rot in rice, bacterial canker in almonds and olive knot disease in olives (Moore L.W., 1988; Hofte M. and De Vos P., 2006). A variety of methods have been tested for the management of Pseudomonas spp. in crop plants including cultural management, host resistance, biological control with microbial antagonists, and chemical control. None of them gives full control.

[0010] The number of available active ingredients for crop protection purposes against these diseases is diminishing from year to year due to increasing pest resistance, erratic climatic conditions and mounting regulatory pressure. New active ingredients based on novel chemical molecules represent a promising avenue for development of crop protection solutions.

[0011] Sato et al. (Phytochemistry 1995, 38, 491-493) disclose the synthesis of pinocembrine dihydrochalcone and its moderate antimicrobial activity against Pseudoperonospora cubensis, Botrytis cinerea and Puccinia recondita.SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0012] In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for controlling, preventing, reducing or eradicating plant-pathogen infestation or instances thereof, on a plant, plant organ, plant part, or plant propagation material, the method comprising: applying to a plant, plant organ or plant propagation material, or to the soil surrounding said plant, a pesticidal effective amount of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone or a pesticide composition comprising a pesticidally effective amount of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone as defined in any one of the below mentioned embodiments, wherein said plant-pathogen is a member selected from Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pseudomonas syringae, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and Rhizoctonia solani.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] Figs. 1-3 show effect of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone (PDC) on cucumber seedlings survival in 3 independent experiments determined as survival percentage three weeks following inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum. * means that p-value <0.05, ** means that p-value is <0.01, *** means that p-value is <0.001. Formulation 3 - see Example 7.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] It has been found in accordance with the present invention that pinocembrin dihydrochalcone is a potent pesticide against two genera of the family Sclerotiniaceae; a Peronosporales of the family Pythiaceae; a Basidiomycota of the class Agaricomycetes; and two different orders of Gamma Proteobacteria.

[0015] The CAS registry identifies pinocembrin dihydrochalcone as 3-phenyl-1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)propan-1-one, having also the following synonyms: 1-Propanone, 3-phenyl-1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl), 3-Phenyl-1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-1-propanone, and 2',4',6'-Trihydroxydihydrochalcone. The CAS registry number is: 1088-08-0.

[0016] Thus, the present invention, in one aspect, is directed to a method for controlling, preventing, reducing or eradicating plant-pathogen infestation or instances thereof, on a plant, plant organ, plant part, or plant propagation material, the method comprising: applying to a plant, plant organ or plant propagation material, or to the soil surrounding said plant, a pesticidal effective amount of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone or a pesticide composition comprising a pesticidally effective amount of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone as defined in any one of the below mentioned embodiments, wherein said plant-pathogen is a member selected from Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pseudomonas syringae, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and Rhizoctonia solani.

[0017] In certain embodiments, the pesticide composition further comprises an agriculturally suitable or acceptable solvent or solubilizing agent.

[0018] In certain embodiments, the agriculturally acceptable solvent or solubilizing agent is a water-miscible solvent capable of dissolving or solubilizing pinocembrin dihydrochalcone.

[0019] In certain embodiments, the water-miscible solvent capable of dissolving or solubilizing pinocembrin dihydrochalcone is a polar solvent, such as an alcohol, a ketone, a lactone, a keto-alcohol, a glycol, a glycoether, an amide, an alkanolamine, a sulfoxide and a pyrolidone.

[0020] In some embodiments, the composition further comprises a nonionic surfactant. Non-limiting examples of this surfactant are polysorbate-type surfactants such as TWEEN ®< 20, TWEEN ®< 40, TWEEN ®< 60 and TWEEN ®< 80, or poly-ethylene-oxide-ether surfactants such as BRIJ ®< 35, BRIJ ®< 58 and BRIJ ®< 93.

[0021] In particular embodiments, the composition comprises a solvent selected from dimethylsulfoxide or ethanol, and a polysorbate-type nonionic surfactant that is TWEEN ®< 20 (polysorbate 20).

[0022] The method of treatment of the present invention is useful for example against diseases like wilt or 'rot; head blight and ear rot in maize; brown patch; root rot and belly rot; damping off" disease of tobacco, tomato, mustard, chilies and cress seedlings; white mold in many plant hosts, such as vegetables; soft rot disease in many vegetables (cabbage, potato, onion, radish, etc); pith necrosis in parsnip and tomato; brown blotch and leaf sheath brown rot in rice, bacterial canker in almonds; and olive knot disease in olive.

[0023] In certain embodiments, the plant-pathogen is a member of the genus Fusarium, namely according to the invention it is Fusarium oxysporum.

[0024] In certain embodiments, the plant-pathogen is a member of the genus Sclerotinia, namely according to the invention it is Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

[0025] In certain embodiments, the plant-pathogen is a member of the family Pythiaceae, more specifically of the genus Pythium, namely according to the invention it is Pythium aphanidermatum.

[0026] In certain embodiments, the plant-pathogen is a member of the family Ceratobasidiaceae, more specifically of the genus Rhizoctonia, namely according to the invention it is Rhizoctonia solani.

[0027] In certain embodiments, the plant-pathogen is a member of the order Pseudomonadales, more specifically of the family Pseudomonadaceae, more specifically of the genus Pseudomonas, namely according to the invention it is Pseudomonas syringae.

[0028] In certain embodiments, the plant pathogen is a member of the order Enterobacterales, more specifically of the family Pectobacteriaceae, more specifically of the genus Pectobacterium, namely according to the invention it is Pectobacterium carotovorum.

[0029] The pesticide composition may be formulated into a formulation to facilitate application of the active pesticidal ingredient.

[0030] None limiting examples of the formulation may be a suspension concentrate (SC), a capsule suspension (CS), water-dispersable granules (WG), an emulsifiable concentrate (EC), a wettable powder (WP), a soluble (liquid) concentrate (SL), and a soluble powder (SP).

[0031] This formulation may further comprise at least one solvent or solubilizing agent, adjuvant, carrier, diluent, and / or surfactant.

[0032] Non-limiting examples of adjuvants are activator adjuvants, such as cationic, anionic or nonionic surfactants, oils and nitrogen-based fertilizers capable of improving activity of the pesticide product. Oils may be crop oils, such as paraffin or naptha-based petroleum oil, crop oil concentrates based on emulsifiable petroleum-based oil, and vegetable oil concentrates derived from seed oil, usually cotton, linseed, soybean, or sunflower oil, used to control grassy weeds. Nitrogen-based fertilizers may be ammonium sulfate or urea-ammonium nitrate.

[0033] Non-limiting examples of solubilizing agents or solvents are petroleum-based solvents, the aforementioned oils, liquid mixtures of fatty acids, ethanol, glycerol and dimethyl sulfoxide. The agriculturally acceptable solvent or solubilizing agent may be a water-miscible solvent capable of dissolving or solubilizing pinocembrin dihydrochalcone, such as a polar solvent, e.g. an alcohol, a ketone, a lactone, a keto-alcohol, a glycol, a glycoether, an amide, an alkanolamine, a sulfoxide and a pyrolidone.

