Mycorrhizae in the integrated pest and disease management.

Plant diseases cause serious losses in crop production and pesticide applications are currently the main way deployed for control. Due to severe environmental problems, achieving a sustainable agriculture will require avoidance of chemical pesticides/fungicides. Mycorrhizal fungi provide an effective alternative method of disease control, especially for those pathogens which affect below ground plant organs. In mycorrhizal fungi lies an enormous potential for use as biocontrol agents for soil- and root-borne diseases. Some species are also effective control agents against phytoparasitic nematodes and others are also reported as effective for control of leaf spot diseases. For efficient and persistent disease management the need is to evaluate the mycorrhizal symbionts in the natural system under field conditions. The use of mixed inocula of mycorrhizal symbionts can be more effective and yield better results than the use of a single species.