Biocontrol of aerial plant diseases in agriculture and horticulture: current approaches and future prospects

Until recently, the majority of research on the biological control of aerial plant diseases was focused on control of bacterial pathogens. Such research led to the commercialization of the biocontrol agent Pseudomonas fluorescens A506, as BlightBan A506™, for control of fire blight of pear. In contrast, chemical fungicides typically have provided adequate control of most foliar fungal pathogens. However, fungicide resistance problems, concerns regarding pesticide residues and revocation of registration of certain widely used fungicides have led to increased activity in the development of biocontrol agents of foliar fungal pathogens. Much of this activity has centered around the use of Trichoderma spp and Gliocladium spp to control Botrytis cinerea on grape and strawberry. The biocontrol agent Trichoderma harzianum T39 is commercially available in Israel, as Trichodex ™, for control of grey mold in grapes and may soon be registered for use in the US. Also targeted primarily against a foliar disease of grapes, in this case powdery mildew caused by Uncinula necator, is the biocontrol agent Ampelomyces quisqualis AQ10, marketed as AQ^{10  TM} biofungicide. Another promising development in the area of foliar disease control, though one which is not yet commercialized, is the use of rhizobacteria as seed treatments to induce systemic resistance in the host plant, a strategy which can protect the plant against a range of bacterial and fungal pathogens. Received 06 February 1997/ Accepted in revised form 05 June 1997