[0034] Non-limiting examples of carriers are precipitated silica, colloidal silica, attapulgite, china clay, talc, kaolin and combinations thereof.

[0035] The pesticide formulation may further comprise a diluent, such as lactose, starch, urea, water soluble inorganic salts and combination thereof.

[0036] The pesticide formulation may further comprise one or more surfactants, such as polysorbate-type nonionic surfactant, styrene acrylic dispersant polymers, acid resin copolymer based dispersing agents, potassium polycarboxylate, sodium alkyl naphthalene sulfonate blend, sodium diisopropylnaphthalenesulfonate, sodium salt of naphthalene sulfonate condensate, lignin sulfonate salts and combinations thereof.

[0037] Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone or the composition or formulation comprising it, may be applied in the method of any one of the above embodiments to the plant or part, organ or plant propagation material thereof by spraying, immersing, dressing, coating, pelleting or soaking.

[0038] According to certain embodiments of the invention, the concentration of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in the composition or formulation comprising it may be in the range of 10-2000 parts per million (ppm; 1 ppm equals 1 mg of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone per kg when in dry form or 1 mg / L in liquid form).

[0039] In certain embodiments, the concentration of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in the composition or formulation comprising it may be in the range of 10-2000, 10-1500, 10-1000, 10-900, 10-800, 10-700, 10-600, 10-500, 10-400, 10-300, 10-200, 10-100, 10-90, 10-80, 10-70, 10-60, 10-50, 10-40, 10-30, 10-20, 20-2000, 20-1500, 20-1000, 20-900, 20-800, 20-700, 20-600, 20-500, 20-400, 20-300, 20-200, 20-100, 20-90, 20-80, 20-70, 20-60, 20-50, 20-40, 20-30, 20-20. 30-2000, 30-1500, 30-1000, 30-900, 30-800, 30-700, 30-600, 30-500, 30-400, 30-300, 30-200, 30-100, 30-0, 30-100, 30-90, 30-80, 30-70, 30-60, 30-50, 30-40, 40-2000, 40-1500, 40-1000, 40-900, 40-800, 40-700, 40-600, 40-500, 40-400, 40-300, 40-200, 40-100, 40-90, 40-80, 40-70, 40-60, 40-50, 50-2000, 50-1500, 50-1000, 50-900, 50-800, 50-700, 50-600, 50-500, 50-400, 50-300, 50-200, 50-100, 50-90, 50-80, 50-70, 50-60, 60-2000, 60-1500, 60-1000, 60-900, 60-800, 60-700, 60-600, 60-500, 60-400, 60-300, 60-200, 60-100, 60-90, 60-80, 60-70, 70-2000, 70-1500, 70-1000, 70-900, 70-800, 70-700, 70-600, 70-500, 70-400, 70-300, 70-200, 70-100, 70-90, 70-80, 80-2000, 80-1500, 80-1000, 80-900, 80-800, 80-700, 80-600, 80-500, 80-400, 80-300, 80-200, 80-100, 80-90, 90-2000, 90-1500, 90-1000, 90-900, 90-800, 90-700, 90-600, 90-500, 90-400, 90-300, 90-200, 90-100, 100-2000, 100-1500, 100-1000, 100-900, 100-800, 100-700, 100-600, 100-500, 100-400, 100-300, 100-200, 200-2000, 200-1500, 200-1000, 200-900, 200-800, 200-700, 200-600, 200-500, 200-400, 200-300, 300-2000, 300-1500, 300-1000, 300-900, 300-800, 300-700, 300-600, 300-500, 300-400, 400-2000, 400-1500, 400-1000, 400-900, 400-800, 400-700, 400-600, 400-500, 500-2000, 500-1500, 500-1000, 500-900, 500-800, 500-700, 500-600, 600-2000, 600-1500, 600-1000, 600-900, 600-800, 600-700, 700-2000, 700-1500, 700-1000, 700-900, 700-800, 800-2000, 800-1500, 800-1000, 800-900, 900-2000, 900-1500, 900-1000, 1000-2000, or 1000-1500 ppm.

[0040] In particular, the concentration of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in the composition or formulation comprising it may be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, 380, 390, 400, 410, 420, 430, 440, 450, 460, 470, 480, 490, 500, 1000, 1500 or 2000 ppm.Definitions

[0041] The term "pesticide" as used herein refers to a compounds effective for controlling, preventing, reducing or eradicating plant-pathogen infestation or instances thereof, on a plant, plant organ, plant part, plant propagation material or the soil surrounding said plant and includes antibacterial agents, fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides.

[0042] The term "active pesticidal ingredient" as herein refers to a compound that is effective as a pesticide.

[0043] The term "plant organ" as used herein refers to the leaf, stem, root, and reproductive structures.

[0044] The term "plant part" as used herein refers to a vegetative plant material such as a cutting or a tuber; a leaf, flower, bark or a stem.

[0045] The term "plant propagation material" as used herein refers to a seed, root, fruit, tuber, bulb, rhizome, or part of a plant.

[0046] The term "pesticidal effective amount" as used herein refers to an amount of the pesticide that is effective for controlling, preventing, reducing or eradicating plant-pathogen infestation or instances thereof, on a plant, plant organ, plant part, plant propagation material or the soil surrounding said plant.

[0047] The terms "class", "order", "family", "genus", and "species" are used herein according to Art 3.1 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.

[0048] The term "comprising", used in the claims, is "open ended" and means the elements recited, or their equivalent in structure or function, plus any other element or elements which are not recited. It should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It needs to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a composition comprising x and z" should not be limited to compositions consisting only of compounds x and z. Also, the scope of the expression "a method comprising the steps x and z" should not be limited to methods consisting only of these steps.

[0049] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and / or clarity.

[0050] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers used in this specification are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about". Unless specifically stated, as used herein, the term "about" is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within two standard deviations of the mean. In one embodiment, the term "about" means within 10% of the reported numerical value of the number with which it is being used, preferably within 5% of the reported numerical value. For example, the term "about" can be immediately understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. In other embodiments, the term "about" can mean a higher tolerance of variation depending on for instance the experimental technique used. Said variations of a specified value are understood by the skilled person and are within the context of the present invention. As an illustration, a numerical range of "about 1 to about 5" should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but also include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3, and 4 and sub-ranges, for example from 1-3, from 2-4, and from 3-5, as well as 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, individually. This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value as a minimum or a maximum. Unless otherwise clear from context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term "about". Other similar terms, such as "substantially", "generally", "up to" and the like are to be construed as modifying a term or value such that it is not an absolute. Such terms will be defined by the circumstances and the terms that they modify as those terms are understood by those of skilled in the art. This includes, at very least, the degree of expected experimental error, technical error and instrumental error for a given experiment, technique or an instrument used to measure a value.

