Review: Holistic pest management against early blight disease towards sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Alternaria species are well‐known aggressive pathogens that are widespread globally and warmer temperatures caused by climate change might increase their abundance more drastically. Early blight (EB) disease, caused mainly by Alternaria solani, and brown spot, caused by Alternaria alternata, are major concerns in potato, tomato and eggplant production. The development of EB is strongly linked to varieties, crop development stages, environmental factors, cultivation and field management. Several forecasting models for pesticide application to control EB were created in the last century and more recent scientific advances have included modern breeding technology to detect resistant genes and precision agriculture with hyperspectral sensors to pinpoint damage locations on plants. This paper presents an overview of the EB disease and provides an evaluation of recent scientific advances to control the disease. First of all, we describe the outline of this disease, encompassing biological cycles of the Alternaria genus, favorite climate and soil conditions as well as resistant plant species. Second, versatile management practices to minimize the effect of this pathogen at field level are discussed, covering their limitations and pitfalls. A better understanding of the underlying factors of this disease and the potential of novel research can contribute to implementing integrated pest management systems for an ecofriendly farming system. © 2021 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of the Efficiency of Paecilomyces Lilacinus and Trichoderma Harzianum as Biological Control Agents Against Alternaria Solani Causing Early Blight Disease of Eggplant

“…The high level of humidity and frequency of precipitation following by the hot and dry weather greatly reduces the yield. In Iraq, the amount of eggplant infection has been estimated more than 60% (Salih & Abdul Ridha, 2019;Jindo et al, 2021). There are some methods to control this disease (chemical control, biological treatment, resistant varieties, crop rotation, etc.)…”

Can Potato Plants Be Colonized with the Fungi Metarhizium and Beauveria under Their Natural Load in Agrosystems?

“…Regarding Alternaria , water stress in plants, high wind speed, and a high density of phytophages are characteristics of the Karasuk location. These factors contribute to the dissemination of Alternaria conidia and incidence of Solanaceae plants [ 64 ]. The predominance of unclassified Pyronemataceae and the decrease in the abundance of Fusarium and Cladosporium in potato roots from the Novosibirsk farm can probably be explained by the crop rotation.…”

“…The predominance of unclassified Pyronemataceae and the decrease in the abundance of Fusarium and Cladosporium in potato roots from the Novosibirsk farm can probably be explained by the crop rotation. The long-term cultivation of certain plants without rotation leads to the accumulation of phytopathogens, while rotation partially decreases this accumulation [ 64 , 65 ]. Therefore, we see the predominance of phytopathogens in the domestic agrosystems of Karasuk and Toguchin and their lower abundance in the conventional agrosystem of the Novosibirsk location.…”

Success, despite another plague year

“…The management strategies for sudden death syndrome in soybean 63 and early blight disease 64 are reviewed. Punja summarizes diseases of Cannabis sativa and their management 65 .…”