Biocontrol of plant diseases with biofungicides

Article By:

McSpadden Gardener, Brian B. Department of Plant Pathology, Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio.

Last reviewed:2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB081490

Plant diseases significantly limit agricultural production, destroying or spoiling between 10 and 30% of all food and feed produced annually. The majority of plant diseases are caused by several dozen genera of fungi and funguslike oomycetes (filamentous protists such as downy mildews and water molds). Most of these plant pathogens are opportunistic, attacking living plant tissue under conducive conditions but otherwise surviving on plant residues and soil organic matter. Thus, while the relative abundance and distribution of these pathogens vary from place to place, all natural soils contain some plant pathogens, and all plants grown in such soils are infected to some degree. Most plants do not show significant symptoms of disease; however, local epidemics can occur at the field scale, greatly reducing farm productivity and profitability. For this reason, commercial growers apply fungicides (agents that kill or destroy fungi) and other disease control measures to protect their crops.

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