Dear Colleagues,

Fungi are common inhabitants of soil and play vital roles in the soil environment as pathogens, antagonists, symbionts and as decomposers. Indeed, the soil is a huge reservoir of fungal biodiversity, which has still to be completely explored. Several fungal strains have antagonistic activities against a wide range of plant pathogens. The efficacy of antagonistic strains in controlling plant-pathogenic organisms depends on their ecological competencies, which comprise several mechanisms or combinations of modes of action, such as parasitism, antibiosis, competition for nutrients and space, production of siderophore, secondary volatile and non-volatile metabolites, and induced systemic resistance in the plant. Although the use of chemical control of plant disease is still prevalent, biological control of plant pathogens is becoming an important alternative to replace or integrate synthetic fungicides, due to the rising attention on agricultural practices that preserve human health and the environment.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect the most recent scientific contributions on fungal biocontrol of plant diseases with emphasis on the application of soil-associated fungal biocontrol agents (BCAs). Articles covering new insights on the key strategies to optimize selection, characterization, mechanisms of action and different approaches to increase their effectiveness and stability are welcome.

Dr. Claudia Maria Oliveira Longa
Dr. Lidia Nicola
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Journal of Fungi 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.

• fungal biocontrol
• antagonistic fungi
• antagonistic yeast
• soil-born fungi
• fungi BCAs
• fungus-like BCAs
• soil mycobiome
• organic agriculture
• suppressive soils