Genetic Soil Disinfestation, A Conceptual Framework to Reduce Inoculum Potential of Soilborne Plant Pathogens

Abstract

Soilborne pathogens are major constraints to the production of many food and non-food crops worldwide. A wide array of strategies are employed to reduce the activities of soilborne pathogens including chemical and non-chemical methods such as solarization, fumigation, anaerobic soil disinfestation, and soil chemical treatment. This article succinctly describes these methods and proposes the concept of “genetic soil disinfestation” as an additional innovative approach for managing soilborne pathogens. Although many components of “genetic soil disinfestation” include well known and familiar tools such as crop rotation, the concept of “genetic soil disinfestation” redefines cropping systems in a unified perspective with focus on using a genetic approach to optimize the attributes of hosts and nonhosts that significantly reduce the populations of soilborne plant pathogens and the efficiency of invasiness of these pathogens.