[0051] The invention will now be illustrated by the following non-limiting Examples.EXAMPLES List of abbreviations:

[0052] RPM -Revolutions per minute RCF -Relative centrifugal force CFU -Colony forming unit PDBC -Potato dextrose broth with 20 µg / ml chloramphenicol PDAC -Potato dextrose agar with 20 µg / ml chloramphenicol PDATPotato dextrose agar with 12 µg / ml tetracycline DMSO -Dimethyl sulfoxide LB -Lysogeny broth LBA -Lysogeny broth with agar SCH -Schmittner medium 2:PDBC -PDBC diluted 2 fold by sterile distilled water PDA -Potato dextrose agar PDBT -Potato dextrose broth with 12 µg / ml tetracycline Example 1. Microplate based assay of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone bioactivity against Fusarium oxysporum Summary:

[0053] Diluted purified pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was added to microplate wells and mixed with freshly prepared spore suspension and growth of the fungus, starting from frozen spores, was monitored by plate reader and visual inspection.Background:

[0054] Fusarium is a fungus of belonging to the Ascomycetes, and it is a soil borne pathogen. It is quite easy to produce large amounts of spores of Fusarium, and they survive in liquid 60% glycerol at -20°C, that led to decision to use frozen spores' stock in this screening rather than prepare fresh spores for each experiment.Aim:

[0055] To determine the effect of different compounds on the survival and growth of Fusarium.

[0056] The following Materials, methods and equipment were used: Materials: PDAC (Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), PDBC (Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), DMSO (J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US). Equipment: Plate reader, Centrifuge, Shaker, Incubator Method: Fusarium spore suspension preparation:

[0057] 1) Put agar block of growing fusarium on PDAC in the middle of a PDAC plate and grow for 9 days at 25°C. 2) Chill the plate in the fridge for at least 1h. 3) Add 30ml of fridge cold, sterile, 60% glycerol solution to the 50ml tube. 4) Cut the agar with the hyphae and spores, from one plate, to small pieces, by scalpel, and insert them into the 50ml tube with 30ml 60% glycerol. 5) Shake for 1min at 3000 RPM. 6) Keep spores on ice during the whole process. 7) Transfer the liquid to a new 50ml sterile tube - about 25ml should be recovered. 8) Filter the spore suspension through 16 layer of gauze cloth directly into a clean sterile 50 ml tube to discard the hyphae. 9) Calculate the spore concentration (count X10 dilution at 40X10 magnification) and dilute by cold sterile 60% glycerol solution to get 2X10 5< spores / ml. 10) Aliquot 1ml of spore suspension into 1.5ml tubes - each aliquot should yield 20 plates for screening. 11) Store the spore suspension at -20°C. Spore suspension preparation for screening:

[0058] 1) Take 1ml frozen spore suspension from the freezer and thaw it on ice. 2) Mix 200µl spore suspension with 20ml fridge cold PDBC in a 50ml tube to make 2000 spores / ml suspension. 3) Use this amount to screening of 4 microplates with 100 spores per well. Microplate preparation for screening experiment:

[0059] 1) Take a stock solution of purified 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in DMSO from the freezer and thaw it on the bench. 2) Take 1ul of the stock solution of 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone and dilute up to 250ppm with 39µl of water. 3) 3) Take 10µl of the diluted (250ppm) Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone solution into the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 4) 4) Add 40µl of vigorously mixed spore suspension inoculum to the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 5) Seal the plate with transparent sealer. 6) Shake the plate for 10min at 2000RPM to mix the materials with the hyphae suspension. 7) Centrifuge the plate at 1000RCF for 1s and stop to collect the liquid at the bottom of the plate. 8) Keep the microplate on the bench until it is read by the plate reader. 9) Read the plate using the plate reader. 10) Collect the plates on the bench. 11) Insert collected plates to a plastic box with cloth cover and put the box in the incubator at 25°C. Readout of the plates:

[0060] 1) Collect the readout of the plate at 3 more dates: 3d, 7d, 14d and 21d following the assay start. 2) Calculate the difference of absorbance between each readout and the readout at zero time. 3) Calculate the percentage of growth inhibition of each well at each time course. Use the results of the DMSO treatment, of the control plate as 100% growth. 4) Results: Please see Example 7. Example 2. Microplate based assay of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone bioactivity against Rhizoctonia Solani Summary:

[0061] Diluted purified pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was added to microplate wells and mixed with 50µl of hyphae suspension and growth of the fungus starting from blended hyphae was monitored by plate reader and visual inspection.

[0062] The following materials, methods and equipment were used: Materials: PDAC (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), PDBC (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), DMSO (from J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US) Equipment: Plate reader, Centrifuge, Shaker, Incubator Method: Inoculum preparation of Rhizoctonia solani hyphae:

[0063] 1) Grow Rhizoctonia on PDAC in 90mm petri plates to get growing hyphae within 1-4 days. 2) Add 50 ml of PDBC medium into a sterile 250ml Erlenmeyer flask. 3) Cut the solid medium by scalpel to several small pieces and insert them into the Erlenmeyer flask. 4) Grow the culture for 2-4 days using shaker at 27°C and 150RPM. 5) Discard the liquid and pour the hyphae in an empty Petri dish. 6) Cut many small pieces from the hyphae using a scalpel and insert them into a sterile 250ml Erlenmeyer flask with 50 ml of PDBC medium. 7) Prepare 4 bottles with culture and grow for 3 days at 27°C shaking at 150RPM. 8) Chill the culture in the fridge for 1h. 9) Pour the cold culture into a 250 ml beaker. 10) Add 20ml of cold PDBC. 11) Blend the culture with a blender for 2 min on ice at maximum speed, move the blender up and down several times. 12) Keep the mixture on ice. 13) Transfer about 5ml of the blended mixture into a 15 ml tube on ice. 14) Homogenize the culture in the 15 ml tube for 2 min on ice. 15) Homogenize several batches of 5ml as above to prepare the amount that is needed (5ml of homogenized culture would make about 100 ml of inoculum). 16) Dilute a portion of the homogenate 10-fold to check the concentration of the homogenate. The concentration of the suspension should be 4X10 4< CFU / ml (diluted 10-fold concentration should be 4000 CFU / ml). 17) Dilute the inoculum stock 1:20 in PDBC - 1ml in 20ml, or calculate the dilution needed, to prepare final concentration of 2000 CFU / ml. The amount in each well should be 100 CFU. Microplate preparation for activity experiment:

