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Biological Control of Pest and Diseases Using Fluorescent Pseudomonads

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Basic and Applied Aspects of Biopesticides

Abstract

Bacteria which are shown to have potential for biological control of destructive diseases are distributed in many genera. Among them, fluorescent pseudomonads are currently considered as the most effective bacteria for biological control of soil and foliar diseases. Fluorescent pseudomonads enhance the plant growth parameters, and hence, they are called plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). PGPR are known to control a wide range of phytopathogens like fungi, bacteria, viruses, insect pests and nematodes, and they are known to control these pathogens by biocontrol mechanism which may be by competition, or antagonism, induction of systemic resistance by these bacteria in the host plant, thereby containing the invading pathogens. For the management of pest and diseases of crop plants, applications of strain mixtures of PGPR formulations perform better than individual strains. Fluorescent pseudomonads showing various modes of action especially rhizosphere colonization, antibiotic production and induction of systemic resistance would certainly be potential biocontrol agents for the management of pest and diseases of crop plants.

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  1. Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India

    B. Meena

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  1. Department of Zoology, Crop Protection, Research Centre, St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India

    K. Sahayaraj

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Meena, B. (2014). Biological Control of Pest and Diseases Using Fluorescent Pseudomonads. In: Sahayaraj, K. (eds) Basic and Applied Aspects of Biopesticides. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1877-7_2

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