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© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
V.S. Meena et al. (eds.), Agriculturally Important Microbes for Sustainable
Agriculture, DOI10.1007/978-981-10-5343-6_8
N. Gupta
ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Research, Pune 411005, Maharashtra, India
S. Debnath (*)
ICAR-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture,
Regional Station- Mukteshwar, 263138 Nainital, Uttarakhand, India
e-mail: sovan.dta@gmail.com
S. Sharma • P. Sharma
Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Sirmour 173101, Himachal Pradesh, India
J. Purohit
C.P. College of Agriculture, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University,
Sardarkrushinagar 385506, Gujarat, India
8
Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant
Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
Nitika Gupta, Sovan Debnath, Sushma Sharma,
Prachi Sharma, and Jyotika Purohit
Abstract
The importance of sustainable agriculture can be understood as an ecosystem
approach toward the integrated agricultural management practices. It is capable
of enhancing soil and environmental quality with conserving natural resources.
Therefore, in recent years, it has become a component of the modern agricultural
practices. However, at the same time, yield loss of eld crops due to diseases is
causing bottlenecks toward the sustainable agricultural production systems
worldwide. The conventional method for disease management has caused degra-
dation of environment, land resources, and water bodies, developed pesticide
resistance in pathogens, and contaminated the food with toxins. These have
evolved crave for the alternative disease management practices, which are eco-
nomic, eco-friendly, and sustainable approach for farmers. To be precise, rate of
development of diseases can be reduced by an adequate and balanced mineral
nutrition in crops. The plant nutrients determine its resistance or susceptibility to
disease, its histological or morphological structure or properties, and the ability
of pathogens to survive on the host. The disease symptoms frequently reect the
altered nutritional status of the plant, and many factors that inuence this
response are not well understood. This article summarizes some of the most
218
recent developments regarding the effect of macronutrients (e.g., N, P, K), sec-
ondary nutrients (e.g., Ca, Mg), and micronutrients (e.g., B, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, and
Si) on disease resistance/tolerance and susceptibility and their use in sustainable
agriculture.
Keywords
Disease management • Plant nutrients • Sustainable agriculture
Contents
8.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 218
8.2 Role ofNutrients inReducing Disease Severity ........................................................... 220
8.2.1 Nitrogen (N) ...................................................................................................... 220
8.2.2 Phosphorus (P)................................................................................................... 227
8.2.3 Potassium (K) .................................................................................................... 228
8.2.4 Calcium (Ca) ..................................................................................................... 231
8.2.5 Magnesium (Mg) ............................................................................................... 232
8.2.6 Micronutrients ................................................................................................... 232
8.2.7 Other Nutrients .................................................................................................. 237
8.3 Control ofDiseases ThroughSustainable Nutrient Management ................................. 239
8.4 Systemic Induced or Acquired Resistance .................................................................... 242
8.5 Disease Resistance Through Sustainable Practices ...................................................... 245
8.5.1 Soil Organic Matter/Amendments ..................................................................... 245
8.5.2 Intercropping ..................................................................................................... 247
8.5.3 Crop Rotation .................................................................................................... 248
8.6 Concluding Remarks andFuture Perspective ............................................................... 250
References .............................................................................................................................. 251
8.1 Introduction
Nowadays, the importance of sustainable agriculture has risen to become one of the
most important issues in agriculture from the last two decades. Although numerous
denitions of sustainable agriculture exist, most agree on the three basic, overlap-
ping components: ecological, economic, and social sustainability (Kaur 2013;
Pilgeram 2013). The word is most appropriately used with the agricultural practices
that need to be sustainable to fulll the requirements of the increasing population
and of the future generation without having its effect on the factors of the ecosystem
which must be utilized, maintaining its diversity, productivity, liveliness, and capac-
ity to function (Lewandowski etal. 1999; Heslin 2015). Meanwhile, incidence of
plant diseases poses major limiting factor toward sustainable agricultural produc-
tion systems worldwide, especially in tropics and subtropics. To manage plant dis-
eases, farmers often apply agrochemicals (i.e., pesticides, insecticides, fungicide,
herbicides etc.) in doses excess of their recommended dose that have raised serious
concerns about food safety, soil, environmental quality, and pesticide resistance,
N. Gupta et al.
219
which have dictated the need for alternative pest management techniques (Dordas
2008; Kaur 2013). Moreover, the continuous use of many pesticides and biocides
has developed pesticide-specic resistance in pathogens.
Sustainable agriculture attempts to provide long-term sustained yields through
the use of ecologically sound management technologies such as crop diversica-
tion, recycling of plant nutrients, and biological methods of pest control (Heslin
2015; Srivastava etal. 2016). The sustainability of agriculture has faced many sig-
nicant challenges in recent years. The major challenges include (1) the rapid
growth of the human population and the increased demand for agricultural land and
resources (Godfray etal. 2010), (2) increased resistance of pests and diseases toward
pesticides (Lucas etal. 2015), (3) overdependence on fossil energy and the increased
monetary and environmental costs of nonrenewable resources (Srivastava et al.
2016), (4) global climate change (Srivastava et al. 2016), and (5) globalization
(Pilgeram 2013). These dominant issues are challenging agriculturists to develop
more sustainable management systems, like never before, in history. To meet the
food and nutritional requirements of a growing population, agriculture will need to
move beyond the past emphasis on productivity to encompass improved public
health, social well-being, and a sound environment (Hanson etal. 2007). Thus, it
becomes important to nd alternatives to manage plant diseases which do not harm
the environment and at the same time increase yield and improve product quality
(Bahadur etal. 2014; Maurya etal. 2014; Ahmad etal. 2016; Meena etal. 2016a;
Kumar etal. 2016).
