Fungal diseases have been underestimated worldwide but constitute a substantial threat to several plant and animal species as well as to public health. The increase in the global population has entailed an increase in the demand for agriculture in recent decades. Accordingly, there has been worldwide pressure to find means to improve the quality and productivity of agricultural crops. Antifungal agents have been widely used as an alternative for managing fungal diseases affecting several crops. However, the unregulated use of antifungals can jeopardize public health. Application of fungicides in agriculture should be under strict regulation to ensure the toxicological safety of commercialized foods. This review discusses the use of antifungals in agriculture worldwide, the need to develop new antifungals, and improvement of regulations regarding antifungal use.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is one of the widely grown vegetables worldwide. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) is the significant contributory pathogen of tomato vascular wilt. The initial symptoms of the disease appear in the lower leaves gradually, trail by wilting of the plants. It has been reported that FOL penetrates the tomato plant, colonizing and leaving the vascular tissue dark brown, and this discoloration extends to the apex, leading to the plants wilting, collapsing and dying. Therefore, it has been widely accepted that wilting caused by this fungus is the result of a combination of various physiological activities, including the accumulation of fungal mycelia in and around xylem, mycotoxin production, inactivation of host defense, and the production of tyloses; however, wilting symptoms are variable. Therefore, the selection of molecular markers may be a more effective means of screening tomato races. Several studies on the detection of FOL have been carried out and have suggested the potency of the technique for diagnosing FOL. This review focuses on biology and variability of FOL, understanding and presenting a holistic picture of the vascular wilt disease of tomato in relation to disease model, biology, virulence. We conclude that genomic and proteomic approachesare greater tools for identification of informative candidates involved in pathogenicity, which can be considered as one of the approaches in managing the disease.

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a b s t r a c tSeven Bacillus plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria spp. were evaluated for growth promotion and induced systemic resistance in rice against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). The identities of colonies of X. oryzae pv. oryzae grown on mXOS and PSA medium were confirmed by PCR employing specific primers TXTF and TXT4R. Among the seven strains tested as fresh suspensions, talc and sodium alginate formulations under laboratory and green house conditions, maximum germination of 86% was recorded after seed treatments with fresh suspension of Bacillus subtilis GBO3 followed by 85% germination treated with Bacillus pumilus SE34 in comparison to only 71% germination in the untreated controls. Similarly, the maximum vigor index of 1374 was obtained by seed treatment with fresh suspensions of B. subtilis strain GBO3 followed by treatments with strain SE34 with vigor index of 1323 in contrast to an index of only 834 observed in untreated controls. Among the treatments, seed treatments with fresh suspension of seven strains resulted in better germination and vigor assessments than talc based or sodium alginate formulations. Seed treatments with fresh suspension of strain SE34 gave 71% protection, followed by B. subtilis GBO3 and B. pumilus T4 with 58% and 52% protection, respectively, compared to the untreated controls. Seed treatments with talc based formulation of SE34 gave 66% protection, while GBO3 and T4 resulted in 52% and 50% protection, respectively, with similar formulation. Seed treatment with talc and sodium alginate formulations of strain SE34 gave 58% protection followed by GBO3 with 40% protection. Seed treatment with fresh suspensions of strains SE34 and GBO3 followed by challenge inoculations with Xoo increased accumulation of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase compared to untreated control seedlings. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that the PGPR strains used as fresh suspensions and powdered formulations may have commercial potential in plant growth promotion and in management of rice bacterial leaf blight disease.

Aims:  To develop a highly sensitive and rapid protocol for simultaneous detection and differentiation of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) in pepper and tomato. In this study, we use the multiplex PCR technique to detect dual infection of these two viruses. Methods and Results:  A multiplex RT–PCR method consisting of one‐tube reaction with two primer pairs targeted to replicase genes was developed to simultaneously detect TMV and ToMV in seed samples of pepper and tomato. Specific primers were designed from conserved regions of each of the virus genomes, and their specificity was confirmed by sequencing PCR products. RT–PCR detected up to 10−6 dilution of total RNA extracted from infected leaves. Multiplex RT–PCR revealed the presence of both TMV and ToMV in three of 18 seed samples of tomato and one of 18 seed samples of pepper. Conclusions:  The multiplex PCR assay was a cost effective, quick diagnostic technique, which was helpful in differentiating TMV and ToMV accurately. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The multiplex PCR assay described in this study is a valuable tool for plant pathology and basic research studies. This method may facilitate better recognition and distinction of TMV and ToMV in both pepper and tomato.

The present method provided rapid and reliable detection of fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. The mPCR assay could be an alternative strategy to current conventional mycotoxin analytical techniques and a reliable tool for high-throughput monitoring of major mycotoxin-producing fungi during the processing steps of food and feed commodities.

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