Abstract
Phytopathogens have beleaguered the island of Ireland since the 19th century great famine caused by the potato blight oomycete, Phytophthora infestans and in recent times by cohorts of serious bacterial wilt diseases such as Erwinia, Dickeya, Ralstonia, and fungal wilt diseases predominantly caused by saprophyte fungi (e.g. Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium, Rhizoctonia) have all shown their growing resistance to various conventional chemical control agents, and create enormous impact on sustainable agriculture, further exacerbated by global climate change pressures.
Highlights
History has already shown human populations to be vulnerable to episodes of starvation, when dependent on a single crop which is unexpectedly affected by a pathogen
The concept of biostimulants including biopesticides are in its embryonic state in the island of Ireland and at present the major biological crop improvement products are mainly produced by seaweed extracts suppliers [e.g. OileannGlasTeoranta (OGT), http://www.ogt.ie, Bioatlantis http://www.bioatlantis.com/] while our own research upon soil Bacillus species and plant extracts that exhibited in vitro antagonism on dieback oomycete Phytophthora species and fungi Fusarium crop wilt [9] need bulk volume production, commercialization and further protracted field testing
Economics and cost benefits far outweigh the costs of utilising locally available natural products for meeting plant health requirements. In this mini-review we focus mainly on the above challenges posed for adoption of biological means of achieving phytosanitation, of either tree or crop phytopathogens as an alternative environmentally sustainable strategy in Northern Ireland, as a replacement for the current dependence on chemical means of suppressing the disease causal agent which devastates the limited tree populations and the arable crops and horticulture products
Summary
History has already shown human populations to be vulnerable to episodes of starvation, when dependent on a single crop (or monoculture) which is unexpectedly affected by a pathogen. In this review we have outlined diverse causal agent challenges exemplified above amongst others faced by Northern Ireland for disease management via non-chemical alternative sources of antimicrobials as biological control agents for plant diseases for conserving biodiversity and environmental protection.
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