Precision agriculture and geospatial techniques for sustainable disease control

AbstractThe agricultural community is confronted with dual challenges; increasing production of nutritionally dense food and decreasing the impacts of these crop production systems on the land, water, and climate. Control of plant pathogens will figure prominently in meeting these challenges as plant diseases cause significant yield and economic losses to crops responsible for feeding a large portion of the world population. New approaches and technologies to enhance sustainability of crop production systems and, importantly, plant disease control need to be developed and adopted. By leveraging advanced geoinformatic techniques, advances in computing and sensing infrastructure (e.g., cloud-based, big data-driven applications) will aid in the monitoring and management of pesticides and biologicals, such as cover crops and beneficial microbes, to reduce the impact of plant disease control and cropping systems on the environment. This includes geospatial tools being developed to aid the farmer in managing cropping system and disease management strategies that are more sustainable but increasingly complex. Geoinformatics and cloud-based, big data-driven applications are also being enlisted to speed up crop germplasm improvement; crop germplasm that has enhanced tolerance to pathogens and abiotic stress and is in tune with different cropping systems and environmental conditions is needed. Finally, advanced geoinformatic techniques and advances in computing infrastructure allow a more collaborative framework amongst scientists, policymakers, and the agricultural community to speed the development, transfer, and adoption of these sustainable technologies.

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RNA interference approaches for plant disease control

BioTechniques ◽

10.2144/btn-2020-0098 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (6) ◽

pp. 469-477

Author(s):

Yen-Wen Kuo ◽

Bryce W Falk

Keyword(s):

Rna Interference ◽

Disease Control ◽

Crop Production ◽

Plant Disease ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Control Plant ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Plant Diseases ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Plant Disease Control

Plant diseases caused by a variety of pathogens can have severe effects on crop plants and even plants in natural ecosystems. Despite many effective conventional approaches to control plant diseases, new, efficacious, environmentally sound and cost-effective approaches are needed, particularly with our increasing human population and the effects on crop production and plant health caused by climate change. RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene regulation and antiviral response mechanism in eukaryotes; transgenic and non transgenic plant-based RNAi approaches have shown great effectiveness and potential to target specific plant pathogens and help control plant diseases, especially when no alternatives are available. Here we discuss ways in which RNAi has been used against different plant pathogens, and some new potential applications for plant disease control.

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Development and Deployment of Systems-Based Approaches for the Management of Soilborne Plant Pathogens

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-09-15-0204-rvw ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 106 (3) ◽

pp. 216-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

D. O. Chellemi ◽

A. Gamliel ◽

J. Katan ◽

K. V. Subbarao

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Plant Disease ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Production Systems ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Disease Suppression ◽

Central California ◽

Soilborne Disease ◽

Inherent Risk ◽

Operational Frameworks

Biological suppression of soilborne diseases with minimal use of outside interventive actions has been difficult to achieve in high input conventional crop production systems due to the inherent risk of pest resurgence. This review examines previous approaches to the management of soilborne disease as precursors to the evolution of a systems-based approach, in which plant disease suppression through natural biological feedback mechanisms in soil is incorporated into the design and operation of cropping systems. Two case studies are provided as examples in which a systems-based approach is being developed and deployed in the production of high value crops: lettuce/strawberry production in the coastal valleys of central California (United States) and sweet basil and other herb crop production in Israel. Considerations for developing and deploying system-based approaches are discussed and operational frameworks and metrics to guide their development are presented with the goal of offering a credible alternative to conventional approaches to soilborne disease management.

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Plant Disease Control Efficacy of Platycladus orientalis and Its Antifungal Compounds

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10081496 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 1496

Author(s):

Sohyun Bae ◽

Jae Woo Han ◽

Quang Le Dang ◽

Hun Kim ◽

Gyung Ja Choi

Keyword(s):

Disease Control ◽

Rice Blast ◽

Plant Disease ◽

Methanol Extract ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Ethyl Acetate Fraction ◽

Antifungal Compounds ◽

Control Efficacy ◽

Platycladus Orientalis ◽

Plant Disease Control

Plants contain a number of bioactive compounds that exhibit antimicrobial activity, which can be recognized as an important source of agrochemicals for plant disease control. In searching for natural alternatives to synthetic fungicides, we found that a methanol extract of the plant species Platycladus orientalis suppressed the disease development of rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. Through a series of chromatography procedures in combination with activity-guided fractionation, we isolated and identified a total of eleven compounds including four labdane-type diterpenes (1–4), six isopimarane-type diterpenes (5–10), and one sesquiterpene (11). Of the identified compounds, the MIC values of compounds 1, 2, 5 & 6 mixture, 9, and 11 ranged from 100 to 200 μg/mL against M. oryzae, whereas the other compounds were over 200 μg/mL. When rice plants were treated with the antifungal compounds, compounds 1, 2, and 9 effectively suppressed the development of rice blast at all concentrations tested by over 75% compared to the non-treatment control. In addition, a mixture of compounds 5 & 6 that constituted 66% of the P. orientalis ethyl acetate fraction also exhibited a moderate disease control efficacy. Together, our data suggest that the methanol extract of P. orientalis including terpenoid compounds has potential as a crop protection agent.

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iHSD Mill Efficacy on the Seeds of Australian Cropping System Weeds

Weed Technology ◽

10.1017/wet.2017.95 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 103-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Michael J. Walsh ◽

John C. Broster ◽

Stephen B. Powles

Keyword(s):

Moisture Content ◽

Crop Production ◽

Production Systems ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Cropping System ◽

High Efficacy ◽

Weed Seed ◽

Rigid Ryegrass ◽

Mill Speed ◽

Wheat Chaff

AbstractIn Australia, widespread evolution of multi-resistant weed populations has driven the development and adoption of harvest weed seed control (HWSC). However, due to incompatibility of commonly used HWSC systems with highly productive conservation cropping systems, better HWSC systems are in demand. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD) mill on the seeds of Australia’s major crop weeds during wheat chaff processing. Also examined were the impacts of chaff type and moisture content on weed seed destruction efficacy. Initially, the iHSD mill speed of 3,000 rpm was identified as the most effective at destroying rigid ryegrass seeds present in wheat chaff. Subsequent testing determined that the iHSD mill was highly effective (>95% seed kill) on all Australian crop weeds examined. Rigid ryegrass seed kill was found to be highest for lupin chaff and lowest in barley, with wheat and canola chaff intermediate. Similarly, wheat chaff moisture reduced rigid ryegrass seed kill when moisture level exceeded 12%. The broad potential of the iHSD mill was evident, in that the reductions in efficacy due to wide-ranging differences in chaff type and moisture content were relatively small (≤10%). The results from these studies confirm the high efficacy and widespread suitability of the iHSD for use in Australian crop production systems. Additionally, as this system allows the conservation of all harvest residues, it is the best HWSC technique for conservation cropping systems.

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