Special Issue "Perspectives of Using Compost and Microorganisms to Control Pathogens on Vegetable Crops"

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pest and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Catello Pane
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, Centro di Ricerca Orticoltura e Florovivaismo, via Cavalleggeri 25, I-84098 Pontecagnano Faiano (SA), Italy
Interests: plant pathology; biological control of plant diseases; digital tools applied to plant disease management; ecology of soil-borne plant disease; sustainable disease management; suppressive soil amendments; antagonistic microbial strains
Dr. Gelsomina Manganiello
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Council of Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Vegetables and Ornamental Crops, via Cavalleggeri, 25, 84098 Pontecagnano Faiano, Salerno, Italy
Interests: plant pathology; biological control; fungal biology; crop protection; molecular mycology; Trichoderma spp.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The management of diseases caused by pathogens in vegetable cropping systems continuously needs to be improved in terms of its sustainability, effectiveness, and innovativeness.

Biological control sources, including suppressive composts, antagonistic microbial agents, and their combinations, are still being explored to achieve higher levels of efficacy in the non-synthetic disease management of vegetable cropping systems resulting in significant reduction in the use of fungicides.

Within this scope, they could take advantage of the development of new and innovative tools, formulates, and applicative protocols aimed at increasing efficacy in the control of pathogens, reducing the amounts of synthetic fungicides, and/or at enhancing effective integration with other alternative non-synthetic pathogen control means, such as biological, physical, and agronomic methods.

In this view, resource use efficiency in sustainable plant protection practices are particularly required and can be pursued by integrating new knowledge and control means, including the utilization of the newly available digital technologies in supporting operational choices. Digital technologies, indeed, are proposed for a wide range of precision agriculture applications with the main aim of maximizing the efficiency of productive factors, thereby also providing remarkable opportunities for counteracting plant pathogens.

This Special Issue will focus on “Perspectives on the Use of Compost and Microorganisms to Control Pathogens of Vegetable Crops”. Novel research articles and reviews are sought covering any topics related to the sustainable control of pathogens on vegetable crops by using compost and microorganisms also with digital support, including (but not limited to) compost suppressiveness, biological control, innovative formulations, soil suppressiveness, quality and microbiology, plant–microbe–pathogen interaction, and suppressiveness-related biodiversity. The integration of suppressive composts and antagonistic microorganisms with digital technologies to enhance disease management of vegetables are also welcome.

Dr. Catello Pane
Dr. Gelsomina Manganiello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • plant pathology
  • plant diseases
  • biological control
  • compost suppressiveness
  • microbial antagonist
  • soil-borne microbiome
  • integrated disease management
  • digital support system
  • precision biological control

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Biostimulants Managed Fungal Phytopathogens and Enhanced Activity of Beneficial Microorganisms in Rhizosphere of Scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica L.)
Agriculture 2021, 11(4), 347; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040347 - 13 Apr 2021
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Abstract
The principles of good agricultural and horticultural practice, considering both environmental protection and high yielding of plants, require modern cultivation methods. In modern agriculture, it is possible to use biostimulants that protect the soil against degradation and plants against phytopathogens and stress. The [...] Read more.
The principles of good agricultural and horticultural practice, considering both environmental protection and high yielding of plants, require modern cultivation methods. In modern agriculture, it is possible to use biostimulants that protect the soil against degradation and plants against phytopathogens and stress. The purpose of 3-year field and laboratory studies was to determine the effect of Trichoderma harzianum T-22 and other biostimulants on the health status of scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica L.) plants and microorganism populations in the rhizosphere of this plant. For this purpose, Biosept Active (a.s.—grapefruit extract), Timorex Gold 24 EC (based on tea tree oil), Trianum P (spores of Trichoderma harzianum Rifai T-22) and Zaprawa Nasienna T 75 DS/WS fungicide (a.s.—tiuram) were applied for the pre-sowing seed dressing of scorzonera cv. “Duplex”. The number of seedlings and the health status of scorzonera plants were determined during three growing seasons. In each year of the study, mycological analysis of seedling roots and roots after scorzonera harvest was conducted to establish the quantitative and qualitative composition of fungi colonizing these parts. Moreover, microbiological analyses of scorzonera rhzisphere soil were conducted and served as the basis to determine the total population of fungi and bacteria (including Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp.). Antagonistic activity of rhizosphere bacteria Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and fungi was determined based on laboratory tests on selected scorzonera soil-borne fungal pathogens (Alternaria scorzonerae, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Rhizoctonia solani). The experiments showed that Trianum P most effectively protected the roots of scorzonera against infection by Alternaria alternata, A. scorzonerae, Neocosmospora solani, Fusarium spp., Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Botrytis cinerea. The rhizosphere population of Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. in the treatments with Trianum P or Zaprawa Nasienna T 75 DS/WS was larger than in the other experimental treatments. A reverse relationship was observed in the population of rhizosphere fungi. The application of grapefruit extract, tea tree oil and Trichoderma harzianum T-22 increased antagonistic activity of Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and selected saprotrophic fungi against soil-borne fungal pathogens, especially Alternaria sp., Rhizoctonia sp., and Fusarium sp. In summary, Biosept Active, Timorex Gold 24 EC and Trianum P can be recommended as plant biostimulants in Scorzonera hispanica cultivation. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Diversity of nematophagous fungus communities in Moroccan olive nurseries: impacts of climate and nursery substrates
Authors: Mohamed AÏT HAMZA, Hafssa TAZI, Odile FOSSATI-GASCHIGNARD, Abdelmajid MOUKHLI, Hicham LAKHTAR, Zahra FERJI, Sebastianos ROUSSOS, Abdelhamid EL MOUSADIK, Thierry MATEILLE, Hassan BOUBAKER
Affiliation: -Université Ibn Zohr, Faculté des Sciences d’Agadir, Laboratoire LBVRN, BP 8106, 80000 Agadir, Morocco. -IRD, UMR CBGP, 755 Avenue du Campus Agropolis, CS30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez Cedex, France.
Abstract: Diversity of nematophagous fungi (NF) associated with olive nurseries in Morocco was investigated. Nineteen species belonging to 12 genera and 8 families were identified from 305 samples. Multiblock analysis stated that the climate and substrate origins are the main driving variables for structuring NF communities. Arthrobotrys and Pochonia genera are enhanced by low temperatures and are related with forest soil substrates, especially in the themomediterranean olive producing regions (Haouz and Guerouane), while Fusarium, Trichoderma and Monacrosporium genera prevailed in substrates from cropped soils of inframediterranean rainy areas (Jbala and Souss). In addition, a co-inertia analysis indicated that the trapping and egg-parasitic fungi (Arthrobotrys and Paecilomyces genera) were positively correlated with N/P/K nutrients. Affinity of the NF, isolated from olive nursery substrates of specific climatic variables and substrates is discussed to lead nursery producers in defining more accurate control strategies in the future. Keywords: Climate change, communities, ecology, nematophagous fungi, nurse substrates, olive tree.

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