To control pests and diseases, the farmers have several options which can be
combined in the integrated pest management approaches like (1) genetics, the culti-
vation of crops, which are less susceptible or resistant to pests and diseases; (2)
biological control, referring to utilization of biological agents and predators; (3)
chemical control, through organic/inorganic fungicides and pesticides; (4) cultural
practice, to create optimal growth conditions of the cultivated crops and/or to eradi-
cate those conditions, which are favorable for multiplication of pests and diseases;
and lastly (5) plant nutrition. When it comes to host resistance to diseases, it is often
observed that the plant nutrition and health is being overlooked. However, rate of
development of diseases may be reduced by adequate knowledge of balanced min-
eral nutrition in many crops. There are 18 nutrient elements required to grow crops.
Among them, 15 nutrients are taken up from the soil and are usually grouped as
primary nutrients, secondary nutrients, and micronutrients (Bhaduri etal. 2014).
Plants uptake the following mineral nutrients for a healthy growth: the primary
macronutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K); the three second-
ary macronutrients, calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), and magnesium (Mg); and the micro-
nutrients/trace minerals, boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc
(Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), and nickel (Ni). Nutrients are important fac-
tors in disease resistance and control and they are also important for growth and
development of plants (Datnoff etal. 2007). Some nutrients have a greater impact
on plant diseases than others. However, it should be considered that a particular
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
220
nutrient may have opposite impacts on different diseases and in different environ-
ments, i.e., the same nutrient may increase the incidence of one disease but at the
same time decrease the incidence of others (Agrios 2005). Application of fertilizers
is not a substitute for pesticides, but an important component in integrated pest
management, allowing reductions in the pesticide doses and, thus, decreasing pesti-
cides and hazardous residues in food crops. There are two types of primary resis-
tance mechanisms that mineral nutrition can affect either by formation of mechanical
barriers, primarily through the development of thicker cell walls, or synthesis of
natural defense compounds, such as phytoalexins, antioxidants, and avanoids, that
provide protection against pathogens (Bhaduri etal. 2014; Prakash and Verma 2016;
Meena et al. 2015a, 2016b; Priyadharsini and Muthukumar 2016; Kumar et al.
2017). Moreover, addition of nutrients indirectly enhances the pathogen inactivity,
thus increasing the yield of crops.
8.2 Role of Nutrients in Reducing Disease Severity
Nutrition has been a primary component of disease control and management; still
the importance of plant nutrient is unexplored. The effect of mineral nutrients on
disease has been based on (1) the observed effects of fertilization on a specic dis-
ease’s incidence or severity, (2) the comparison of mineral concentrations in healthy
or resistant tissues compared with diseased or susceptible tissues, or (3) conditions
inuencing the availability of a specic nutrient with disease. All of these observa-
tions can generally be correlated for a particular nutrient and disease interaction,
although growth stage of the plant, environmental conditions, and biological activ-
ity can inuence the outcome (Meena etal. 2017). Mineral nutrition has an impor-
tant role in this system, and its management can affect not only the yield but also
plant health and the environment (Katan 2009). The summarized inuence of the
essential nutrients on disease resistance or severity is shown in Table8.1 and also
discussed in the following subsections.
8.2.1 Nitrogen (N)
Nitrogen is the most commonly used fertilizer and is essential for the synthesis of
many cellular components (Havlin etal. 2009). It is absorbed by plants in either a
reduced or an oxidized form. The rapid rate of nitrication in many cultivated soils
provides nitrate (NO3−) for plant uptake which is internally reduced to amino acids
prior to utilization by cells (Marschner 1995; Havlin etal. 2009). The two forms of
nitrogen (i.e., NO3− and NH4+) absorbed by the plant are assimilated differently and
can have a profound effect on diseases. Despite the fact that abundance of N in
plants is one of the most important factors inuencing disease development, there
are several reports of the effect of N on disease development that remain elusive and
contradict each other, and the facts for this elusiveness remained poorly understood
N. Gupta et al.
221
Table 8.1 Effect of plant nutrients on disease resistance, tolerance, or susceptibility
Nutrient Disease Causal organism Crop Presence of nutrient References
A.Primary nutrients
Nitrogen Gray mold Botrytis cinerea Tomato Resistance increased
with N
Hofand etal. (1999)
Early blight, blight Alternaria solani Potato, tomato,
cotton
Severity of the
infection decreases
with high N supply
Blachinski etal. (1996)
Bacterial speck,
wilting
Pseudomonas syringae,
Oidium lycopersicum
Tomato Susceptibility
increases with N
Hofand etal. (2000)
Gummy stem blight Didymella bryoniae Water melon Severity increased
with increasing dose
of N
Santos etal. (2009)
Foliar disease Rhynchosporium secalis,
Drechslera teres,
Cochliobolus sativus
Barley Increasing rate of N
had no effect
Turkington etal. (2012)
Stripe rust Puccinia striiformis f. sp.