[0064] 1) Take a stock solution of purified 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in DMSO from the freezer and thaw it on the bench. 2) Take 1µl of stock solution of 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone and dilute up to 250ppm with 39µl of water. 3) Take 10µl of the diluted (250ppm) Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone solution into the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 4) Add 40µl of vigorously mixed spore suspension inoculum to the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 5) Seal the plate with transparent sealer. 6) Shake the plate for 10min at 2000RPM to mix the pinocembrin dihydrochalcone with the hyphae suspension. 7) Centrifugate the plate at 1000RCF for 1s and stop to collect the liquid at the bottom of the plate. 8) Keep the microplate on the bench until it is read by the plate reader. 9) Read the plate using the plate reader. 10) Collect the plates on the bench. 11) Insert collected plates to a plastic box with cloth cover and put the box in the incubator at 27°C. Screening of plates:

[0065] 1) Screen plate at 3 more dates: 3d, 7d, 14d and 21d following the assay start. 2) Calculate the difference of absorbance between each screen and the read at zero time. 3) Calculate the percentage of growth inhibition of each well at each time point. Use the results of the DMSO treatment of the control plate as 100% growth. 4) Results: Please see Example 7. Example 3. Microplate based assay of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone bioactivity against Pythium aphanidermatum Summary:

[0066] Diluted purified pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was added to microplate wells and mixed with 50µl of zoospores in PDBC suspension and the growth of the fungus, starting from zoospores, was monitored by plate reader and visual inspection.

[0067] The following Materials, methods and equipment were used:Materials:

[0068] SCH, PDBC (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), DMSO (from J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US)Equipment:

[0069] Plate reader, Centrifuge, Shaker, IncubatorMethod: Inoculum preparation of Pythium hyphae:

[0070] 1) Grow Pythium aphanidermatum on SCH in 90mm petri plates to get sporulating hyphae. Each plate will produce 50ml of zoospores suspension which will yield ten 96-well plates. 2) Add 60 ml of sterile H 2 O into a sterile 250ml Erlenmeyer flask. 3) Cut the solid medium of 2 plates by scalpel to 12 pieces (each plate) and insert them into the Erlenmeyer flask (the solid pieces should be covered by the water). 4) Let the hyphae sporulate overnight at 17°C. 5) Shake the Erlenmeyer flask by hand to suspend the zoospores. 6) Filter the suspension into 50ml tube through 16-layer gauze. 7) Transfer the suspension into a sterile 500ml bottle. 8) Discard the solids and disinfect the Erlenmeyer flask with hypochlorite. 9) Chill the zoospore suspension on ice. 10) Evaluate the zoospores concentration in the suspension (the concentration should be in the range of 1000 - 4000 spores / ml). 11) Dilute the suspension by sterile fridge cold distilled H 2 O in a sterile 500ml bottle if needed. 12) Add the same volume (as the suspension) sterile fridge cold 2-fold concentrated PDBC to get 500 - 2000 spores / ml inoculum. This dilution will result in the amount of 25 - 100 zoospores in each well. 13) Keep the zoospore suspension inoculum on ice. Microplate preparation for activity experiment:

[0071] 1) Take a stock solution of purified 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in DMSO from the freezer and thaw it on the bench. 2) Take 1µl of stock solution of 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone and dilute up to 250ppm with 39µl of water. 3) Take 10µl of the diluted (250ppm) Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone solution into the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 4) Add 40µl of vigorously mixed spore suspension inoculum to the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 5) Seal the plate with transparent sealer. 6) Shake the plate for 10min at 2000RPM to mix the pinocembrin dihydrochalcone with the hyphae suspension. 7) Centrifugate the plate at 1000RCF for 1s and stop to collect the liquid at the bottom of the plate. 8) Keep the microplate on the bench until it is read by the plate reader. 9) Read the plate using the plate reader. 10) Collect the plates on the bench. 11) Insert collected plates to a plastic box with cloth cover and put the box in the incubator at 27°C. Screening of plates:

[0072] 1) Read out the plate at 3 more dates: 3d, 7d, 14d and 21d following the assay start. 2) Calculate the difference of absorbance between each readout and the readout at zero time. 3) Calculate the percentage of growth inhibition of each well at each time point. Use the results of the DMSO treatment of the control plate as 100% growth. 4) Results: Please see Example 7. Example 4. Microplate based assay of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone bioactivity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Summary:

[0073] Diluted purified pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was added to microplate wells and mixed with 50ul of hyphae suspension and growth of the fungus starting from blended hyphae was monitored by visual inspection.Background:

[0074] Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a fungus of belonging to the Ascomycetes and it is a soil borne pathogen. It is difficult to produce large amounts of spores of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, that led to decision to use hyphae in this screening rather than spores for inoculation.

[0075] The following materials, methods and equipment were used: Materials: PDAC (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), PDBC (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), DMSO (from J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US)

[0076] PDBC (PDB is from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US; chloramphenicol is from Alfa Aesar, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), PDA (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), PDAT (PDA is from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US; tetracycline is from Alfa Aesar, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), PDBT (PDB is from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US; tetracycline is from Alfa Aesar, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), DMSO (from J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US) Equipment: Centrifuge, Shaker, Incubator Methods: Inoculum preparation of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum hyphae:

[0077] 1) Grow Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on PDA in tube at 21°C for 4 days. 2) Transfer agar block and grow Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on PDAT in 90mm Petri dishes at 21°C to get growing hyphae within 3 days. 3) Add 50 ml of PDBT medium into a sterile 250ml square flask. 4) Cut the solid medium by scalpel to 15 very small pieces (1X5mm) and insert them into the square flask. 5) Grow the culture for 2 days using shaker at 21°C and 130RPM. 6) Discard the liquid and pour the hyphae on an empty Petri dish. 7) Cut many small pieces from the hyphae (avoid using the agar pieces) using a scalpel and insert them into a sterile 250ml square flask containing 50 ml of PDBT medium. 8) Grow for 2 days at 21°C, shaking at 130RPM to get fast growing dispersed hyphae. 9) Chill the culture in the fridge for 1 hour. 10) Pour the cold culture into a 50 ml tube. 11) Keep the mixture on ice. 12) Transfer about 5ml of the blended mixture into a 15 ml tube on ice. 13) Homogenize the culture in the 15 ml tube for 2 min on ice. 14) Homogenize several batches of 5ml as above to prepare the amount that is needed (5ml of homogenized culture would make about 50 ml of inoculum). 15) Dilute a portion of the homogenate 10-fold to check the concentration of the homogenate. the concentration of the suspension should be 2X10 4< CFU / ml (diluted 10-fold concentration should be 2000 CFU / ml). 16) Dilute the inoculum stock 1:10 in PDBC - 2ml in 20ml, or calculate the dilution needed, to prepare final concentration of 2000 CFU / ml. The final number of hyphae should be 100 CFU in each well. Microplate preparation for activity experiment:

