Agroecological management of crop diseases: a review

Abstract

Agroecological management of infectious crop diseases represents a challenge due to the complexity of the ecological processes involved, the great variety of plant pathogens, and the ecological and socio-cultural particularities of agroecosystems. As general management strategies, agroecology proposes the promotion of soil health, the diversification of vegetation, and a greater landscape heterogeneity. To prevent diseases, it is also necessary to consider specific practices for these organisms, (i.e. genetic resistance, seed treatments, crop microclimate management). In this article, we review the main contributions to agroecological management of diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses, including the literature on ecology of plant pathogens and holistic approaches that consider social processes. We start from a critique of integrated management and propose to broaden the disease triangle considering the biological interactions with plants, animals, microorganisms and the holobiont (plant and its microbiomes). We review how general strategies and specific disease management practices affect the different functional groups of plant pathogens, understood as a community. Finally, we emphasize that the objective from an agroecological viewpoint is to promote healthy crops. For this it is essential a holistic approach that considers the socio-economic context of farmers, values local knowledge and promotes collaborative social networks.