Philippe Nicot

French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) | INRAE · Plant Pathology research unit

Prior exposure to microbial-associated molecular patterns or specific chemical compounds can promote plants into a primed state with stronger defence responses. β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) is an endogenous stress metabolite that induces resistance protecting various plants towards diverse stresses. In this study, by integrating BABA-induced changes...

Main conclusion Severe N stress allows an accumulation of C-based compounds but impedes that of N-based compounds required to lower the susceptibility of tomato stem to Botrytis cinerea . Abstract Botrytis cinerea , a necrotrophic filamentous fungus, forms potentially lethal lesions on the stems of infected plants. Contrasted levels of susceptibil...

Background Botrytis cinerea , the causal agent of grey mould, is a polyphagous fungus that infects a wide range of plants, including tomato. In many countries, including Algeria, the management of grey mould is a challenging problem, even with chemical control. This necessitates the search for other strategies. The objective of this study was to ev...

Biocontrol of plant diseases and pests is a very dynamic area of research, and many microbial biocontrol agents have been identified and deployed for plant pest management. However, the available products do not yet cover all plant pests. While examples of microbial biocontrol agents with consistent efficacy have been described, the use of microorg...

Microbial bioprotectants and natural substances have been increasingly available and implemented for disease management in horticultural crops. This chapter presents the status of registered products and their current insufficiency to fulfill farmers’ needs for disease control solutions. It highlights possible advances to meet those needs, which in...

This chapter explains how deploying biocontrol methods on a large scale and by a large number of stakeholders is a key challenge for research and innovation, and is at least as important as developing new methods. We introduce two types of challenges related to biocontrol deployment. The first difficulty relates to the setup of technologies and str...

Plant pathogens can develop resistance to conventional plant protection products but their ability to overcome the effect of microbial bioprotectants is still poorly known. However, various studies show that susceptibility of plant pathogens to microbial bioprotectants can be highly variable. This may contribute to the inconsistent efficacy of micr...

Background and aims: The main soluble sugars are important components of plant defence against pathogens, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Upon infection by Botrytis cinerea, the activation of several sugar transporters, from both plant and fungus, illustrates the struggle for carbon resources. In sink tissues, the metabolic use of the s...

We consider IPM as a combination of durable, environmentally, toxicologically and economically justifiable farming practices which prevent pest damage primarily through the use of natural factors limiting pest population growth and disease development, and which resort only if needed to other, preferably non-chemical, measures. IPM is not simply a...

IPM has been developed and successfully applied in greenhouse tomatoes in several regions of the world since the 1970s. As an alternative to the exclusive application of pesticides, the cornerstone of this strategy is to use Natural Enemies (NE) to control some of the crop’s key pests (whiteflies, tomato leafminer) and other pests (spider mites, di...

Understanding how populations of microbial pathogens and arthropod pests develop over time is critical for timely and effective intervention to control disease epidemics and pest infestations in agricultural production systems. Various elements including the pathogen or pest, host plant, natural enemies or competitors, environment, and human activi...

This book represents a new, completely updated, version of a book edited by two of the current editors, published with Springer in 1999. It covers pest and disease management of greenhouse crops, providing readers the basic strategies and tactics of integrated control together with its implementation in practice, with case studies with selected cro...

We consider IPM as a combination of durable, environmentally, toxicologically and economically justifiable farming practices which prevent pest damage primarily through the use of natural factors limiting pest population growth and disease development, and which resort only if needed to other, preferably non-chemical, measures. IPM is not simply a...

Understanding how populations of microbial pathogens and arthropod pests develop over time is critical for timely and effective intervention to control disease epidemics and pest infestations in agricultural production systems. Various elements including the pathogen or pest, host plant, natural enemies or competitors, environment, and human activi...

IPM has been developed and successfully applied in greenhouse tomatoes in several regions of the world since the 1970s. As an alternative to the exclusive application of pesticides, the cornerstone of this strategy is to use Natural Enemies (NE) to control some of the crop’s key pests (whiteflies, tomato leafminer) and other pests (spider mites, di...

A commercial product based on the mycoparasitic fungus Paraphaeosphaeria minitans has become widely used by farmers to reduce soilborne inoculum of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In previous work, a wide range of susceptibility was observed among isolates of the pathogen and average morphological traits of the sclerotia were poor predictors of an isolat...