tritici
Wheat Severity of the
infection decreases
with N supply
Devadas etal. (2014)
Potassium Leaf blight Pyrenophora tritici-repentis Wheat Resistance increases
with K
Sharma etal. (2005)
Leaf rust Puccinia triticina Wheat Resistance increased
with K
Sweeney etal. (2000)
Sheath blight Rhizoctonia solani Rice Resistance increased
with high K
Schurt etal. (2015)
Pod and stem blight Diaporthe sojae Soybean Susceptibility
increases with low K
Snyder and Ashlock (1996)
Rust Phakopsora pachyrhizi Soybean Resistance increased
with K
Pinheiro etal. (2011)
(continued)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
222
Table 8.1 (continued)
Nutrient Disease Causal organism Crop Presence of nutrient References
Phosphorus Root disease Rhizoctonia Wheat Resistance increases
with P
Kirkegaard etal. (1999)
Powdery mildew Sphaerotheca fuliginea Cucumber Reduction in disease
severity with P
application
Reuveni etal. (2000)
Root rot Rhizoctonia solani Faba bean Severity of the
infection decreases
with P supply
Mousa and El-Sayed, (2016)
B.Secondary nutrients
Magnesium Brown spot Bipolaris oryzae Rice Resistance increased
with increased Mg
Moreira etal. (2015)
Leaf blight Helminthosporium maydis Maize Susceptibility
increases with Mg
Taylor (1954)
Calcium Phytophthora stem rot Phytophthora sojae Soybean Resistance increased
with Ca
Sugimoto etal. (2011)
Clubroot Plasmodiophora brassicae Crucifer crops Reduction in
incidence in soil with
sufcient Ca
Campbell etal. (1990)
Apple decay Gloeosporium perennans Apple Severity of the
infection decreases
with Ca supply
Krauss (1971)
Fruit rot – Fleshy fruits Ca treatment before
storage prevents
physiological
disorders and rotting
Dordas (2008)
Sulphur Potato scab Streptomyces scabies Potato Possibility of
reduction in severity
by S application
Huber (1980)
N. Gupta et al.
223
Nutrient Disease Causal organism Crop Presence of nutrient References
C.Micronutrients
Boron Eutypa dieback Eutypa lata Grapevine Resistance increased
with B
Rolshausen and Gubler (2005)
Tobacco mosaic virus,
tomato yellow leaf
curl virus
TMV, TYLCV Bean, tomato Reduction in disease
with B application
Graham and Webb (1991)
Powdery mildew Blumeria graminis Wheat Decreases with
applied B
Marschner (1995)
Blue rot of orange Penicillium digitatum Orange Reduction with B
treatment before
storage
Tarabih and El-Metwally
(2014)
Zinc Root rot Rhizoctonia solani (AG 8) Bur clover Resistance increases
with Zn
Streeter etal. (2001)
Banana wilt Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
cubense
Banana Resistance increases
with Zn
Sanjeev and Eswaran (2008)
Pythium rot Pythium deliense Cucumber Resistance increases
with increased Zn
Kucukyumuk etal. (2014)
Root rot Fusarium solani Wheat Application of Zn
increases tolerance
Khoshgoftarmanesh etal.
(2010)
Iron Apple canker Sphaeropsis malorum Apple, pear Resistance increases
with Fe application
Graham (1983)
Black shank Phytophthora parasitica var.
nicotianae
Tobacco Presence of Fe favors
growth
Hendrix etal. (1969)
Wilt Fusarium spp. Tomato Severity reduced
with decreased Fe
availability
Scher and Baker (1982)
(continued)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
224
Table 8.1 (continued)
Nutrient Disease Causal organism Crop Presence of nutrient References
Manganese Brown spot Helminthosporium oryzae Rice Resistance increased
with Mn
Kaur and Padmanabhan (1974)
Take-all Gaeumannomyces graminis
var. avenae
Bent grass Resistance increases
with Mn
Carrow etal. (2001)
Black leaf mold Pseudocercospora fuligena Tomato Control of disease
with Mn
Heine etal. (2011)
Copper Powdery mildew Blumeria graminis f. sp.
tritici
Wheat Suppression with
applied Cu
Graham (1980)
Bacterial canker Clavibacter michiganensis
subsp. michiganensis
Tomato Decreases with Cu
application
Bastas (2014)
Ergot Claviceps sp. Wheat Reduction with Cu
application
Evans (2007)
Sheath blight Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn Paddy Decreased with
application of Cu
compounds
Khaing etal. (2014)
Chlorine Stripe rust Puccinia striiformis f. sp.
tritici
Wheat Controlled in
presence of Cl
Graham and Webb (1991)
Root rot Cochliobolus sativus Barley Reduction with Cl
fertilizer
Timm etal. (1986)
Leaf rust Puccinia recondite Wheat Suppression with Cl
fertilizer application
Elmer (2007)
N. Gupta et al.
225
Nutrient Disease Causal organism Crop Presence of nutrient References
D.Other nutrients
Silicon Powdery mildew Erysiphe cichoracearum Cucumber Resistance increased
with Si
Miyaki and Takahashi (1983)
Anthracnose Colletotrichum
gloeosporioides
Capsicum Resistance increases
with Si
Jayawardana etal. (2016)
Angular leaf spot Xanthomonas malvacearum Cotton Resistance increases
with Si
Oliveira etal. (2012)
Phytophthora blight
disease
Phytophthora capsici Bell pepper Resistance increases
with Si
French-Monar etal. (2010)
Pythium root rot Pythium ultimum Cucumber Resistance increased
with Si
Cherif and Belanger (1992)
Blast Magnaporthe oryzae Paddy Resistance increased
with Si fertilization
Sun etal. (2010)
Brown spot Bipolaris oryzae Rice Resistance increased
with Si
Dallagnol etal. (2014)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
226
(Marschner 1995; Hofand etal. 2000; Dordas 2008; Bahadur etal. 2017; Verma
etal. 2017b; Kumar etal. 2017).
