A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives

Tyagi, Anshika; Lama Tamang, Tensangmu; Kashtoh, Hamdy; Mir, Rakeeb Ahmad; Mir, Zahoor Ahmad; Manzoor, Subaya; Manzar, Nazia; Gani, Gousia; Vishwakarma, Shailesh Kumar; Almalki, Mohammed A.; Ali, Sajad

doi:10.3390/horticulturae10080805

Open AccessReview

A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives

by

Anshika Tyagi

^1,†,

Tensangmu Lama Tamang

^1,†

,

Hamdy Kashtoh

^1,†,

Rakeeb Ahmad Mir

²

,

Zahoor Ahmad Mir

³

,

Subaya Manzoor

⁴,

Nazia Manzar

⁵

,

Gousia Gani

⁶,

Shailesh Kumar Vishwakarma

⁵,

Mohammed A. Almalki

^7,*

and

Sajad Ali

^1,*

¹

Department of Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea

²

Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal 191201, India

³

Department of Plant Science and Agriculture, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R2M0TB1, Canada

⁴

Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture SKUAST-K, Wadura, Sopore 193201, India

⁵

Plant Pathology Lab, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India

⁶

Division of Basic Science and Humanities, Faculty of Agriculture-SKUAST-K, Wadura, Sopore 193201, India

⁷

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi Arabia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Horticulturae 2024, 10(8), 805; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080805

Submission received: 5 June 2024 / Revised: 4 July 2024 / Accepted: 26 July 2024 / Published: 30 July 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Disease Diagnostics and Pathogen Biocontrol of Horticulture Crops)

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Abstract

Horticultural crops are vulnerable to diverse microbial infections, which have a detrimental impact on their growth, fruit quality, and productivity. Currently, chemical pesticides are widely employed to manage diseases in horticultural crops, but they have negative effects on the environment, human health, soil physiochemical properties, and biodiversity. Additionally, the use of pesticides has facilitated the development and spread of resistant pathovars, which have emerged as a serious concern in contemporary agriculture. Nonetheless, the adverse consequences of chemical pesticides on the environment and public health have worried scientists greatly in recent years, which has led to a switch to the use of biocontrol agents such as bacteria, fungi, and insects to control plant pathogens. Biocontrol agents (BCAs) form an integral part of organic farming, which is regarded as the future of sustainable agriculture. Hence, harnessing the potential of BCAs is an important viable strategy to control microbial disease in horticultural crops in a way that is also ecofriendly and can improve the soil health. Here, we discuss the role of the biological control of microbial diseases in crops. We also discuss different microbial-based BCAs such as fungal, bacterial, and viral and their role in disease management. Next, we discuss the factors that affect the performance of the BCAs under field conditions. This review also highlights the genetic engineering of BCAs to enhance their biocontrol efficiency and other growth traits. Finally, we highlight the challenges and opportunities of biocontrol-based disease management in horticulture crops and future research directions to boost their efficacy and applications.

Keywords: horticulture; biocontrol agents; diseases; pesticides; production; metabolic engineering

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MDPI and ACS Style

Tyagi, A.; Lama Tamang, T.; Kashtoh, H.; Mir, R.A.; Mir, Z.A.; Manzoor, S.; Manzar, N.; Gani, G.; Vishwakarma, S.K.; Almalki, M.A.; et al. A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives. Horticulturae 2024, 10, 805. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080805

AMA Style

Tyagi A, Lama Tamang T, Kashtoh H, Mir RA, Mir ZA, Manzoor S, Manzar N, Gani G, Vishwakarma SK, Almalki MA, et al. A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives. Horticulturae. 2024; 10(8):805. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080805

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tyagi, Anshika, Tensangmu Lama Tamang, Hamdy Kashtoh, Rakeeb Ahmad Mir, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Subaya Manzoor, Nazia Manzar, Gousia Gani, Shailesh Kumar Vishwakarma, Mohammed A. Almalki, and et al. 2024. "A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives" Horticulturae 10, no. 8: 805. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080805

APA Style

Tyagi, A., Lama Tamang, T., Kashtoh, H., Mir, R. A., Mir, Z. A., Manzoor, S., Manzar, N., Gani, G., Vishwakarma, S. K., Almalki, M. A., & Ali, S. (2024). A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives. Horticulturae, 10(8), 805. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080805

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A Review on Biocontrol Agents as Sustainable Approach for Crop Disease Management: Applications, Production, and Future Perspectives

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