A means to rationalize the use of fungicides for crop protection and to make agriculture friendlier to environment and human health is to develop disease-risk forecasting systems based on the assessment of airborne inoculum abundance. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the pandemic agent of white mould disease, is disseminated via the atmosphere in the form...

Le numéro 76 d'Innovations Agronomiques est constitué d’articles de synthèse des projets DEPHY EXPE publiés à l’occasion du Colloque National DEPHY EXPE, qui s’est déroulé le 28 mai 2019 à l'Assemblée Permanente des Chambres d'Agriculture (Paris)

article correspondant à la communication orale au 14. IOBC-WPRS Meeting of the working group “Integrated control in protected crops, mediterranean climate”, Lisbonne, PRT (2018-09-04 - 2018-09-07). https://prodinra.inra.fr/record/453273

Le champignon phytopathogène Sclerotinia représente ces dernières années un problème croissant pour les producteurs du fait d’une recrudescence des dégâts et de moyens de protection ne donnant pas satisfaction. Les objectifs du projet Sclérolég visent à proposer aux producteurs des stratégies de protection combinant différentes techniques pour une...

Le cuivre est utilisé pour contrôler diverses maladies fongiques ou bactériennes, principalement sur vigne, en productions fruitières et en cultures légumières. Il constitue la seule substance active à effet fongicide fort et gamme d’action large homologuée en agriculture biologique. Or la mise en évidence d’effets environnementaux négatifs du cuiv...

The mycoparasitic fungus Paraphaeosphaeria minitans (formerly Coniothyrium minitans), is increasingly used by farmers to reduce soilborne inoculum of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In France, its field efficacy tends to be higher in the North than in the South, leading to the hypothesis of possible regional differences in the susceptibility of the patho...

Andrivon D., Bardin M., Bertrand C., Brun L., Daire X., Decognet V., Fabre F., Gary C., Grenier A.S., Montarry J., Nicot P., Reignault P., Tamm L., 2018. Peut-on se passer du cuivre en protection des cultures biologiques ? Rapport d'expertise scientifique collective, INRA, 185 p.

White mould caused by the ascomycete Sclerotinia sclerotiorum affects the production of many economically important crops. The incidence of this disease has recently increased in France, especially in melon crops, which were not affected much in the past. One possible explanation for this situation is the emergence of strains with particular charac...

White mould can affect the production of a wide range of economically important crops worldwide. The symptoms may be caused by several species, including Sclerotinia subarctica, a species mostly occurring in northern latitudes in sympatry with S. sclerotiorum. Although the two species are morphologically indistinguishable, S. subarctica was reporte...

communication orale au Working Groups "Induced Resistance in Plants Against Insects and Diseases" and "Multitrophic Interactions in Soil": Proceedings of the meeting "Ecological perspectives of induced resistance in plants and multitrophic interactions in soil" at Riva del Garda (Trentino, Italy), 18-20 October 2017.

Reliable reference genes are critical for relative quantification using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Ten tomato genes (Solanum lycopersicum ) and their respective primer sets, which have been used over the last 6 years as references in expression studies, were evaluated for their performance using leaf tissue samples grown under semi-controll...

Communication orale invitée au 15. IOBC-WPRS meeting of the working group "Biocontrol products: From lab testing to product development", Lleida, ESP (2018/04/23-26). https://prodinra.inra.fr/record/435378

article correspondant à la communication orale au 15. IOBC-WPRS meeting of the working group "Biocontrol products: From lab testing to product development", Lleida, ESP (2018/04/23--26). https://prodinra.inra.fr/record/435369

Post-harvest applications of UV-C radiation have proven very efficient in reducing the development of post-harvest diseases in many species including lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Several studies suggest that UV-C radiation is effective not only because of its disinfecting effect but also because it may stimulate plant defenses. Pre-harvest treatmen...

Background and aims: Plant soluble sugars, as main components of primary metabolism, are thought to be implicated in defence against pathogenic fungi. However, the function of sucrose and hexoses remains unclear. This study aimed to identify robust patterns in the dynamics of soluble sugars in sink tissues of tomato plants during the course of inf...