These differences may be due to the form of N absorbed by the host plant
(Harrison and Shew 2001; Celar 2003) or the type of pathogen, viz., obligate or
facultative under consideration (Buschbell and Hoffmann 1992; Marschner 1995).
In addition, most of the contradiction in reports of the effect of N on diseases may
result from a failure to recognize the different effects of the various forms of nitro-
gen (Huber and Thompson 2007). For example, with high N supply, there is an
increase in severity of the infection caused by the obligate parasites, e.g., Puccinia
graminis (Howard etal. 1994), Erysiphe graminis (Buschbell and Hoffmann 1992),
and Oidium lycopersicum (Hofand etal. 2000). On the other side, when the dis-
ease is caused by facultative parasites like Fusarium oxysporum (Woltz and Engelhar
1973), Alternaria solani (Blachinski et al. 1996), and Xanthomonas sp. (Chase
1989), high N supply decreases the severity of the infection. Such difference in
reports between the obligate and facultative parasites is mainly due to the nutritional
requirements of these parasites. Obligate parasites require assimilates supplied
directly from living cells. In contrast, facultative parasites are semi-saprophytes,
which prefer senescing tissue or which release toxins in order to damage or kill the
host plant cells (Meena etal. 2015b; Meena etal. 2016c; Saha etal. 2016; Meena
etal. 2016d; Dotaniya etal. 2016; Meena etal. 2015f). Therefore, the factors, which
inuence the metabolic activities of the host cells and which delay senescence of the
host plant, can increase resistance or tolerance to facultative parasites (Agrios
2005). Thus, the effect of N is quite variable in the literature, which is mainly due to
the different response depending on the type of the pathogens. A trend of increased
severity with increasing doses of N was observed by Santos etal. (2009) in gummy
stem blight (Didymella bryoniae) of water melon and by Devadas etal. (2014) in
stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) of wheat, with a decreasing trend in
yield. In general, there is a higher growth rate during the vegetative stage with the
increased rate of N and the proportion of the young to mature tissue shifts in favor
of the young tissues, which are more susceptible (Dordas 2008). At the same time,
plant metabolism changes due to high N rates, as some key enzymes of phenol
metabolism have lower activity. The content of the phenolics decreases and the
lignin content may be lower, and all these are part of the defense system of plants
against infection (Meena etal. 2014a; Shrivastava etal. 2016; Meena etal. 2015c;
Bahadur etal. 2016b; Das and Pradhan 2016; Nath etal. 2017; Sarkar etal. 2017;
Verma etal. 2017a).
Thus, the main reason for the increased susceptibility of the host plants toward
high N rates is the various anatomical and physiological changes. On contrary, Last
(1962) observed that N increased the level of infection of barley powdery mildew
(Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei) as well as the grain yield of the infested plant. Last
(1962) argued that the more vigorous growth of the plant due to application of more
N supplied more assimilates to the plants which lowered the competitive effect of
the pathogen. Hofer etal. (2016) demonstrated that N fertilization restricts Fusarium
grain infection of barley by inuencing canopy characteristics and possibly plant
physiology. They concluded that N may act differently on infection caused by
N. Gupta et al.
227
different species of the Fusarium complex or other fungal genera attacking barley,
because of differences in life cycles, infection strategies, or production of secondary
metabolites. These differences should be kept in mind in incorporation of N fertil-
ization into an integrated pest management strategy against Fusarium in spring bar-
ley. Similarly Turkington etal. (2012) reported that increasing the N rate from 50 to
100% had no effect on leaf disease levels in barley.
The different forms of N supply can have a major impact on the activity of root-
borne diseases, which can be sensitive to pH.The use of ammonium-based fertil-
izers can increase the incidence of some diseases (e.g., Phytophthora root rot,
Fusarium wilt, and Fusarium crown and root rot), whereas nitrate-based fertilizers
generally have the reverse effect (McGovern 2015). The situation becomes more
complex for soilborne pathogens, as on the root surface, there are many more micro-
organisms than in the bulk soil (Bhaduri etal. 2014). Interaction between nitrogen
and other nutrients is also found to be inuencing disease resistance. For example,
NO3− nutrition stimulates K+ uptake, whereas NH4+ uptake competes with K+ uptake
(Marschner 1995). Proper K nutrition has been found to protect crops from diseases
and pests. Therefore, uptake of nitrogen as NO3− imparts disease resistance to some
extent over NH4+ uptake. In addition, there is a decrease in Si content with the appli-
cation of high levels of N, which can also affect the disease tolerance.
8.2.2 Phosphorus (P)
After N, phosphorus is the most widely applied plant nutrient and its deciency in
soils signicantly reduces crop yields (Havlin etal. 2009). P is an essential element
of the building blocks of life, the ribonucleic acids (RNA), as well as being required
for many additional biochemical and physiological processes including energy
transfer, protein metabolism, and other functions (Marschner 1995; Prabhu etal.
2007).
