Bacteriophage-Based Biocontrol in Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

One of the main challenges that agriculture faces is that of ensuring crop production for a rapidly growing human population, which can be hampered by the social awareness for the environment and public health against the use of agrochemicals and the emergence of plant pathogens resistant to them. This requires innovative strategies that provide sustainable, ecofriendly, and economically affordable solutions against plant diseases, as well as safer and healthier food, and has renewed the interest in biotechnological control methods such as those based on the use of bacteriophages, natural predators of bacteria. Phages have a lower potential to produce bacterial resistance, since they can evolve and overcome host mutations, and can be supplied in bacteriophage cocktails. Additionally, they can be used to treat plant-related environments and can be produced by economically affordable methods.

The aim of this Special Issue is to call for recent advances in bacteriophage-based biocontrol of major bacterial plant pathogens and their plant environments. Studies focusing on the bioproduction and field application of these bacteriophages are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Elena G. Biosca
Dr. María Belén Álvarez Ortega
Guest Editors

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