[0078] 1) Take a stock solution of purified 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in DMSO from the freezer and thaw it on the bench. 2) Take 1µl of stock solution of 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone and dilute up to 250ppm with 39µl of water. 3) Take 10µl of the diluted (250ppm) Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone solution into the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 4) Add 40µl of vigorously mixed spore suspension inoculum to the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 5) Seal the plate with transparent sealer. 6) Shake the plate for 10min at 2000RPM to mix the pinocembrin dihydrochalcone with the hyphae suspension. 7) Centrifuge the plate at 1000RCF for 1s and stop to collect the liquid at the bottom of the plate. 8) Collect the plates on the bench until all microplates are ready for incubation. 9) Insert microplates into a plastic box and put the box in the incubator at 21°C. Screening of plates:

[0079] 1) Screen plate at 5 dates: 4, 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation. 2) Use a lamp for visual assessment of compounds effect on fungal growth overtime. 3) Screen plates after removing their cover, if there is liquid on the cover (from inside) evaporate the liquid by a heated block at 60°C. 4) Compare the hyphal growth of each well to the hyphal growth of the control plate wells (wells containing active fungicides or 0.5%DMSO solution). 5) Write the results on a special form: clear well = 3 (no growth of hyphae), normal hyphal structure = 1 (normal growth), inconclusive = 2 (solid structure of unexpected type, or partial cover of the area). 6) Results: Please see Example 7. Example 5. Microplate based assay of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone bioactivity against Pseudomonas syringae Summary:

[0080] Diluted purified pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was added to microplate wells and mixed with 100ul of frozen bacteria suspension and growth of the bacteria was monitored by visual inspection.Background:

[0081] Pseudomonas is a rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium. Frozen bacteria stock of 60% glycerol is used as an inoculum for the screening experiment.

[0082] The following materials, methods and equipment were used: Materials: LB (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), LBA (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), DMSO (from J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US) Equipment: Centrifuge, Shaker, Incubator Method: Pseudomonas suspension preparation:

[0083] 1) Grow Pseudomonas on LBA plates at 28°C for 2 days to get a single colony. 2) Transfer a single colony using a sterile toothpick into a 50ml sterile tube containing 5ml LB and grow for 24 at 28°C and 150 RPM. 3) Chill the tube in the fridge for 1h. 4) Add 7.5ml of fridge cold, sterile, glycerol solution to the tube to get 60% glycerol solution. 5) Mix well but gently. 6) Aliquot 100µl of bacteria suspension in 60% glycerol into 1.5ml tubes. 7) Store the bacteria suspension in 60% glycerol at -20°C. Pseudomonas suspension preparation for screening:

[0084] 1) Take 1.5 ml tube with 100ul frozen Pseudomonas suspension from the freezer and thaw it on ice. 2) Prepare in the hood 50ml tubes with 40ml fridge cold LB. 3) Mix 40µl of bacteria suspension with 40 ml fridge cold LB in a 50ml tube. This amount is enough for activity screening of 10 microplates. 4) Use this suspension for screening experiments. Microplate preparation for activity experiment:

[0085] 1) Take a stock solution of purified 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in DMSO from the freezer and thaw it on the bench. 2) Take 1µl of stock solution of 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone and dilute up to 250ppm with 39µl of water. 3) Take 10µl of the diluted (250ppm) Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone solution into the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 4) Add 40µl of vigorously mixed bacterial suspension inoculum to the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 5) Seal the plate with transparent sealer. 6) Shake the plate for 10min at 2000RPM to mix the Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone with the bacteria suspension. 7) Centrifugate the plate at 1000RCF for 1s and stop to collect the liquid at the bottom of the plate. 8) Insert the plates to a plastic box with cover and put the box in the incubator at 28°C. Screening of microplates:

[0086] 1) Screen the microplate at 5 dates: 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation. 2) Use a lamp to visually evaluate the bacterial growth. 3) Prepare plates for screening: shake plate at 2000 RPM for 2min to suspend the bacteria and then centrifuge plate at 1000RCF for a few seconds. 4) Screen the microplates after removing their cover. 5) Compare the transparency of each well to the transparency of the control wells (wells containing control bactericide or 0.5% DMSO solution). Write the results on a special form: clear=3 (no growth of bacteria), turbid=1(normal bacterial growth), inconclusive=2 (very low turbidity compared to growth in 0.5% DMSO solution). 6) Results: Please see Example 7. Example 6. Microplate based assay of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone bioactivity against Pectobacterium carotovorum Summary:

[0087] Diluted purified pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was added to microplate wells and mixed with 50µl of frozen bacteria suspension and growth of the bacteria was monitored by visual inspection.Background:

[0088] Pectobacterium carotovorum, a rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium, is a major plant pathogen and cause large damage to many agricultural crops. Frozen bacteria stock in 60% glycerol was used as an inoculum for the screening experiment.Aim:

[0089] To determine the effect of different compounds on the survival and growth of Pectobacterium carotovorum. Materials: LB (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), LBA (from Becton, Dickinson and Company, NJ, US), DMSO (from J.T. Baker, Part of Fisher Scientific, US) Equipment: Centrifuge, Shaker, Incubator Method: Pectobacterium suspension preparation:

[0090] 1) Grow Pectobacterium on LBA plates at 28°C for 2 days, to get a single colony. 2) Transfer a single colony, using a sterile toothstick, into a 50ml sterile tube containing 5ml LB, and grow for 24 at 28°C, 150 RPM. 3) Chill the tube in the fridge for more than 1h. 4) Add 7.5ml of fridge cold, sterile, glycerol solution to the tube to get 60% glycerol solution. 5) Mix well, but gently. 6) Aliquot 100µl of bacteria suspension in 60% glycerol into 1.5ml tubes - each aliquot should yield quantity enough to screen 10 microplates. 7) Store the bacteria suspension in 60% glycerol at -20°C. Pectobacterium suspension preparation for screening:

[0091] 1) Take 1.5 ml tube of (with 100µl) frozen Pectobacterium suspension from the freezer and thaw it on ice. 2) Prepare in the hood 50ml tubes with 40ml fridge cold LB broth diluted 8 fold with sterile water. 3) Mix 8µl of bacteria suspension with 40 ml fridge cold diluted LB broth in a 50ml tube to make ready-to-use Pectobacterium suspension with growth medium. 4) Keep on ice. 5) Use this suspension for screening experiments. Microplate preparation for screening experiment:

[0092] 1) Take a stock solution of purified 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in DMSO from the freezer and thaw it on the bench. 2) Take 1µl of stock solution of 1% Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone and dilute up to 250ppm with 39µl of water. 3) 3) Take 10µl of the diluted (250ppm) Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone solution into the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 4) Add 40µl of vigorously mixed bacterial suspension inoculum to the wells of the microplate using a multi-pipette. 5) freezerSeal the plate with transparent sealer. 6) Shake the plate for 10min at 2000 RPM to mix the materials with the bacteria suspension. 7) Centrifuge the plate at 1000 RCF for 1s and stop to collect the liquid at the bottom of the plate. 8) Insert the plates to a plastic box, with cover and put the box in the incubator at 28°C. Screening of microplates:

