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The study’s objective was to obtain silver nanoparticles (SVAgNP and FUAgNP) using aqueous extracts of Salvia verticillata and Filipendula ulmaria. The optimal conditions for nanoparticle synthesis were determined and obtained; nanoparticles were then characterized using UV-Vis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). SVAgNP and FUAgNP possessed a crystalline structure with 48.42% and 60.41% silver weight, respectively. The highest percentage of nanoparticles in the solution had a diameter between 40 and 70 nm. In DPPH˙ and ABTS˙+ methods, FUAgNP (IC50 15.82 and 59.85 µg/mL, respectively) demonstrated a higher antioxidant capacity than SVAgNP (IC50 73.47 and 79.49 µg/mL, respectively). Obtained nanoparticles also showed pronounced antibacterial activity (MIC ˂ 39.1 µg/mL for most of the tested bacteria), as well as high biocompatibility with the human fibroblast cell line MRC-5 and significant cytotoxicity on some cancer cell lines, especially on the human colon cancer HCT-116 cells (IC50 31.50 and 66.51 µg/mL for SVAgNP and FUAgNP, respectively). The nanoparticles demonstrated high catalytic effectiveness in degrading Congo red dye with NaBH4. The results showed a rapid and low-cost methodology for the synthesis of AgNPs using S. verticillata and F. ulmaria with promising biological potential.

The main aim of this research was to study the effect of two sowing times (early and late) on Fusarium and fumonisin contamination and some yield component traits of two maize hybrids from the FAO maturity groups 500 (ZP 560) and 600 (ZP 666) within a two-year growing season (2016–2017). F. verticillioides and F. subglutinans have been identified as Fusarium ear rot (FER) pathogens and potential producers of B-type fumonisins (FBs), with F. verticillioides as the predominant Fusarium species in both years. The incidence of F. verticillioides and FB levels were affected by sowing time and maize hybridity. With early sowing and the mid-maturity hybrid ZP 560, F. verticillioides and FB contamination were lower than with late sowing and the late-maturity hybrid ZP 666. Yield parameters also differed significantly between sowing time and maize hybrid treatments. Early sowing increased ear length (EL), number of grains per ear (NGE), grain weight per ear (GWE), and grain yield per hectare (GY). The late-maturity hybrid ZP 666 had higher yield component traits and GY than the mid-maturity hybrid ZP 560. EL, GWE, thousand-grain weight (TGW), and GY were affected by year. Interactions between sowing times and maize hybrids were highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) for FB level, GWE, and GY. The obtained results indicate the importance of applying early sowing to achieve high maize grain yields with lower contamination by F. verticillioides and FBs. Although mid-maturity hybrid ZP 560 and late-maturity hybrid ZP 666 showed significant differences in terms of levels of F. verticillioides and FB contamination, both were susceptible to F. verticillioides, with high FB levels. These results should be useful to breeders of maize hybrids to create genotypes more resistant to these fungal contaminants.