BACKGROUND: EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I) although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operationa...

Les légumes sont des cultures pour lesquelles les dégâts engendrés par des bioagresseurs peuvent occasionner d’importantes pertes. C’est pourquoi, dans un contexte européen de modification des stratégies de protection et de réduction de l’utilisation des solutions phytopharmaceutiques, la connaissance des organismes nuisibles (plantes hôtes, répart...

Induced chemical defence is a cost-efficient protective strategy, whereby plants induce the biosynthesis of defence-related compounds only in the case of pest attack. Plant responses that are pathogen specific lower the cost of defence, compared to constitutive defence. As nitrogen availability (N) in the root zone is one of the levers mediating th...

Chapter 9 Biological Control and Biopesticide Suppression of Botrytis-Incited Diseases Philippe C. Nicot, Alison Stewart, Marc Bardin, and Yigal Elad Abstract Recent years have seen the development of many biological control agents and other biopesticides, such as plant extracts, minerals and organic compounds, against Botrytis-incited diseases....

Recent years have seen the development of many biological control agents and other biopesticides, such as plant extracts, minerals and organic compounds, against Botrytis-incited diseases. This chapter presents significant examples of such commercially available products and reviews our increasing comprehension of mechanisms implicated in biologica...

V International Symposium on Tomato Diseases: Perspectives and Future Directions in Tomato Protection; 2016/06/13-16, Malaga, SPAIN

strong>Contexte - La protection des cultures de laitue contre les maladies fongiques fait appel à des fongicides, même si la sélection variétale prend en compte la principale maladie qu’est le mildiou dû à Bremia lactucae . En revanche, les schémas de sélection n’intègrent pas les pourritures du collet dues à Botrytis cinerea et Sclerotinia spp. (...

Poster présenté at 13. IOBC-WPRS Meeting of the working group "Biological control of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens". Biocontrol of plant diseases: "from the field to the laboratory and back again", Uppsala, SWE (2014/06/15-18).

Poster présenté à 13. IOBC-WPRS Meeting of the working group "Biological control of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens". Biocontrol of plant diseases: "from the field to the laboratory and back again", Uppsala, SWE (2014-06-15 - 2014-06-18). http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/264684

Presentation orale au 14. IOBC-WPRS Meeting of the working group "Biological control of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens, Berlin, DEU (2016/09/12-15) http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/371782

Recent years have seen the development of many biological control agents and other biopesticides, such as plant extracts, minerals and organic compounds, against Botrytis -incited diseases. This chapter presents significant examples of such commercially available products and reviews our increasing comprehension of mechanisms implicated in biologic...

Production of vegetables in southern France often relies on groups of greenhouses located in close vicinity. These crops are commonly affected by grey mould caused by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus known for its ability to produce abundant air-borne inoculum. Possible exchange of inoculum could affect the epidemics developing in neighbouring greenhouse...

The durability of a control method for plant protection is defined as the persistence of its efficacy in space and time. It depends on (i) the selection pressure exerted by it on populations of plant pathogens and (ii) on the capacity of these pathogens to adapt to the control method. Erosion of effectiveness of conventional plant protection method...

After more than 70 years of chemical pesticide use, modern agriculture is increasingly using biological control products. Resistances to conventional insecticides are wide spread, while those to bio-insecticides have raised less attention, and resistance management is frequently neglected. However, a good knowledge of the limitations of a new techn...

Aims We tested here the effect of low nitrogen (N) availability and of UV-C radiations (a physical agent) on the susceptibility of Lactuca sativa L. towards Botrytis cinerea (BC 87) and Sclerotinia minor (SM). Methods We assessed first that a dose of UV-C radiation of 0.85 kJ. m−2 is effective in triggering a positive effect without entailing any n...

Adequate protection of apple trees during the primary contamination period is a cornerstone for the management of apple scab. Correct timing of spring treatments is fundamental and thus, much effort has been devoted to forecasting ascospore release by Venturia inaequalis. Most models rely on degree-day accumulation starting from a biofix date estab...

The question as to why parasites remain generalist or become specialist is a key unresolved question in evolutionary biology. Ampelomyces spp., intracellular mycoparasites of powdery mildew fungi, which are themselves plant pathogens, are a useful model for studies of this issue. Ampelomyces is used for the biological control of mildew. Differences...