[0093] 1) Screen the microplate at 5 dates: 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation. 2) Use a lamp to visually evaluate the bacterial growth. 3) Prepare plates for screening: shake plate at 2000 RPM for 2min to suspend the bacteria and then centrifuge plate at 1000RCF for 1s. 4) Perform visual evaluation of bacterial growth in the microplates after removing their cover. 5) Compare the transparency of each well to the transparency of the control wells (wells containing active bactericide or 0.5%DMSO solution). 6) Write the results on a special form: clear=3 (no growth of bacteria), turbid=1(normal bacterial growth), inconclusive=2 (very low turbidity compared to growth in 0.5%DMSO solution). 7) Results: Please see Example 7. Example 7. Results of in vitro experiments based on protocols of Examples 1-6. In-vitro screening matrix

[0094] Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was screened against 11 agricultural pests (as indicated in the table below). The bioactivity values are in % and reflect the potential of eradicating the target pests.Rules for bioactivity relative value calculation (expressed in % from maximal value)

[0095] a. Puccinia sorghi, Phytophthora infestans - activity grade (1 / 2 / 3) X repeats# / 12 (maximal value 3X4=12)*100 b. Pseudomonas syringae, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium aphanidermatum - activity grade (1 / 2 / 3) X repeats# X days of activity / 252 (maximal value 3X4X21=252)*100 c. Botrytis cinerea - activity grade (1 / 2 / 3) X repeats# X days of activity / 168 (maximal value 3X4X14=168)*100 d. Pectobacterium carotovorum - activity grade (1 / 2 / 3) X repeats# X days of activity / 84 (maximal value 3X4X7=168)*100

[0096] In summary, pinocembrin dihydrochalcone is an effective pesticide against the following pests: Fusarium oxysporum (first positive results are provided below in in-planta results section), Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium aphanidermatum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pectobacterium carotovorum and Pseudomonas syringae.Example 8. Formulation preparation for in-planta validation Method for formulation 3 (base)

[0097] Pinocembrin Dihydrochalcone was dissolved in water to a concentration of 0.1% and pH was adjusted to pH=7.0 with 25% solution of Na 2 CO 3 . The formulation was diluted in the growth medium to get the desired concentration for the experiment (100, 200 and 300ppm).Example 9. In planta validation of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone treatment of cucumber seedlings infected with Fusarium oxysporum.

[0098] The following materials, methods and equipment were used: Protocol name: Cucumber seedlings cup system for Fusarium oxysporum infection and efficacy testing of compoundsInoculation system preparation:

[0099] 1) Use an autoclavable plastic sheet. Cut the plastic sheet to the exact size of the inside of the beaker. Cut 6 holes in the plastic sheet. 2) Use three 1000µl tips to hold the plastic sheet at the height of 5mm above the surface liquid medium in the beaker. 3) Add 50ml distilled water. 4) Add 0.5% of standard fertilizer. 5) Cover the beaker with cloth and rubber ring. 6) Autoclave for 30 min at121°C. 7) Let the infection system cool in the hood, open the cloth lid and put 3 days old 3-4 cucumber germinating seedlings in 3 holes of the support plastic sheet. 8) Cover the beaker with the cloth lid. 9) Put the infection system in the growth room at 22°C for 2 days. 10) When the seedlings are 5 days old inoculate with the pathogen - add 1ml of the pathogen inoculum into the growth medium. 11) Put the inoculation system in an incubator with 12h light, 24°C regime for 21 days. 12) After about 21 days, check mortality of seedlings (about 100% of untreated seedlings should be dead). Record the number of dead seedlings. Cucumber sprouts preparation:

[0100] 1) Use square transparent covered plastic plates [12X12cm]. 2) Prepare water agar 2%; insert 8g agar into a 500ml bottle and add 400ml distilled water. 3) Autoclave for 30 min at 121°C. 4) Add 50ml water agar 2% to the square plate and cover it. 5) Let the agar cool down. 6) Plant 20 cucumber seeds into each plate. 7) Put the plates in an incubator at 27°C for 3 days. 8) Use the well-developed sprouts for the experiment, when the seedlings are 3 days old. About 80% of the sprouts should have long and branched root at this stage. 9) Pull the sprouts from the agar. No agar should remain on the roots. Fusarium zoospores suspension preparation:

[0101] 1) Put a PDAT block of Fusarium in the middle of a PDAT plate and grow 8days at 25°C. 2) Chill the plate in the fridge for ~1h. 3) Cut the agar with the hyphae and spores, from one plate, to 8 pieces by scalpel, and insert them into a 50ml sterile tube. 4) Add 25ml of fridge cold sterile water to the tube. 5) Shake for 1min at 3000 RPM. 6) Keep spores on ice during the process. 7) Transfer the liquid to a new 50ml sterile tube - about 25ml should be recovered. 8) Filter the spore suspension through 16 layer of gauze cloth, directly into a clean sterile 50 ml tube to discard the hyphae. About 20ml should be recovered. 9) Calculate the spore concentration and dilute by cold sterile water to get 2X10 5< spores / ml stock. 10) Dilute the spore suspension stock with water to get inoculation spore suspension - 500 or 1000 spores / ml. 11) Use immediately to infect the roots of the seedlings - use one ml of spore suspension in 50ml medium. 12) Add formulated pinocembrin chalcone to medium to get desired concentration. Fusarium inoculum preparation:

[0102] 1) Prepare Fusarium zoospores. 2) Count under microscope and calculate the zoospore concentration. 3) Dilute the zoospore suspension by cold sterile water to get desired concentration - 500 zoospores / ml. 4) Use immediately to infect plants.

[0103] Results were evaluated 21 days after infection. Each treatment contained 3-4 cups with 3 seedlings in each. Each pot was evaluated separately by visual assessment and the average of the treatment (average of 3-4 cups) was calculated.Treatments:

[0104] Pinocembrin dihydrochalcone was evaluated at different concentrations (100, 200 and 300ppm) and was formulated as described in Example 7.Statistical analysis for in-planta validation experiments.

[0105] To evaluate the effect of a compound in infected plants compared to control plants (infected but not treated) the data was analyzed by Student's t-test and the p value is calculated. The minimum number of repeats in each experiment was 3. Results were considered significant if p <0.05.

[0106] Results: We conducted 3 independent experiments under controlled environment in growth rooms where we estimated pinocembrin dihydrochalcone's (PDC) potential to prevent and control Fusarium oxysporum in cucumber seedlings (Figs. 1- 3). PDC performed very well and showed very good efficacy in all experiments conducted. The range of efficacy of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone in preventing and controlling the Fusarium diseases 3 weeks after infection was 66-100% at 100ppm and 200ppm and 88-100% at 300ppm.Examples 11-15. Additional in-planta experiments.