However, in the eld of agriculture, P has been extensively used to prepare the
formulations of fertilizers for enhancing yield of the crops and as fungicides, bacte-
ricides, and nematicides for controlling the harmful pathogens. Regarding disease
resistance, the role of P is inconsistent and seemingly unpredictable. For example,
P application increased resistance in certain crops as in tomato to Fusarium and
tobacco to Pseudomonas tabaci, whereas in some crops, it showed decrease in resis-
tance like in tobacco to Tobacco mosaic virus and in cucumber to Cucumber mosaic
virus (Kiraly 1976). P has been found to be the most effective when it is applied to
control fungal diseases of seedlings, where faster root development allows plants to
escape disease (Huber and Graham 1999). Similarly, in corn, P application can
reduce root rot, especially when it is grown on soils decient in P (Huber and
Graham 1999).
A number of studies have shown that P application could reduce the diseases like
potato scab, peanut rust, bacterial leaf blight in rice, leaf curl virus disease in
tobacco, pod and stem blight in soybean, brown stripe disease in sugarcane, blast
disease in rice, and cowpea anthracnose and Rhizoctonia root rot disease in faba
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
228
bean (Davis etal. 1976; Mayee 1983; Adebitan 1996; Reuveni etal. 1998, 2000;
Huber and Graham 1999; Kirkegaard et al. 1999; Mousa and El-Sayed 2016).
Contrary to these, some other studies reported that application of P may increase the
severity of diseases caused by rust in sugarcane, Sclerotinia in many garden plants,
and ag smut in wheat (Huber 1980). Application of adequate amounts of P
increased Fusarium wilt in tomato at pH 6.0, but suppressed it at pH7.0–7.5 and
reduced the severity of Rhizoctonia disease in soybean, emphasizing the importance
of balanced and adequate nutrition (Katan 2009). Foliar sprays of P can confer local
and systemic protection against some foliar pathogens, e.g., powdery mildews in
cucumber, grape, mango, apple, wheat, and peppers; rust on maize; and others
(Reuveni and Reuveni 1998; Katan 2009). Soils decient in adequate P may also
induce the severity of diseases in plants suffering from P starvation. For example,
Zhao etal. (2013) found a 35% reduction in P content in citrus trees affected by
Huanglongbing (HLB) disease (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) compared to
healthy trees. They further demonstrated that application of P solutions to the
affected plants signicantly reduced HLB symptoms and improved fruit yield in
citrus.
8.2.3 Potassium (K)
Potassium is required by the plant for various vital biochemical and physiological
functions (Marschner 1995; Havlin etal. 2009; Wang etal. 2013). Deciency symp-
toms of potassium such as thin cell walls, weakened stalks and stems, smaller and
shorter roots, accumulation of sugar in the leaves, and accumulation of unused N
encourage disease infection (Graham 1983). Each of these factors minimizes the
ability of the plant to resist entry of infection by fungus, bacteria, and virus. K fer-
tilization is widely reported to affect the insect infestation and disease incidence in
many host plants (Marschner 1995). Adequate nutrient serves two major roles as in
protecting the plant from metabolic stress and disease resistance. Nevertheless, K
increases the resistance of host plants up to the optimal level, beyond which, there
is no further increase in resistance with increasing supply of K and its contents in
plants (Huber and Graham 1999). Perrenoud (1990) reviewed 2449 references and
found that the use of K signicantly decreased the incidence of fungal diseases by
~70%, bacteria by ~69%, viruses by ~41%, insects and mites by ~63%, and nema-
todes by ~33%. Meanwhile, K increased the yield of plants infested with fungal
diseases by 42%, bacteria by ~57%, viruses by ~78%, insects and mites by ~36%,
and nematodes by ~19%. It has been observed that the intensity of several infectious
diseases of obligate and facultative parasites can be reduced by the application of K
fertilizer (Table8.2).
In potato, K fertilization was found to decrease the incidence of several diseases,
such as late blight (Phytophthora infestans), dry rot (Fusarium sp.), powdery scab
(Spongospora subterranean), and early blight (Alternaria solani) (Marschner
1995). A classical example is presented by Ismunadji (1976) who showed that the
degree of damage caused by rice stem rot (Helminthosporium sigmoideum)
N. Gupta et al.
229
decreased gradually with concomitant increase in K fertilization rate (Fig.8.1).
A study reported the supplementary dose of potassium (400kg ha −1) represented an
alternative for the control of anthracnose in tomato along with the probiotic
(Luengas-Gómez et al. 2012; Meena et al. 2014b; Meena et al. 2015d; Bahadur
etal. 2016a; Meena etal. 2015e).
Potassium phosphate was found to be ~70% effective against powdery mildew
disease in barley (Mitchell and Walters 2004). Similarly, Liljeroth et al. (2016)
observed that potassium phosphite in combination with fungicides was used against
late blight disease of potato. They detected higher efcacy of this compound prob-
ably due to its combined effects on inducing defense reactions in the plant as well
as inhibiting effect against sporulation of Phytophthora. Phosphate salts of K have
good control efcacy compared to conventional fungicides when used in eld con-
ditions with lower risks for human health and environment (Kromann etal. 2012).
