Sustainable Management of Soil-Borne Plant Pathogens

Abstract

In an attempt to fulfill the increased food demands of an explosive population, synthetic fertilizer and pesticide-ridden food production have steadily increased, considerably affecting the agroecosystem. Consumers throughout the world have not been informed of the detrimental effects of these chemicals. Many soil-borne pathogens including phytonematodes are aggressively managed in the presence of non-judicious chemical fertilizers. Resultantly, many developed as well as developing countries have embraced organic cultivation efforts and experienced outstanding results. In sustainable management, a wide range of biocontrol microorganisms including fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes are available for use at a commercial scale without causing any perturbation to the natural biota. Recently, biocontrol and microbial-based biopesticides have provided great promise in soil and plant health improvement. Mechanisms such as antibiosis, hyperparasitism, food and space competition, and induced systemic resistance (ISR) induction are implicated in the reduction of nematode/pathogen populations. Organic matter and beneficial microorganisms improve plant growth and yield performance and also curtail the attack of a wide spectrum of pests and pathogens. However, there are some minor lacunas encountered in the use of these microorganisms at a large scale which require addressing in future studies. Genomics to metagenomics studies are required to obtain amicable solutions for producers.