[0107] These experiments are conducted for pesticidal activity evaluation of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone against Rhizoctonia solani, Pseudomonas syringae, Pectobacterium carotovorum, Pythium aphanidermatum, and Fusarium oxysporum.Example 11. In-planta validation of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone treatment of cucumber seedlings infected with Rhizoctonia solani Procedure: Inoculation system preparation:

[0108] 1) Use an autoclavable plastic sheet. Cut the plastic sheet to the exact size of the inside of the beaker. Cut 6 holes in the plastic sheet. 2) Use three 1000µl tips to hold the plastic sheet at the height of 5mm above the surface of 50ml in the beaker. 3) Add 50ml distilled water. 4) Add 0.5% of standard fertilizer (250µl). 5) Cover the beaker with cloth and rubber ring. 6) Autoclave for 30 min (at 121°C). 7) Let the infection system cool in the hood, open the cloth lid and put 3 2 days old, germinating cucumber seedlings in 3 holes of the support plastic sheet. 8) Cover the beaker with the cloth lid. 9) Put the infection system in the growth room at 27°C for one day. 10) When the seedlings are 4 days old, inoculate with Rhizoctonia solani. 11) Inoculation: inoculate 2 ml, mix the medium well to until the hyphae is attached to the roots. 12) Shake the cups at 100 RPM all the time. 13) For inoculation - use Rhizoctonia grown for 10 days on liquid medium diluted in water to final concentration 1% by weight. Add pinocembrin dihydrochalcone to the medium up to desired concentration. 14) For control group - use 2ml of water. 15) Put the inoculation system in the growth room, on a shaker (100RPM), with 12h light, at 27°C for 7 days. 16) After 7 days record the number of dead seedlings and calculate the survival rate and compare to the control group. Cucumber sprouts preparation:

[0109] 1) Use square transparent covered plastic plates [12X12cm]. 2) Prepare water agar 1%, insert 4g agar into a 500ml bottle and add 400ml distilled water. 3) Autoclave for 30 min (at 121°C). 4) Add 50ml water agar 1% to the square plate and cover it. 5) Let the agar cool. 6) Mark the one side of the plate to be the bottom. 7) Insert 20 cucumber seeds into each plate; put the seeds in 3 rows, press them into the solid with their sharp side pointing to the bottom mark. 8) Put the plates in an incubator at 27°C for 2 days. 9) Use the well-developed sprouts for the experiment when the seedlings are 2 days old. About 90% of the sprouts should have long and branched root at this stage. 10) Cut the sprouts from the agar by pulling them out. No agar should remain on the roots. Rhizoctonia solani inoculum preparation:

[0110] 1) Grow Rhizoctonia for 10 days on a liquid medium. 2) Collect the hyphae insert it into water and reduce the hyphae size using the blender. 3) Diluted in water to final concentration of 1% by weight. 4) Use immediately to infect the plants. Example 12. In-planta validation of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone treatment of tomato seedlings infected with Pseudomonas syringae Procedure: Pseudomonas suspension preparation:

[0111] 1) Prepare a 50ml sterile tube with 5ml of LB. 2) Insert 50µl of Pseudomonas stock from the freezer. 3) Close the tube tightly with the lid. 4) Put the tube in a shaker at 150RPM and grow 16h at 27°C. 5) Use immediately to infect potato slices. 6) Prepare a suspension of 1:10 diluted culture in water. Preparation of tomato seedlings for inoculation:

[0112] 1) Use 30days old tomato seedlings. 2) Plant the seedling in a small pot. 3) After a week infect the tomato seedlings leaves. Application of the pinocembrin dihydrochalcone:

[0113] 1) Apply the tested chemical dissolved in the water at desired concentrations before inoculation and wait for it to dry in the chemical hood about 3h. Use water as a control treatment. Inoculation of bacteria on tomato seedlings leaves:

[0114] 1) Apply as a spray 1ml of Pseudomonas suspension on each tomato seedling (using a syringe spray tool). 2) Allow the bacteria to infect tomato seedlings in the incubator at 25°C. 3) The tomato seedling leaves should be infected after about ~5 days after inoculation. 4) Spray the control group with water. 5) Count the number of spots to evaluate the compound treatment effect and compare to the control group. Example 13. In-planta validation in potato seedlings infected with Pectobacterium carotovorum Procedure: Pectobacterium suspension preparation:

[0115] 1) Prepare a 50ml sterile tube with 5ml of LB. 2) Insert 50µl of Pectobacterium stock from the freezer. 3) Close the tube tightly with the lid. 4) Put the tube in a shaker at 150RPM and grow 16h at 27°C. 5) Use immediately to infect potato slices. 6) Prepare a suspension of 1:10 diluted culture in water. Preparation of potato tubers for inoculation:

[0116] 1) Put two pieces of sterile paper in a clean tip box. 2) Work in sterile conditions. 3) Add sterile distilled water to wet the paper - 20ml (the paper should be maximally wet, but without additional dripping water). 4) Use small potato tubers from the supermarket kept in plastic bags at 4-8°C. 5) Make very small cuts on the surface of the potato using a sterile scalpel. 6) Put 4 small potatoes in the box on the wet paper. 7) Cover the plate with its lid. Application of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone:

[0117] 1) Apply the tested chemical dissolved in the water at desired concentrations before inoculation and wait for it to dry in the chemical hood about 3h. Use water as a control treatment. Inoculation of bacteria on potatoes:

[0118] 1) Spray 1ml of Pectobacterium suspension on 4 potatoes in one box (using a syringe spray tool). 2) Cover the dish. 3) Allow the bacteria to infect the potato in the incubator at 25°C. 4) The potatoes should be infected after about 5 days. They should become soft and dark. Example 14. In-planta validation of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone treatment of cucumber seedlings infected with Pythium aphanidermatum Procedure: Inoculation system preparation:

[0119] 1) Use an autoclavable plastic sheet. Cut the plastic sheet to the exact size of the inside of the beaker. Cut 6 holes in the plastic sheet. 2) Use three 1000µl tips to hold the plastic sheet at the height of 5mm above the surface of 50ml in the beaker. 3) Add 50ml distilled water. 4) Add 250µl of standard fertilizer to 50ml of the medium. 5) Cover the beaker with cloth and rubber ring. 6) Autoclave for 30 min at 121°C. 7) Let the infection system cool in the hood, open the cloth lid and put 3 cucumber germinating (3 days old) seedlings in 3 holes of the support plastic sheet. 8) Cover the beaker with the cloth. 9) Put the infection system in the growth room at 22°C for 2 days. 10) When the seedlings are 5days old inoculate with the pathogen - add 1ml of the Pythium inoculum into the growth medium. Add pinocembrin dihydrochalcone to the medium up to desired concentration. 11) For control group - use 2ml of water. 12) Put the inoculation system in an incubator with 12h light / darkness regime at 27°C for 7 days. 13) After 7 days record the number of dead seedlings and compare survival rate with the control group. Cucumber sprouts preparation:

