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Plant Pathology Journal

Year: 2006 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 2 | Page No.: 125-142
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Authors

Robert T. Lartey

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Research Article

Dynamics of Soil Flora and Fauna in Biological Control of Soil Inhabiting Plant Pathogens

Robert T. Lartey
The cropland soil, which is comprised of spermosphere, rhizosphere and bulk soil, is populated by a wide array of microbial inhabitants. These microbial inhabitants include the flora, represented by bacteria, actinomyces, archaea, fungi and algae and the fauna, such as protozoa, nematodes, Acarids and Collembola. These organisms consist of saprophytes, pathogens of plants and antagonists of other soil microbes, including some plant pathogens. The success of crops may be influenced directly by stimulation of their growth and indirectly by variety of interactions among these microbial inhabitants. These interactions may result in negative plant growth by causing a variety of diseases, positive plant growth through mutual benefits or no stimulation on plant growth through neutral effects. In addition, interactions also occur among these cropland microbial populations which also influences the health of crops. The most important of these, with regard to crop health is the antagonistic interactions between beneficial microbial inhabitants and pathogens which could impact biological control efficacy. Therefore, successful development of a biological control system against soil inhabiting plant pathogens requires good knowledge of the composition of the microbial inhabitants and an understanding of the interactive functions of microflora and fauna in the soil.
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