Plant Defense Activators: Application and Prospects in Cereal Crops

Abstract

Cereal grains are one of the primary sources of food products in the world. Increased productivity in crop yield, particularly for cereal crops, is abso- lutely essential for future food security, but is impeded by disease, with annual estimates ranging from 10 to 30 % crop loss due to disease alone. There have been remarkable advances in understanding pest and disease resistance in plants in the past three decades, with the application of chemical plant defense activators (PDAs) being of particular interest. The advances in recent years in understanding the molecular basis for systemic acquired resistance (SAR), induced systemic resis- tance (ISR), priming, and next-generation immunity portend a wider role for PDAs. These agrochemicals are gaining some acceptance in Europe where there is a strong interest in curtailing the use of more traditional fungicides and pesticides. Much work, however, is needed to understand the effects of nutrition, dose rates, timing of application, and genotypic effects in the application of PDAs. This review addres- ses the current understanding of plant immunity, particularly with respect to cereal crops and the potential for PDAs to enhance the potential yield and nutritional qua- lity of cereal crops.