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Chapter 12 Bacillus lipopeptide-based antifungal agents for plant disease control

  • Neela Gayathri Ganesan , Subhranshu Samal , Vinoth Kannan , Senthil Kumar Rathnasamy and Vivek Rangarajan
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Plant Protection
This chapter is in the book Plant Protection

Abstract

Plant diseases need to be controlled as they hamper the ecosystem by affecting the quality and availability of food, feed, crops, and fiber produced by plants and farmers worldwide. Different methods and approaches are unraveled to prevent and control plant diseases. In agricultural practice, fungal diseases are the most common crop-devastating disease. The antifungal resistance developed in the crops, their quality degradation, and environmental toxicity caused by present conventional/ chemical fungicides prompt the need for new antifungal agents that are considered safe and less toxic. Therefore, researches are focused on finding new alternatives to address the same by finding several derivatives of synthetic pesticides, mixing two or more pesticides, formulating biological originated pesticides, and so on to control/prevent pests and pathogens causing plant diseases. These alternative solutions are referred to as biological controls. A novel biocontrol agent, lipopeptides, produced by microbes possesses peculiar and outstanding properties that show the ability to work against harmful fungi and yeast, which helps in various disease controls in plants. Among various strains, Bacillus subtilis and other Bacillus species gained attention due to their exceptional properties. Bacillus strains have been identified to produce metabolites that serve as antifungal, antimicrobial, and antiviral agents; in addition, these bacterial species improve plants and their products by promoting the plant growth mechanism. Encapsulating all the features in one go, Bacillus species have gained importance to be used in the agricultural sector as a biocontrol agent.

Abstract

Plant diseases need to be controlled as they hamper the ecosystem by affecting the quality and availability of food, feed, crops, and fiber produced by plants and farmers worldwide. Different methods and approaches are unraveled to prevent and control plant diseases. In agricultural practice, fungal diseases are the most common crop-devastating disease. The antifungal resistance developed in the crops, their quality degradation, and environmental toxicity caused by present conventional/ chemical fungicides prompt the need for new antifungal agents that are considered safe and less toxic. Therefore, researches are focused on finding new alternatives to address the same by finding several derivatives of synthetic pesticides, mixing two or more pesticides, formulating biological originated pesticides, and so on to control/prevent pests and pathogens causing plant diseases. These alternative solutions are referred to as biological controls. A novel biocontrol agent, lipopeptides, produced by microbes possesses peculiar and outstanding properties that show the ability to work against harmful fungi and yeast, which helps in various disease controls in plants. Among various strains, Bacillus subtilis and other Bacillus species gained attention due to their exceptional properties. Bacillus strains have been identified to produce metabolites that serve as antifungal, antimicrobial, and antiviral agents; in addition, these bacterial species improve plants and their products by promoting the plant growth mechanism. Encapsulating all the features in one go, Bacillus species have gained importance to be used in the agricultural sector as a biocontrol agent.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Chapter 1 Agrochemical industry: a multibillion industry 1
  4. Chapter 2 Plant protection through agrochemicals and its consequences 25
  5. Chapter 3 Agrochemicals and their effects on soil microbial population 45
  6. Chapter 4 Effect of abiotic stresses on plant systems and their mitigation 59
  7. Chapter 5 Plant pathogenesis and disease control 95
  8. Chapter 6 Plant defense systems: mechanism of self-protection by plants against pathogens 115
  9. Chapter 7 Role of Beneficial Microbes for Plant growth Improvement 141
  10. Chapter 8 Microbial bioproducts for plant growth and protection: trends and prospective 177
  11. Chapter 9 Nanopesticides: challenges and opportunities 201
  12. Chapter 10 Assessment of the role of rhizosphere in soil and its relationship with microorganisms and element absorption 225
  13. Chapter 11 Biosurfactant: an environmentally benign biological agent for sustainable agroecological agriculture 253
  14. Chapter 12 Bacillus lipopeptide-based antifungal agents for plant disease control 313
  15. Chapter 13 Use of alkaloids in plant protection 337
  16. Chapter 14 Biotechnological approaches for plant stress management 353
  17. Chapter 15 Role of proteins and enzymes in plant disease control 395
  18. Chapter 16 The role of PGPRs in phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation in order to promote plant growth parameters under salinity, drought, nutrient deficiency, and heavy metal stresses 415
  19. Chapter 17 Impact of endophytic fungi in biotic stress management 447
  20. Chapter 18 Ecosystem services and ecological role of birds in insect and pest control 463
  21. Chapter 19 Role of entomopathogenic fungi in biocontrol of insect pests 505
  22. Chapter 20 Indigenous practices for pest control and marketability of the produce for development of sustainable agriculture 549
  23. Chapter 21 Role of plant microbiome in crop protection 573
  24. List of contributing authors 601
  25. Index 611
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110771558-012

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Chapter 1 Agrochemical industry: a multibillion industry 1
  4. Chapter 2 Plant protection through agrochemicals and its consequences 25
  5. Chapter 3 Agrochemicals and their effects on soil microbial population 45
  6. Chapter 4 Effect of abiotic stresses on plant systems and their mitigation 59
  7. Chapter 5 Plant pathogenesis and disease control 95
  8. Chapter 6 Plant defense systems: mechanism of self-protection by plants against pathogens 115
  9. Chapter 7 Role of Beneficial Microbes for Plant growth Improvement 141
  10. Chapter 8 Microbial bioproducts for plant growth and protection: trends and prospective 177
  11. Chapter 9 Nanopesticides: challenges and opportunities 201
  12. Chapter 10 Assessment of the role of rhizosphere in soil and its relationship with microorganisms and element absorption 225
  13. Chapter 11 Biosurfactant: an environmentally benign biological agent for sustainable agroecological agriculture 253
  14. Chapter 12 Bacillus lipopeptide-based antifungal agents for plant disease control 313
  15. Chapter 13 Use of alkaloids in plant protection 337
  16. Chapter 14 Biotechnological approaches for plant stress management 353
  17. Chapter 15 Role of proteins and enzymes in plant disease control 395
  18. Chapter 16 The role of PGPRs in phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation in order to promote plant growth parameters under salinity, drought, nutrient deficiency, and heavy metal stresses 415
  19. Chapter 17 Impact of endophytic fungi in biotic stress management 447
  20. Chapter 18 Ecosystem services and ecological role of birds in insect and pest control 463
  21. Chapter 19 Role of entomopathogenic fungi in biocontrol of insect pests 505
  22. Chapter 20 Indigenous practices for pest control and marketability of the produce for development of sustainable agriculture 549
  23. Chapter 21 Role of plant microbiome in crop protection 573
  24. List of contributing authors 601
  25. Index 611
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