Biocontrol of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2024 | Viewed by 3380
Special Issue Editor
Interests: plant diseases; insect pests; plant–microbial interactions; plant defense mechanisms; biological control; plant growth promotion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plant diseases and insect pests cause significant losses in crop production, directly by lowering yields and indirectly by increasing the costs of production and reducing the species diversity. The use of agricultural chemicals is an effective method of controlling plant diseases and insect pests. However, the continuous use of agricultural chemicals is associated with health and environmental risks, including spray drift hazards that adversely affect biodiversity and cause fungicide and pesticide resistance. Therefore, there is a growing demand for alternative crop production strategies that can reduce the use of agrochemicals. For instance, the use of microbial-based biocontrol products and natural enemies as an alternative to synthetic fungicides and pesticides has recently gained tremendous scientific attention. Microbial agents have the potential to control phytopathogenic fungal and bacterial infections, reduce crop damage from insect pests and plant parasitic (or free-living) nematodes, elicit induced systemic resistance, and enhance plant growth and productivity. Thus, it is eminent that future strategies of plant resource management incorporate the use of microbial agents and natural enemies to reduce the use of agricultural chemicals in crop protection. This will mitigate some of the emerging challenges such as environmental pollution; the development of pesticide/fungicide-resistant phytopathogens and pests, which are more difficult to control; and the potential toxicity of agricultural chemical residues in the food chain. These environmentally friendly biological agents have attracted significant attention as a sustainable solution for managing diseases and pests, and for improving crop growth and yield. Natural enemies and parasitoids are also vital in maintaining pest populations below the threshold in specific environments and should be protected from the indiscriminate effect of chemical insecticides.
This Special Issue, entitled “Biocontrol of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests”, will incorporate all aspects of biological control such as the use of microbial agents and their metabolites (antimicrobial peptides, microbial volatile compounds, and hydrolytic enzymes), natural enemies and parasitoids, and integrated disease and pest management studies, as well as reports on aspects of the elicitation of plant defense responses such as induced systemic resistance.
Prof. Dr. Young-sang Ahn
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- biocontrol of diseases and pests
- plant protection with growth promotion
- microbial agents and their metabolites
- natural enemies
- induced systemic resistance
- biocontrol mechanisms
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