Arbuscular mycorrhiza mediated control of plant pathogens

Abstract

The application of pesticides in agriculture significantly reduces crop losses by protecting the plant from several diseases, caused by a variety of attackers including fungi, bacteria, plant-parasite nematodes and insects. However, excessive use of these agrochemicals has become a serious cause of concern in agriculture as these not only pose a potential risk to beneficial soil microbes, which play a pivotal role in maintaining the soil-fertility but also, result in serious implications to human health and environment. Researchers are exploring environment-friendly approaches of plant protection that could minimize the side effects associated with the use of pesticides. The biocontrol is a process by which an undesirable organism is controlled with the help of another organism. Among soil microorganisms, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have demonstrated a considerable potential to reduce crop damages from infectious organisms, whose applications in agriculture have not yet been adopted to a large extent. In view of the importance of AMF in agriculture, we have described the bioprotective role of AMF against various plant pathogens and the possible mechanisms involved in the biological control of crop diseases.