Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects

Pandey, Anju; Paudel, Rajan; Adhikari, Tika B.; Panthee, Dilip R.; Louws, Frank J.

doi:10.3390/horticulturae10121299

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Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects

by

Anju Pandey

^1,2,

Rajan Paudel

³,

Tika B. Adhikari

^3,*

,

Dilip R. Panthee

^1,2,*

and

Frank J. Louws

^1,3

¹

Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA

²

Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, Mills River, NC 28759, USA

³

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Horticulturae 2024, 10(12), 1299; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121299

Submission received: 24 October 2024 / Revised: 29 November 2024 / Accepted: 3 December 2024 / Published: 5 December 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Disease Diagnosis and Control for Vegetable Crops)

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Abstract

Septoria leaf spot (SLS), caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Septoria lycopersici, poses a significant threat to tomato production systems. While fungicides can effectively reduce disease epidemics, planting resistant cultivars remains the most efficient and economical control method. Conventional screening and breeding have identified new sources of resistance to S. lycopersici among wild relatives. However, gaps exist in the literature concerning tomato—S. lycopersici interactions, such as plant defense mechanisms, fungal pathogenicity mechanisms, and interaction dynamics that can inform the development of durable resistance through additional research. To further enhance host resistance to S. lycopersici, molecular methods such as marker-assisted breeding, gene editing, genomic selection, and transgenic approaches can be employed. Moreover, the durability of resistance and efficacy of disease management can be optimized within an integrated pest management (IPM) framework that advances diverse tactics to suppress diseases and improve plant productivity. This review highlights the current understanding of pathogen biology, host genetic solutions, and novel strategies to combat the SLS problem and suggests directions for future research.

Keywords: integrated pest management (IPM); resistance breeding; Septoria leaf spot; Septoria lycopersici; Solanum lycopersicum

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MDPI and ACS Style

Pandey, A.; Paudel, R.; Adhikari, T.B.; Panthee, D.R.; Louws, F.J. Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects. Horticulturae 2024, 10, 1299. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121299

AMA Style

Pandey A, Paudel R, Adhikari TB, Panthee DR, Louws FJ. Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects. Horticulturae. 2024; 10(12):1299. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121299

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pandey, Anju, Rajan Paudel, Tika B. Adhikari, Dilip R. Panthee, and Frank J. Louws. 2024. "Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects" Horticulturae 10, no. 12: 1299. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121299

APA Style

Pandey, A., Paudel, R., Adhikari, T. B., Panthee, D. R., & Louws, F. J. (2024). Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects. Horticulturae, 10(12), 1299. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121299

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomatoes: Historical Insights, Present Challenges, and Future Prospects

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