Biological control of plant soilborne diseases has appeared as an attractive alternative to other control methods. For the biological control of plant soilborne diseases, microorganisms mainly bacteria and fungi are used, which suppress growth and virulence traits or even kill pathogens and induce plant systemic acquired resistance. In recent years, the demand for organic food increased the use of biological control agents; however, complete control of plant diseases has not been achieved yet. The beneficial microbes used for biological control of plant diseases perform admirably under controlled greenhouse conditions but are not always successful under field conditions, which highly discourages the biological control methods. Hence, complete removal of chemicals from agricultural systems may not be impossible but a logical reduction in their application is feasible. Therefore, systematic integrated methods including both chemical and biological control and other control methods like cultural practices, resistant varieties and crop rotation are highly recommended.
Strategies to Improve Biological Control of Soilborne Plant Diseases