Various studies have been reported the use of K fertilization in reducing Alternaria
leaf spot disease in cotton on a soil low in K (Miller 1969; Hillocks and Chindoya
1989; Bhuiyan et al. 2007). It has been demonstrated that spraying with KCl
Table 8.2 Effect of K level on disease severity of several diseases
S.No. Pathogen or disease Low K High K References
1Puccinia graminae Increase Decrease Lam and Lewis (1982)
2Xanthomonas oryzae Increase Decrease Chase (1989)
3 Tobacco mosaic virus Increase Decrease Ohashi and Matsuoka (1987)
4Alternaria solani Increase Decrease Blachinski etal. (1996)
5Fusarium oxysporum Increase Decrease Srihuttanum and Sivasithamparam
(1991)
6Pyrenophora
tritici-repentis
Increase Decrease Sharma etal. (2005)
7Erysiphe graminis Increase Decrease Menzies etal. (1992)
Adopted from Dordas (2008)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
20
40
60
80
0306090120
Yield index
Degree damage
(relative value)
Potassium supply (kg ha
-1
)
Degree damage
Yied index
Fig. 8.1 Effect of potassium supply on grain yield of wetland rice and incidence of stem rot
(Helminthosporium sigmoideum). Basal dressing of nitrogen and phosphorus constant at 120 and
60kg ha−1, respectively (Adopted from Ismunadji 1976)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
230
suppresses infection of powdery mildew in wheat and septoria leaf blotch due to an
inhibition of fungal spore germination (Mann etal. 2004). High concentrations of
KCl were applied in this eld trial; the effects were attributed to the high osmolarity
of the treatment solutions (Masood and Bano 2016; Meena etal. 2016e).
Higher K+ concentrations decrease the internal competition of pathogens for
nutrients (Fig.8.2). Another benet of high K+ concentration is that it makes the
stronger cell wall less prone to lodging, thus improving airow through crop can-
opy. Some pathogens (airborne), such as bacteria and virus, enter the plant via the
stomata, and perception of pathogenic elicitors, or pathogen-associated molecular
patterns, by the stomatal guard cell induces a full closure of the pore (Melotto etal.
2006). However, K-decient plants are defective in stomatal regulation. This means
that this rst line of defense against airborne pathogens is likely to be leaky in such
plants (Zörb etal. 2014). Potassium regulates the metabolite pattern of higher plants
by increasing the performances of multiple plant enzyme functions (Marschner
1995; Wang etal. 2013).
The high susceptibility of K-decient plants to various parasitic diseases is
directly related to these metabolic functions. In decient plants, the synthesis of
high-molecular-weight compounds is severely impaired, and low-molecular-weight
Fig. 8.2 Mechanism of K in disease resistance in host plants (Adopted from Wang etal. 2013)
N. Gupta et al.
231
organic compounds accumulate, indispensable for feeding pathogens and insects
(Marschner 1995; Amtmann etal. 2008; Zörb etal. 2014). Insufcient K causes a
pale leaf color that is particularly attractive to aphids, which transmit viruses at the
same time (Marschner 1995; Oosterhuis etal. 2014). Cracks, ssures, and lesions
that develop at K deciency on the surface of leaves and fruits provide easy access,
especially for facultative parasites (Krauss 2001). In addition, the accumulation of
inhibitory amino acids, phytoalexins, phenols, and auxins is dependent on the level
of K (Perrenoud 1990), while K deciency results in inorganic N accumulation, due
to poor translocation, and phenol (with fungicidal properties) break down (Kiraly
1976). On contrary, some circumstantial evidence points to a decreased infestation
of K-decient plants by insects and necrotrophic pathogens (Amtmann etal. 2008).
K deciency also induces the jasmonate signaling network (Troufard etal. 2010).
Jasmonates act as systemic trigger of defense responses toward necrotrophs and
insects (Wasternack 2007). It has thus been concluded that a temporary K limitation
may be imposed to protect crops from herbivory and from necrotrophic fungi
(Amtmann etal. 2008).
8.2.4 Calcium (Ca)
Imbalance in Ca, one of the secondary plant nutrients, is also a cause of various
diseases in plants. In general, the pathogens release enzymes to dissolve the middle
lamella, which is strongly opposed by the presence of Ca (Marschner 1995). Also
the deciency of Ca leads to leakage of metabolic products that stimulates pathogen
infections easily (Spann and Schumann 2010).
There is an increased susceptibility to various fungi when Ca content drops,
which preferentially invade the xylem leading to wilting type of symptoms (Dordas
2008). Ca also affects the incidence of various bacterial diseases. First, Ca plays an
important role in the formation of rigid cell walls. Secondly, adequate Ca also inhib-
its the formation of pectolytic enzymes produced by fungi and bacteria. The role of
bacteria and fungi is to dissolve the middle lamella, allowing penetration and infec-
tion. Ca deciency triggers the accumulation of sugars and amino acids in the apo-
plast, which attracts disease-causing organisms and lowers disease resistance.
Low level of Ca in fruit tissue results in less resistant to various parasitic diseases
and physiological disorders (Singh et al. 2007; Shaee et al. 2010). Postharvest
disorders such as decay, delay in fruit ripening, and decreased postharvest fruit
weight loss were recorded when they used pre- and postharvest application of Ca
(Lara etal. 2004; Hernandez-Munoz etal. 2006). Garcia etal. (1996) found that Ca
prevented fruit softening during storage and delayed total soluble solids decrease,
especially when it was combined with 45°C hot-water treatment. Similarly, Shaee
etal. (2010) also found that there were less weight loss and decay and higher rm-
ness when strawberry fruits are dipped in CaCl2 solution. Madani et al. (2014)
observed the effect of preharvest CaCl2 applications on postharvest anthracnose dis-
ease (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz.) incidence in papaya. Six preharvest
foliar CaCl2 sprays signicantly decreased spore germination and mycelial growth
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
232
of the pathogen (Dordas 2008, Huber etal. 2012). Hence, combination of B and Ca
is more effective in stabilization of cell wall in comparison to Ca alone (Liebisch
etal. 2009).
