Advances in Biological Control of Plant Diseases

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2023) | Viewed by 7036

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Agricultural Microbiology Department, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, Puławy, Poland
Interests: microbiology; bioinformatics; biodiversity; sequencing; genotyping; phenotyping; BIOLOG

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The control of diseases and pests in many crops can be a challenge. The development of agents to control plant diseases is an important topic for researchers in agricultural science. The use of chemical plant protectants has many negative effects, both on the environment and on human health. In addition, plant pathogens have developed resistance to some types of pesticides as a result of their excessive use. Therefore, plant cultivators are turning to the development of integrated strategies to control plant diseases. Biological control has become one of the most important developments in this effort. The biological control of plant diseases is mainly based on the use of microorganisms with different functions (e.g., reducing disease incidence, promoting plant growth and development). Current research on these strains concerns not only their effects on plants, but also their in-depth phenotypic and genetic characterization. Classical and modern microbiological methods make it possible to study the phenotypic properties of a given strain and its ability to grow under unfavorable environmental conditions. Analysis of the genome of a bacterial strain makes it possible to determine the strain’s potential ability to fight pathogens, promote plant growth, or degrade harmful substances present in the environment.

This Special Issue focuses on finding ways to reduce the incidence of plant diseases through the use of microorganisms. The articles composing this Special Issue will cover interdisciplinary research, including microbiology and plant pathology. Articles describing metataxonomic research conducted to understand the microbiomes of different environments are also welcome. All types of articles, such as original research and review papers, are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Anna Marzec-Grządziel
Prof. Dr. Anna Gałązka
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pest diseases
  • microbiology
  • PGPR
  • sequencing
  • genotyping
  • phenotyping
  • microarrays