Grey mould is a worldwide disease on many economically important crops. It is caused by two fungal species, Botrytis cinerea and B. pseudocinerea, which are mainly airborne dispersed. Although several studies have considered the abundance of airborne inoculum of B. cinerea in models forecasting the risk of grey mould epidemics, the genetic characte...

The durability of a control method for plant protection is defined as the persistence of its efficacy in space and time. It depends on (i) the selection pressure exerted by it on populations of plant pathogens and (ii) on the capacity of these pathogens to adapt to the control method. Erosion of effectiveness of conventional plant protection method...

Réduire la dépendance des cultures vis-à-vis des traitements phytosanitaires oblige à explorer de nouvelles voies de production et le rôle de l’azote dans ce contexte méritait d’être précisé afin de revisiter les pratiques. Une étude spécifique a ainsi été menée durant 3 ans avec le soutien du MAAP/DGER dans le cadre du CASdar Fertipro, labellisé p...

The aim of this research was to examine the effect of UV-C on resistance of lettuce to Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia minor. Analysis of the lesion surfaces showed that plants exposed to UV-C were less susceptible to the two pathogens, especially on the fourth day after inoculation. Chlorophyll, carotenoid contents and malondialdehyde and hydroge...

Botrytis cinerea causes grey mould, a disease common on many economically important crops. Although much attention is paid to the airborne inoculum of this fungus, as it sporulates abundantly in favourable conditions, knowledge on the abundance and genetic characteristics of soilborne inoculum could help improve control strategies. In this study, t...

Gray mold, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is a common threat for greenhouse production of tomatoes. Control of this disease can be difficult even with chemical treatments, and alternative methods are needed. Nitrogen (N) fertilization is known to modify the impact of pathogens on plants. However, there is scarce knowledge about the effect of fertiliza...

Understanding the causes of population subdivision is of fundamental importance, as studying barriers to gene flow between populations may reveal key aspects of the process of adaptive divergence and, for pathogens, may help forecasting disease emergence and implementing sound management strategies. Here, we investigated population subdivision in t...

To estimate the genetic diversity and population structure for a better understanding of the spread of Botrytis cinerea, we genotyped with nine microsatellite markers 174 isolates collected from four greenhouses during three growing seasons in the region of Bejaia. Four of these isolates were detected as Botrytis pseudocinerea according to the alle...

The environment of greenhouses is commonly modified to reduce the pressure of pests and diseases, but it can also be exploited to stimulate natural defences of plants. In addition to genetic influences, several agronomic factors can be used as levers to increase the concentrations of secondary metabolites involved in the defence of fruit and vegeta...

Demand for organic foods is partially driven by consumers' perceptions that they are more nutritious. However, scientific opinion is divided on whether there are significant nutritional differences between organic and non-organic foods, and two recent reviews have concluded that there are no differences. In the present study, we carried out meta-an...

This study tested the hypothesis that B. cinerea shows host specialization on tomato and lettuce, using phenotypic and genotypic tools. Strains were isolated from tomato and lettuce grown together in a same greenhouse. Forty-four lettuce strains and forty-two tomato strains were investigated for their genetic diversity and their aggressiveness. Bot...

Although Botrytis cinerea is known for its ability to produce high amounts of spores on diseased plants, enabling it to complete rapidly numerous developmental cycles in favorable environments, population genetics studies of this fungus indicate enormous diversity and limited clonal spread. Here, we report an exception to this situation in the sett...

Bioaerosols have consequences for human, animal and plant health, for biogeochemical and atmospheric processes and for the conservation and maintenance of buildings and monuments. Renewed interest in the microbial component of bioaerosols is leading to the exploration of their long distance transport, particle-climate interactions, the atmosphere a...

Produire en limitant l’usage des produits phytosanitaires conduit à revisiter les pratiques pour mettre en oeuvre des stratégies à moindre risque sanitaire. La fertilisation représente un levier d’action potentiel dans la gestion des bioagresseurs. Le projet réalisé sur laitue avec le concours du MAAP/DGER dans le cadre du Casdar Fertipro et labell...