The sufcient amount of Ca at neutral to slightly alkaline soils can reduce club-
root disease in crucifer crops, e.g., broccoli, cabbage, and turnips (Campbell and
Arthur 1990). Ko and Kao (1989) reported that reduction of damping-off disease in
various crops is caused by Pythium sp. after amending the soil with Ca. Ca also
confers resistance against the Rhizoctonia, Sclerotinia, and Botrytis (Graham 1983;
Huber 1980). Ghani etal. (2011) found that Ca can increase anthracnose resistance
in dragon fruit. Similarly, deciency of boron (B) coupled with Ca can also cause
damages on the plant’s surface. The activity of polygalacturonase and pectate tran-
seliminase decreases substantially with increasing Ca content of beans, resulting in
a higher resistance to soft rot disease, Erwinia carotovora (Platero and Tejerina
1976). The lower infestation of lettuce with gray mold, Botrytis cinerea, at higher
Ca contents (Krauss 1971) or the decreasing incidence of apple decay caused by
Gloeosporium perennans at increasing Ca contents can also be related to the control
of pectolytic enzymes by Ca.
8.2.5 Magnesium (Mg)
Magnesium plays a major role in plant photosynthesis being a central atom of chlo-
rophyll that captures the light energy (Marschner 1995). Mg plays a vital role in
transporting the phloem export of photosynthates; however, in the decient condi-
tions, the products like sucrose and amino acids get deposited in the leaves which
make conducive environment for various disease-causing pathogens to attack
(Huber and Jones 2013). Thus, the factors, which govern Mg availability in soils
and its uptake by plants, may inuence Mg-induced resistance and/or susceptibility
in host plants. For example, Mg deciency is quite common in K-rich micaceous
soils (due to antagonistic interaction), and consequently, Mg deciency could be
aggravated when K fertilizers are applied (Debnath etal. 2015). The effect of Mg
has been investigated in some studies in reducing the disease severity in crops like
rice, wheat citrus, potato, poppy, and peanut (Moreira etal. 2015).
8.2.6 Micronutrients
Micronutrients are equally important as with primary and secondary nutrients in
controlling the plant diseases. Micronutrients play a role on reducing the severity of
different diseases due to the involvement in physiology and biochemistry of the
plant because many of the important micronutrients are involved in many processes
in plants and that can affect response of plants to pathogens (Marschner 1995).
Micronutrients inhibit the pathogen from penetrating by affecting the cell wall
rigidity and also the physical integrity of the membrane structure (Graham and
Webb 1991; Marschner 1995; Huber etal. 2012). In addition, micronutrients can
N. Gupta et al.
233
also affect disease resistance indirectly, as nutrient-decient plants not only exhibit
an impaired defense mechanism but may also become more suitable for feeding as
many metabolites such as sugars and amino acids leak out from cell (Huber etal.
2012). However, micronutrients are also known to reduce the severity by inducing
the resistance within the plant also called as systemic acquired resistance (SAR)
(Dordas 2008).
Boron (B), an essential micronutrient, has been used in the direct application to
soil and foliar sprays to overcome its deciency (Christensen 2001). B has a bene-
cial effect on reducing disease severity (Marschner 1995; Dordas 2008). B promotes
rigidity of the cell wall and, therefore, supports the shape and strength of the plant
cell (Marschner 1995; Dordas 2008; Broadley etal. 2012). Furthermore, B is pos-
sibly involved in the integrity and permeability of the plasma membrane (Marschner
1995; Dordas 2008; Broadley etal. 2012). Under B deciency, structural integrity
of cell membranes is substantially impaired causing membranes to become leaky,
which can result in massive release of organic compounds (e.g., carbohydrates,
amino acids, etc.) from cells to outside, representing a very suitable feeding medium
for pathogens and their spreading (Huber etal. 2012). By affecting phenolics and
lignin synthesis, B can also suppress penetration of pathogens (Table8.3).
B has been widely used in controlling wood decay fungi and Heterobasidion
annosum that causes infection in conifers (Smith 1970; Schultz et al. 1992).
