Abstract. One of the main insect pests of the cherry trees in Bulgaria is Myzus cerasi (Homoptera, Aphididae). The black cherry aphids occur annually in orchards and cause yield loss or degraded quality. In 2018 and 2019, resistance to Myzus cerasi was assessed on 11 selected sweet cherry genotypes in a breeding orchard at the Fruit Growing Institute – Plovdiv. Susceptibility to aphid infestation was assessed through inspection of 100 leaf rosettes from individual tree hybrids. Some of the studied genotypes 6-132, 6-132 (1), 6-131, and 6-131 (1) were not infested by black cherry aphids in the two years of this research. Aphid colonies were observed on all other studied trees from the selected hybrids. The study is still ongoing.

In Bulgarian fruit growing agriculture mainly chemical plant protection is applied. Applications with organophosphates and pyrethroids are carried out to control the economically most important peach pest - the oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta Busck.). Annually during the vegetation season 7-8 insecticide treatments are applied. This leads to contamination of fruit products and the environment, which is a prerequisite for seeking other approaches. Regarding to fruit moth, sex pheromones are one of the most widely used environmental control methods, but they are most commonly used in apples. Their introduction in the monitoring of the main peach pest can lead to a reduction of chemical treatments and production with less pesticide residues. A promising direction is the use of pheromones to control the pests through sexual disorientation of males. The trial of mating disruption in the present study were carried out with ISOMATE® OFM TT dispensers in 0.9 ha peach orchard in 2020 and 2021. Pheromone traps type "Delta" of the Hungarian company CSALOMON® were used. The ISOMATE OFM TT dispensers, installed before the first flight of OFM at the rate of 250 units per ha, efficiently reduced fruit damages - down to 0.1-0.2% at harvest. In the reference orchard with 6 insecticide treatment against OFM, the damages reached 3.0-3.6%. The results indicate that mating disruption for control of Grapholita molesta Busck. can be used in production of quality and healthy peach fruits.

This thesis examines individual and community noise perception of environmental noise in three neighbourhoods in the city of Toronto. The significance of this research is based on a relative absence of literature on how noise sensitivity and annoyance are affected by non-acoustic factors such as the built environment, demographic, and socioeconomic factors. Data from a neighbourhood noise survey (n=552) were combined with spatial data on exposures to noise. Bivariate analysis, multivariate regression, and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were used. The results showed that participants in Downtown and Don Valley have similar noise responses (64% and 67% high annoyance) despite differences in noise exposure (LAeq 24h: 66.8 and 59.3). Estimation of Community Tolerance Levels (CTL) confirmed that participants exposed to lower sound levels have a lower tolerance of noise. Further results showed that a neighbourhood with high socioeconomic status and access to green space, and relatively low night time noise levels were still two times more likely to report high annoyance, compared with neighbourhood with moderate socio-economic status and lower access to green space. The results suggest that environmental context influences expectations and sensitivity to noise.

This thesis examines individual and community noise perception of environmental noise in three neighbourhoods in the city of Toronto. The significance of this research is based on a relative absence of literature on how noise sensitivity and annoyance are affected by non-acoustic factors such as the built environment, demographic, and socioeconomic factors. Data from a neighbourhood noise survey (n=552) were combined with spatial data on exposures to noise. Bivariate analysis, multivariate regression, and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were used. The results showed that participants in Downtown and Don Valley have similar noise responses (64% and 67% high annoyance) despite differences in noise exposure (LAeq 24h: 66.8 and 59.3). Estimation of Community Tolerance Levels (CTL) confirmed that participants exposed to lower sound levels have a lower tolerance of noise. Further results showed that a neighbourhood with high socioeconomic status and access to green space, and relatively low night time noise levels were still two times more likely to report high annoyance, compared with neighbourhood with moderate socio-economic status and lower access to green space. The results suggest that environmental context influences expectations and sensitivity to noise.