Novel Methods for Detection and Control Strategies of Phytopathogens

Dear Colleagues,

Plant diseases threaten global ecosystems, health, food security, and the economy. Plants are particularly vulnerable to disease due to geographic expansion, climate change, modified land use, and the increased use of agrochemicals including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and nematicides in agricultural practices. Plant disease can be caused by a broad range of phytopathogens that include fungi, bacteria, bacteria, viruses, and phytoplasmas, and this occasionally leads to important crop losses of global economic importance. Recent research and developments, such as the use of molecular biology, have led to improved technologies for the better and more effective detection and identification of phytopathogens. Moreover, consumer demands for healthier food and food production sustainability have led many farmers to switch to integrated disease management strategies. On the other hand, global climate changes and increased traffic of people and goods lead to the emergence of new diseases, or the re-emergence of diseases from the past, placing modern agriculture in state of constant vigilance.

In this Special Issue, articles (original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, and modeling approaches and methods) that focus on novel technologies for the detection and identification of phytopathogens as well as integrated disease management at all levels, including new pathogen species and strains,  in field and greenhouse crops, trees, native species, and aquatic plants, in addition to the control strategies of these plant diseases, are most welcome.

Dr. Dirk Janssen
Dr. Yasser Sobhy Ahmed Nehela
Guest Editors

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