Abstract
Some synthetic fungicides have been currently prohibited due to their adverse effects; thus, searching for alternatives to decrease their application is a priority worldwide. An alternative to the application of synthetic fungicides is chitosan -a natural biopolymer- because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and bioactivity. Chitosan has been used in different industries, such as cosmetology, pharmaceutics, food, among others. In agriculture, it has been used as a resistance inductor and bio-fungicide because of its antimicrobial activity and for plant development as growth promoter. Although many works have been published on chitosan for its characteristics and mode of action, the direct effects on agriculture -both in plant and fruit phytopathogens- have not been reported. Therefore, the objective of this review is to summarize recent advances and achievements of chitosan application in agriculture with special attention to its antimicrobial properties and plant defence induction mechanisms.
Highlights
Synthetic fungicides have an important role in phytopathogen control (Massi et al, 2021)
Chitosan has been used in different industries, such as cosmetology, pharmaceutics, food, among others
It has been used as a resistance inductor and bio-fungicide because of its antimicrobial activity and for plant development as growth promoter
Summary
Synthetic fungicides have an important role in phytopathogen control (Massi et al, 2021). Their application generates resistance to phytopathogens and affects the environment, human and animal health negatively (Meena et al, 2020b). Interest exists in friendly agriculture that produces healthy food and minimizes the use of agrochemicals (Baker et al, 2020). Using biopolymers, such as cellulose, starch, galactomannan, among others, has gained importance for controlling diverse plant diseases (Malerba and Cerana, 2018) where chitosan stands out as the most used biopolymer in agriculture (Yang et al, 2021). Received in revised form: 17 Feb 2021. The journal will continue to appear quarterly, as before, with four annual numbers
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