Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Crops

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 April 2024) | Viewed by 11066

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Soil and Plant Sciences, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava, Latvia
Interests: plant diseases; fungi; Ascomycota; Botrytis; Pyrenophora; wheat; legumes; Zymoseptoria

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant protection, including disease control, is one of the most important tasks of producers and scientists in the conditions of climatic change, particularly in an environmentally friendly way. Integrated disease control includes multiple strategies and a complex approach based on the knowledge of pathogens, plants, and agronomy, as well as the interaction between them. Biological diversity, resistance, agronomic practice, programmes of warning and forecasting, biological fungicides, sustainable use of fungicides, and education of farmers are important parts of integrated disease control.

We invite researchers to submit original scientific articles, reviews, and communications which address the integrated fungal disease management of different crops. The scope of the issue includes studies focusing on the latest developments in the biological diversity of fungi associated with plants, mechanisms of resistance, durable resistance and tolerance of cultivars, pathogenicity and other biological traits of fungi, emerging and well-known diseases, possibilities of biological control, new fungicides, warning or forecast systems, and different schemes of fungicide applications. Manuscripts devoted to the achievements and problems of integrated disease control from different points of view could also be considered. In addition, we welcome manuscripts related to fundamental and applied research.

Prof. Dr. Biruta Bankina
Dr. Neringa Rasiukevičiūtė
Guest Editors

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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.

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Keywords

  • fungi
  • oomycota
  • biodiversity
  • biological control
  • forecast
  • warning
  • identification
  • mycobiota
  • agronomic practise
  • fungicide
  • resistance

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 994 KiB  
Article
The Effectiveness of Synthetic and Inorganic Substances in Different Apple Scab Control Strategies
by Regīna Rancāne, Alma Valiuškaitė, Laura Ozoliņa-Pole, Guna Bundzēna, Maksims Fiļipovičs and Neringa Rasiukevičiūtė
Agriculture 2024, 14(3), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14030383 - 28 Feb 2024
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Abstract
A two-year trial (2021 and 2022) was performed with five different fungicide and foliar fertiliser application strategies to control apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) in integrated apple orchards in Latvia. A strategy of using inorganic fungicides or combining them with synthetic fungicides [...] Read more.
A two-year trial (2021 and 2022) was performed with five different fungicide and foliar fertiliser application strategies to control apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) in integrated apple orchards in Latvia. A strategy of using inorganic fungicides or combining them with synthetic fungicides was compared to a strategy of applications with only synthetic fungicides and untreated control. Furthermore, two strategies included foliar fertilisers to determine whether they may affect apple scab used alone or combined with synthetic fungicides. The timing of the fungicide applications was based on the risk forecasted by the decision support system RIMpro, and fertilisers were used at certain growth stages of the crop. The disease incidence on untreated fruits on cv. Auksis ranged from 38.3% to 59.6%, and on cv. Ligol from 99.3% to 99.5%. Strategies including synthetic fungicides were the most effective against scab on shoot leaves and fruits. The strategy using only inorganic fungicides was effective for low-inoculum orchards. Combining synthetic and inorganic fungicides provided the best apple scab control strategy on fruits, likely helping reduce the resistance selection pressure and residues of synthetic fungicides. Foliar fertilisers were insufficient to control apple scab; they would supplement existing scab fungicide programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Crops)
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15 pages, 2921 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Fungicides and Fungicide Application Methods to Manage Phytophthora Blight of Pigeonpea
by Mamta Sharma, Ramanagouda Gaviyappanavar and Avijit Tarafdar
Agriculture 2023, 13(3), 633; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13030633 - 07 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2483
Abstract
Phytophthora, a blight of pigeonpea caused by Phytophthora cajani, has been significantly increasing in major pigeonpea production regions of India. Limited information on infection with this pathogen and its epidemiology, as well as a lack of adequate resistant cultivars, is hampering the management [...] Read more.
Phytophthora, a blight of pigeonpea caused by Phytophthora cajani, has been significantly increasing in major pigeonpea production regions of India. Limited information on infection with this pathogen and its epidemiology, as well as a lack of adequate resistant cultivars, is hampering the management of Phytophthora blight significantly. Therefore, five fungicides, viz., metiram + dimethomorph, cymoxanil + mancozeb, famoxadone + cymoxanil, mancozeb, and metalaxyl-M + mancozeb, were evaluated against P. cajani under control conditions to control zoospore induction, as well as the infection of zoospores, at the seedling stage. The half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of fungicides for mycelial inhibition was calculated. The lowest EC50 was recorded in metiram + dimethomorph (0.17 µg/mL), followed by the metalaxyl-M + mancozeb (2.49 µg/mL) and cymoxanil + mancozeb (8.23 µg/mL) fungicides. The formation of the sporangium and zoospores was most significantly affected by metalaxyl-M + mancozeb, followed by metiram + dimethomorph and cymoxanil + mancozeb, in terms of sporangia viability and zoospore germination and encystment. Further, under glasshouse conditions, different fungicide application methods (e.g., seed-treatment; soil-drench; foliar-spray, either singly or in combinations) were evaluated with fungicides on susceptible (ICP 7119) moderately resistant pigeonpea (ICPL 99010, ICPL 20135 and ICPL 99048) cultivars. The seed-treatment + soil-drench, soil-drench + foliar-spray, and soil-drench of fungicide application methods were found to be effective in controlling the Phytophthora blight, at p < 0.001. A combination of the seed-treatment + soil-drench and soil-drench + foliar-spray methods, using metalaxyl-M + mancozeb or metiram + dimethomorph fungicides on moderately resistant cultivars (ICPL 99010), has a synergistic effect on the ability to control the Phytophthora blight at the seedling stage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Crops)
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14 pages, 1083 KiB  
Article
Characterization and Fungicide Screening of a New Pathogen That Causes Leaf Spot on Rehmannia glutinosa
by Tao Dou, Yubiao Cai, Xuhong Song, Futao Gao, Yajun Zhao, Jiafang Du, Fengqing Wang, Xuanzhen Li, Shiheng An, Xinming Yin, Xiangyang Liu and Zhongyi Zhang
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020301 - 26 Jan 2023
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Abstract
Outbreaks of leaf spot disease occurred in Rehmannia glutinosa fields in Henan Province, China, in 2019, with the incidence ranging from 20% to 40%. R. glutinosa plants with diseased leaves were collected, and 25 isolates were obtained. Pathogenicity tests, morphological observations, and phylogenetic [...] Read more.
Outbreaks of leaf spot disease occurred in Rehmannia glutinosa fields in Henan Province, China, in 2019, with the incidence ranging from 20% to 40%. R. glutinosa plants with diseased leaves were collected, and 25 isolates were obtained. Pathogenicity tests, morphological observations, and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to identify the pathogens, and the biological characteristics and control agents of the pathogens were studied. Five isolates of pathogenic fungi were isolated. Three isolates were identified as Fusarium equiseti, which is a new pathogen causing R. glutinosa leaf disease; the other two isolates were identified as Fusarium acuminatum. The mycelia of F. equiseti grew fastest on Czapek medium, and the optimal temperature and pH were 25 °C and 10.0, respectively. The mycelia of F. equiseti grew from 5 °C t o 35 °C, and the lethal temperature was 55 °C. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were soluble starch and peptone, respectively. Eight fungicides had inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth of F. equiseti and F. acuminatum. Prochloraz had higher activities against F. equiseti and F. acuminatum, with EC50 values of 0.139 mg·L−1 and 0.123 mg·L−1, respectively. These results provide useful information that will aid the development of management strategies to control leaf diseases of R. glutinosa caused by F. equiseti and F. acuminatum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Crops)
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15 pages, 1162 KiB  
Article
Pathogenic and Genetic Characterization of Fusarium verticillioides Strains Collected from Maize and Sorghum Kernels
by Davide Ferrigo, Massimiliano Mondin and Alessandro Raiola
Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010105 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1635
Abstract
Commercial and sanitary qualities of cereals are important and contribute to the determination of the final application and destination of the grain and, thus, farmer profit. Although considered a minor crop in Italy, in the last years, the cultivation area of sorghum ( [...] Read more.
Commercial and sanitary qualities of cereals are important and contribute to the determination of the final application and destination of the grain and, thus, farmer profit. Although considered a minor crop in Italy, in the last years, the cultivation area of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has been increasing and is often adjacent or subsequent to the most common maize (Zea mays L.) fields, with the risk of sharing mycotoxigenic fungi that are common to both cereals, such as Fusarium verticillioides. The present work aims to clarify if a fungal physiological characteristic such as fumonisin production and some plant growth parameters such as effects on germination, root and shoot development and on tissue necrosis may be common and shared among F. verticillioides strains belonging to maize and sorghum, especially if present on adjacent fields at the same time. Sorghum kernels are commonly less colonized and contaminated by F. verticillioides and fumonisins than maize, and, at least in part, this aspect could be explained by the higher frequency of low-producing strains obtained from sorghum compared to those obtained from maize. Moreover, although no clear pathogen specificity was found, the results relating to the parameters analyzed suggest a host preference by F. verticillioides isolated from maize that affects maize seedlings with greater severity as well as F. verticillioides strains from sorghum versus sorghum. Five microsatellite markers showed minor differences between the two sets of strains but could not reliably discriminate between hosts. The resulting data suggest that in adjacent maize and sorghum crops, the population of F. verticillioides selected during sorghum cultivation may not represent a particular mycotoxigenic or pathogenic issue for maize cultivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Crops)
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Review