[0120] 1) Use square transparent covered plastic plates [12X12cm] 2) Prepare water agar 2%, insert 8g agar into a 500ml bottle and add 400ml distilled water 3) Autoclave for 30 min at 121°C 4) Add 50ml water agar 2% to the square plate and cover it 5) Let the agar cool 6) Plant 20 cucumber seeds into each plate 7) Put the plates in an incubator at 27°C for 3 days 8) Use the well-developed sprouts for the experiment, when the seedlings are 3 days old. About 80% of the sprouts should have long and branched root at this stage 9) Pull the sprouts from the agar. No agar should remain on the roots Pythium zoospores suspension preparation:

[0121] 1) Grow Pythium on Schmittner solid medium in 90mm petri plates to get sporulating hyphae. Each plate will produce 25ml of zoospores suspension within ~8 days 2) Add 60 ml of sterile H 2 O into a sterile 250ml Erlenmeyer flask 3) Cut the solid medium of 2 plates by scalpel to 12 pieces (each plate) and insert them into the Erlenmeyer flask (the solid pieces should be covered by the water) 4) Let the hyphae sporulate overnight at 17°C 5) The next day shake the Erlenmeyer flask by hand to suspend the zoospores 6) Filter the suspension into 50ml tube through 16-layer gauze 7) Chill the zoospore suspension on ice. The zoospores concentration should be 1000 - 4000 spores / ml Pythium inoculum preparation:

[0122] 1) Prepare Pythium zoospores 2) Count under microscope and calculate the zoospore concentration 3) Dilute the zoospore suspension by cold sterile water to get desired concentration - 500 zoospores / ml. Use immediately to infect plants Example 15. In planta validation of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone treatment of cucumber seedlings infected with Fusarium infection under GH (greenhouse) conditions

[0123] General description: Fusarium is propagated separately, then at the correct age, cucumber seedlings in soil, placed in a tray are infected with the pathogen hyphae. The disease severity observation is performed at about 7, 14, and 21 days post inoculation. The plants are treated with pinocembrine dihydrochalcone about 24h prior to inoculation with Fusarium. Analysis of disease severity is performed about 21 days post inoculation.Fusarium inoculum preparation:

[0124] 1) Insert 10ml Quinoa seeds into a 100ml bottle. Use a 50ml tube to measure the volume 2) Add 10ml sterile distilled water. 3) Let the seeds absorb the water for 24h, in the fridge. 4) After 24h put a birthing cloth on top of the bottle, and close loosely the blue lid on top. 5) Autoclave for 40 min (at121°C) [liquid cycle] 6) Let cool in the hood and remove the lid. 7) Inoculate a small block of Fusarium grown on PDAC plate. 8) Put back the birthing cloth and lid. 9) Write the fungus name and the date. 10) Put the solid phase growth bottle in the incubator, at 27°C. 11) After 8-10 days the Fusarium should be ready to inoculate plants. 12) Homogenize the fusarium hyphae: A. Use a 250ml beaker and a stick blender to prepare the blend. B. Add 100ml water C. Add 1g of Fusarium solid phase culture, to get 1% hyphae suspension. D. Homogenize at high speed for 2 min on ice. E. Dilute the homogenized hyphae suspension with sterile water to get 0.5% hyphae suspension. F. Use the diluted homogenized hyphae suspension (0.5%) immediately to inoculate the seedlings in soil system. Inoculation of plants in soil system:

[0125] 1) Use seedlings of cucumber in a seedling tray, from the nursery. Seedlings should be 6 days old (after sowing date), before or just at the generation of first real leaves. 2) Put the tray with cucumber seedlings under irrigation system in a greenhouse table (temp 20± 27°C, without light supplementation) to allow seedling germination, excess of water should freely get our of the conus trays 3) At the 6 th< day from seeding, the treatment should be applied (formulated pinocembrine dihydrochalcone). Inoculum should be performed 24h post treatment. Treat each plant with 6ml of formulation, and similarly, upon inoculation, volume to seedling should be 6 ml. The treatment and the inoculum are expected to evenly distribute in the rhizosphere. 4) Mark the tray with a sign for experimental number, and update experimental page with dates of treatment and inoculation Growth and analysis:

[0126] 2) Grow the cucumber for 7, 14 and 21 days, with below tray irrigation, supplemented with fertilizer (40ppm). At day 7, move all plants into 100ml trays to allow further plant development. 3) Follow-up disease development at days 7, 14 and 21. 4) Cotyledon of seedlings should become yellowish (disease symptoms), until drying of seedlings / plants 5) Count the sick and dead seedlings should be performed at 7, 14, 21 days after inoculation. 6) Calculate the percentage of dried / dead plants per each treatment. 7) The following treatments will be included in the experiment: formulated pinocembrine dihydrochalcone, industrial reference product, blank (water) REFERENCES

[0127] Erlacher A., Cardinale M., Grosch R., Grube M., Berg G. The impact of the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani and its beneficial counterpart Bacillus amyloliquefaciens on the indigenous lettuce microbiome. Front Microbiol. 2014; 5: 175. Hofte M. and De Vos P. Plant pathogenic pseudomonas species. Gnanamanickam S.S. (ed.), Plant-Associated Bacteria, 2006; 507-533. Jenkins J.E.E., Clark Y.S. and Buckle A.E. Fusarium diseases of cereals. Research Review 4. October 1988. Frank N. Martin & Joyce E. Loper. Soilborne Plant Diseases Caused by Pythium spp.: Ecology, Epidemiology, and Prospects for Biological Control. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 1999; 18:111-181. Dong Hwan Lee, Jeong-A Lim, Juneok Lee, Eunjung Roh, Kyusuk Jung, Minseon Choi, Changsik Oh, Sangryeol Ryu, Jongchul Yun, Sunggi Heu. Characterization of genes required for the pathogenicity of Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum Pcc21 in Chinese cabbage. Microbiology. 2013 Jul; 159(Pt 7): 1487-1496. Moore. L.W. Pseudomonas syringae: disease and ice nucleation activity. Ornamentals Northwest Newsletter. (1988) 12:4-16.

Claims

1. A method for controlling, preventing, reducing or eradicating the instances of plant-pathogen infestation on a plant, plant organ, plant part, or plant propagation material, the method comprising: applying to a plant, plant part, plant organ or plant propagation material, or to soil surrounding said plant, a pesticidal effective amount of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone or a pesticide composition thereof comprising a pesticidally effective amount of pinocembrin dihydrochalcone, wherein said plant-pathogen is a member selected from: Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pseudomonas syringae, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and Rhizoctonia solani.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein pinocembrin dihydrochalcone or a composition thereof is applied to said plant, plant part, plant organ or plant propagation material, or to soil surrounding said plant by spraying, immersing, dressing, coating, pelleting or soaking.