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 685 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Plant Species against the Phytopathogens Ralstonia solanacearum, Phytophthora infestans, and Neopestalotiopsis javaensis
by Yadira F. Ordóñez, Josué Ruano, Pamela Avila, Lennys Berutti, Paola Chavez Guerrero and Paola E. Ordóñez
Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 2029; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13102029 - 20 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1327
Abstract
Plants are prone to be attacked by various pathogenic microorganisms, leading to significant crop yield losses. Pesticides are used to control agricultural pathogens; however, frequently, they are toxic synthetic products. This work evaluated the antibacterial and antifungal activity of Pernettya prostrata, and [...] Read more.
Plants are prone to be attacked by various pathogenic microorganisms, leading to significant crop yield losses. Pesticides are used to control agricultural pathogens; however, frequently, they are toxic synthetic products. This work evaluated the antibacterial and antifungal activity of Pernettya prostrata, and Rubus roseus plant extracts against three phytopathogens Ralstonia solanacearum, Phytophthora infestans, and Neopestalotiopsis javaensis responsible for causing banana bacterial wilt, late blight y scab diseases, respectively. The extracts were obtained in methanol. The phytopathogens were isolated from diseased plants grown in Ecuador, R. solanacearum was isolated from samples of Musa paradiasiaca, P. infestans from samples of Solanum lycopersicum and N. javaensis from diseased samples of Persea americana—morphological and molecular methods identified the isolated pathogens. The antibacterial activity was determined by the microtiter broth dilution method; six serial concentrations of the extracts were tested. The antifungal activity was determined based on the effects of the plant extracts on the inhibition of radial growth of fungi; five serial concentrations of the extracts were tested. The extracts of P. prostrata and R. roseus showed activity against R. solanacearum and P. infestans with a MIC of 22.5 and 31.25 mg/mL, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Control of Plant Diseases)
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16 pages, 4074 KiB  
Article
Alleviation of Stripe Rust Disease in Wheat Seedlings Using Three Different Species of Trichoderma spp.
by Amira M. I. Mourad, Andreas Börner and Samar M. Esmail
Agriculture 2023, 13(9), 1755; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091755 - 04 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1082
Abstract
Wheat stripe rust (WSR) caused by Puccinia striiformis F. tritici Erikss. (Pst) is one of the serious diseases that affect wheat planting areas around the world. Many efforts have been made to control such a serious disease including using fungicides and breeding [...] Read more.
Wheat stripe rust (WSR) caused by Puccinia striiformis F. tritici Erikss. (Pst) is one of the serious diseases that affect wheat planting areas around the world. Many efforts have been made to control such a serious disease including using fungicides and breeding highly resistant genotypes. However, due to Pst’s ability to produce new races that overcome these fungicides and break the resistance in the highly resistant genotypes, looking for other effective ways to restrict this disease is urgently required. One of the highly effective ways of controlling crop diseases is using biological control. In this study, the efficiency of three different Trichoderma species (Trichoderma asperellum T34, Trichoderma harzianum (TH), and Trichoderma verdinium (TV)) was tested in a set of 34 wheat genotypes at the seedling stage. The evaluation was conducted in two experiments with two different temperature regimes. In each experiment, four treatments were applied, namely, control, T34, TV, and TH. High genetic variation was found among all genotypes in each experiment and under each Trichoderma treatment. Notably, the symptoms of WSR were affected by temperature under all treatments except T34, which had a stable performance in the two experiments. The 34 studied genotypes were highly diverse, related to ten different countries, and consisted of durum and bread wheat. Out of the three studied Trichoderma species, T34 was able to improve WSR resistance in all the studied genotypes suggesting its effectiveness in inducing the resistance and producing a priming response in different wheat genetic backgrounds. The results of this study provided very useful information on the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. in controlling WSR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Control of Plant Diseases)
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15 pages, 2882 KiB  
Article
Sequencing of the Whole Genome of a Bacterium of the Genus Achromobacter Reveals Its Potential for Xenobiotics Biodegradation
by Anna Marzec-Grządziel and Anna Gałązka
Agriculture 2023, 13(8), 1519; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13081519 - 30 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1062
Abstract
The isolation of new bacterial strains from the natural environment can lead to the detection of microorganisms of potential practical importance. The characterization of such microorganisms can be carried out using classical microbiological and molecular biology methods. Currently, studies of newly detected microorganisms [...] Read more.
The isolation of new bacterial strains from the natural environment can lead to the detection of microorganisms of potential practical importance. The characterization of such microorganisms can be carried out using classical microbiological and molecular biology methods. Currently, studies of newly detected microorganisms are based on sequencing techniques. Sequencing of the full genome can provide information about the origin of the strain, its taxonomic status, and phenotypic characteristics. The studies were conducted using the bacteria Achromobacter sp. 77Bb1 isolated from the maize crop rhizosphere. The bacterial genome was sequenced using Illumina 2 × 150 nt technology. The obtained sequences were analyzed using bioinformatics methods, resulting in 57 contigs and genome containing 6,651,432 nt. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences enabled the assignment of the analyzed bacteria to the genus Achromobacter. The obtained genome contained genes for 4855 proteins with functional assignment. Some of these genes were connected with xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolisms. All genes for aminobenzoate degradation and almost all for benzoate and styrene degradation were found in the analyzed genome, suggesting that the isolated strain has the potential to be used in natural bioremediation methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Control of Plant Diseases)
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13 pages, 477 KiB  
Article
The Assessment of an Effect of Natural Origin Products on the Initial Growth and Development of Maize under Drought Stress and the Occurrence of Selected Pathogens
by Joanna Horoszkiewicz, Ewa Jajor, Jakub Danielewicz, Marek Korbas, Lech Schimmelpfennig, Marzena Mikos-Szymańska, Marta Klimczyk and Jan Bocianowski
Agriculture 2023, 13(4), 815; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13040815 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1423
Abstract
Poland, like other countries in the world, increasingly experiences the ongoing climate change that is a critical yield-limiting factor. The use of biostimulants in agriculture has shown tremendous potential in combating climate change-induced stresses such as drought, temperature stress, etc. They could be [...] Read more.
Poland, like other countries in the world, increasingly experiences the ongoing climate change that is a critical yield-limiting factor. The use of biostimulants in agriculture has shown tremendous potential in combating climate change-induced stresses such as drought, temperature stress, etc. They could be a promising tool in the current crop production scenario. Biostimulants are organic compounds, microbes, or amalgamation of both that could regulate plant growth behavior through molecular alteration and physiological, biochemical, and anatomical modulations. They can promote plant growth under various environmental stresses because they have a positive effect, in particular, on plant growth and resistance. There are many products of this type available on the market, including those of natural origin, which are part of the Integrated Pest Management. The ecotoxicity of chemical plant protection products, the negative effects of their use, and the change in regulations make it recommended to use low-risk chemicals and non-chemical methods, that involve the least risk to health and the environment, and at the same time ensure effective and efficient protection of crops. Natural origin biocomponents obtained by the supercritical CO2 extraction of plant material or by fermentation process in bioreactors were tested. Common maize (Zea mays L.) was selected as a test plant for growth tests at climate chambers. Results showed that the only supernatant (fermentation broth) obtained with the Paenibacillus bacteria (S2) had a positive effect on the germination index (GI > 100%) of maize seeds, compared to the obtained plant seed extracts from the crop of the legume family (Fabaceae) (E3) and from the crop of the smartweed family (Polygonaceae) (E9) (GI < 100%). The extracts E3, S1 (supernatant obtained with the use of bacteria from the genus Enterobacter) and S2 used as a single product and in combination with UAN+S, under optimal conditions of the experiment, had a positive effect on the maize root weight compared to the untreated, while under drought stress, a decrease in the root weight was observed. Moreover, on the basis of the conducted research, differences in the mycelial growth of selected fungi were found. The applied biocomponent S2 of microbial origin extract (supernatant 2) showed a mycelial growth-limiting effect on all tested Fusarium fungi isolated from the corn cobs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Control of Plant Diseases)
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Review

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15 pages, 2201 KiB  
Review
Sheath Blight of Maize: An Overview and Prospects for Future Research Directions
by Runze Di, Lun Liu, Noman Shoaib, Boai Xi, Qiyan Zhou and Guowu Yu
Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 2006; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13102006 - 16 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1668
Abstract
Sheath blight (ShB) of maize, as a soil-borne disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA, is one of the main obstacles for maintaining the sustainable production of maize. R. solani has a wide host range and low-resistance sources, there is a lack of resistant resources against [...] Read more.
Sheath blight (ShB) of maize, as a soil-borne disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA, is one of the main obstacles for maintaining the sustainable production of maize. R. solani has a wide host range and low-resistance sources, there is a lack of resistant resources against ShB, and the damage caused by ShB cannot be effectively controlled. To effectively protect crops against ShB, it is necessary to combine information about its pathogenicity and about the disease prevention and control of the pathogenic fungus and to identify areas that require more in-depth research. While progress has been made in the identification of disease-related genes in corn and pathogens, their mechanisms remain unclear. Research related to disease control involves the use of agronomic methods, chemical control, biological control, and genetic improvement. Breeding and identification of high-resistant maize varieties are key and difficult points in the control of maize sheath blight. This article reviews the research progress of the symptoms, the pathogen’s biological characteristics, the infection process, the pathogenic mechanism, and comprehensive control of maize sheath blight disease and provides future research directions of maize sheath blight in China. It aims to provide reliable technical routes and research ideas for future crop-disease-resistance research, especially to sheath blight of maize. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Control of Plant Diseases)
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