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Improvement of Soilborne Pests Control with Agronomical Practices Exploiting the Interaction of Entomophagous Fungi

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Plant-Microbe Interactions in Agro-Ecological Perspectives

Abstract

The application of biological control agents (BCAs) is considered as an effective alternative for pest control. However, factors such as the formulation of the product, whose quality can affect the inoculant viability and persistence in soil, the stabilisation of the biocontrol effect under field conditions and the influence of agronomical practices as well as of the environmental conditions (weather and soil) are hampering a wider use of BCAs. After a brief review of these factors, we present some results concerning agronomical and ecological aspects from a case study carried out using different entomopathogenic fungi on organic strawberry plantations, which underline the possibility of improving BCAs efficacy, particularly when integrated into a more general strategy of pest control.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by a grant from the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ‘Organic fruit production – Definition of good practices of plant protection against pests and diseases in organic crops’, nr. HORre-029-31-29/14(103).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Horticulture, Skierniewice, Poland

    E. Malusá, M. Tartanus & B. H. Łabanowska

  2. CREA-Research Center Agriculture and Environment, Rome, Italy

    L. Canfora & F. Pinzari

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  1. E. Malusá
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  2. L. Canfora
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  3. F. Pinzari
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  4. M. Tartanus
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  5. B. H. Łabanowska
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Correspondence to E. Malusá .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Maunath Bhanjan, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Dhananjaya Pratap Singh

  2. Department of Mycology & Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Harikesh Bahadur Singh

  3. Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India

    Ratna Prabha

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Malusá, E., Canfora, L., Pinzari, F., Tartanus, M., Łabanowska, B.H. (2017). Improvement of Soilborne Pests Control with Agronomical Practices Exploiting the Interaction of Entomophagous Fungi. In: Singh, D., Singh, H., Prabha, R. (eds) Plant-Microbe Interactions in Agro-Ecological Perspectives. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5813-4_29

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