Phage Biopesticides and Soil Bacteria: Multilayered and Complex Interactions

Abstract

Control of plant pathogens in agriculture faces many unique challenges. These include development of pathogen resistance to conventional pesticides, absence of resistant plant host material, the requirement for environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional pesticide, and the gradual regulatory removal of traditional chemicals used for plant pathogen control. The resurgence in research on the development of bacteriophage-based control programs is evident in the inspection of current literature. Debate continues on the suitability of phages as biological control agents (BCAs) (Stewart 2001). Recently, phages have been tested as BCAs or biopesticides for the control of bacterial spot of tomato (Flaherty et al.