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20 pages, 908 KiB  
Review
Fusarium Fungi Pathogens, Identification, Adverse Effects, Disease Management, and Global Food Security: A Review of the Latest Research
by Theodora Ijeoma Ekwomadu and Mulunda Mwanza
Agriculture 2023, 13(9), 1810; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091810 - 14 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3630
Abstract
Fusarium pathogens are ubiquitous and mainly associated with diseases in plants. They are the subject of great economic concern in agriculture due to crop losses to contamination of cereal grains with mycotoxins. Fusarium species are also considered agents of human and animal mycotic [...] Read more.
Fusarium pathogens are ubiquitous and mainly associated with diseases in plants. They are the subject of great economic concern in agriculture due to crop losses to contamination of cereal grains with mycotoxins. Fusarium species are also considered agents of human and animal mycotic infections, having a wide-ranging spectrum of clinical manifestations in immunocompromised patients. Fusarium phytopathogens infect a wide variety of plants and cause symptoms ranging from stunted growth, fruit or seed decay, yellowing, and wilting of the leaves and cankers to root or stem decay. The identification of these fungi is difficult due to their pleomorphic tendency and the presence of both homothallic and heterothallic strains in the same species, and so is identifying them at species level because of variation among isolates. However, molecular tools have so far been very powerful in species identification and phylogeny, as the great diversity of the Fusarium genus has compelled scientists to continuously revise previous taxons. Mostly, Fusarium diseases are difficult to control, as fungi easily overcome host resistance to various methods of control. We present an overview of the recent research on Fusarium fungi, its adverse effects, and its impacts on food security. We further elucidate various methods of identifying them to encourage much-needed research on integrated management of this unavoidable food contaminant to achieve sustainable global food security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Crops)
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