Infection of B-decient wheat plants with powdery mildew is several times greater
than in B-sufcient plants (Schütte 1967; Stangoulis and Graham 2007), which may
be due to increased leakage through the plasma membrane under B deciency
Table 8.3 Effect of preharvest calcium chloride treatments and days in storage on anthracnose
disease incidence and severity (%) in papaya fruits during storage
Calcium chloride
concentrations (%) 7days 14days 21days 28days 35days
Incidence
0.0 0.0 a,aAb24.9 a,C 100.0 a,D 100.0 a,D 100.0 a,D
0.5 0.0 a,A 0.0 b,A 41.6 b,C 58.3 ab,C 95.8 a,D
1.0 0.0 a,B 0.0 b,B 21.0 bc,A 49.9 b,C 83.3 a,D
1.5 0.0 a,A 0.0 b,A 13.0 c,AC 24.9 b,C 45.8 b,D
2.0 0.0 a,C 0.0 b,C 0.0 c,C 21.0 b,C 45.8 b,D
Severity
0.0 0.0 a,B 8.7 a,A 25.4 a,C 96.2a,D 100.0 a,D
0.5 0.0 a,C 0.0 b,C 14.6 b,C 57.9b,D 84.2 a,D
1.0 0.0 a,B 0.0 b,B 10.2 bc,A 22.9c,C 46.7 b,D
1.5 0.0 a,C 0.0 b,C 3.4cd,C 8.7c,C 23.7 c,D
2.0 0.0 a,C 0.0 b,C 0.0 d,C 6.1c,C 17.3 c,D
Adopted from Madani etal. (2014)
aLower case letters in columns (a, b, c, d) show the mean comparison among concentrations of
calcium chloride. Means with the same letter are not signicantly different according to the Waller-
Duncan k-ratio t-test (p=0.05)
bCapital letters in rows (A, B, C, D) show the mean comparison among days in storage. Means with
the same letter are not signicantly different according to the Waller-Duncan k-ratio t-test (p=0.05)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
234
(Huber etal. 2012). During booting and milk stages, B signicantly affected the
number of lesions per leaf (Table 8.4). In general, micronutrients reduce disease
severity by involving in physiology and biochemistry of the plant. Application of
nutrients such as Mn, Cu, and B activates SAR mechanisms by releasing Ca2+ cat-
ions from cell walls, which further interact with salicylic acid and activate defense
mechanism in plants. B strongly inhibited spore germination, germ tube elongation,
and mycelial spread of Botrytis cinerea in culture medium (Qin etal. 2010). The
effects of copper (Cu) and boron (B) were evaluated by using the foliar applications
on fungal diseases of rice and found that the application of Cu and B reduces fungal
disease infestation in MR219 rice cultivar and also increases rice yield (Liew etal.
2012). Use of boric acid (1%) and jojoba oil (0.1%) treatment gave maximum
reduction in mycelial growth of Penicillium digitatum and P. itelicum (blue and
green rot of orange, respectively) as well as disease infection (Tarabih and
El-Metwally 2014).
Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient required by most living organisms and
pathogens (Kieu etal. 2012; Aznar etal. 2015). However, iron can catalyze the for-
mation of deleterious reactive oxygen species, and hosts may use iron to increase
local oxidative stress in defense responses against pathogens. Due to this duality,
iron plays a complex role in plant-pathogen interactions. Plants’ defense against
pathogens and response to iron deciency share several features, such as secretion
of phenolic compounds, and use common hormone signaling pathways (Aznar etal.
2015). Several plant pathogens Colletotrichum musae, Sphaeropsis malorum,
Olpidium brassicae, and Fusarium oxysporum have been suppressed by the applica-
tion of iron (Graham 1983; Dordas 2008). Nevertheless, Fe has both positive and
negative effects on the host and in host disease resistance. Graham (1983) observed
foliar application of Fe can increase resistance of apple and pear to Sphaeropsis
malorum and cabbage to Olpidium brassicae. In other cases, Fe in nutrient solution
Table 8.4 Average number of lesions per ag leaf (±SE) induced by D. tritici-repentis at three
different growth stages (booting stage, heading stage, and milk stage) of winter wheat, after foliar
application of different micronutrients
Treatments
Average number of lesions per ag leaf
Booting stage Heading stage Milk stage LA DS
Control 10.6±0.71 c 14.7±0.59 c 20.4±0.53 c 25.9±0.36 b 0.86±0.03 c
Boron 5.2±0.42 a 9.9±0.38 a 18.4±0.43 b 26.2±0.38 b 0.77±0.02 b
Manganese 8.0±.059 b 12.8±0.53 b 16.2±0.37 a 27.0±0.35 ab 0.65±0.02 a
Zinc 6.3±0.45 ab 10.6±0.46 a 19.8±0.46 bc 27.6±0.39 a 0.75±0.02 b
Adopted from Simoglou and Dordas (2006)
LA is the leaf area of the ag leaf at the milk stage, and DS is the disease severity which is the
number of lesions per cm2 of the leaf area recorded at the milk stage
Numbers followed by the same letter in a column are not signicantly different (Tuckey’s HSD
test, p=0.05)
N. Gupta et al.
235
did not suppress take-all of wheat and Colletotrichum sp. in bean (Graham and
Webb 1991). On contrary, Scher and Baker (1982) and Jones and Woltz (1970) sug-
gested that reduced Fe availability through Fe competition could reduce wilt sever-
ity on tomato caused by Fusarium sp. Fe supply may have an indirect effect on the
metabolic activity of the plant and also helps in production of antimicrobial com-
pounds (Aznar etal. 2015). For example, Kieu etal. (2012) observed that symptom
severity, bacterial tness, and the expression of bacterial pectate lyase-encoding
genes of two soft rot-causing plant pathogens (Dickeya dadantii and Botrytis cine-
rea) were reduced in iron-decient plants.
In certain plant-fungus interactions, Fe is reported to enhance pathogen growth.
Hendrix etal. (1969) reported that growth of Phytophthora parasitica var. nicoti-
anae was enhanced by Fe3+ when added to a synthetic glucose asparagine medium.
In root-infecting fungi, the role of Fe is in Pseudomonas-mediated biological con-
trol (Scher and Baker 1982). Pseudomonads are adapted to produce iron-chelating
agents called the siderophores in Fe-decient soils which, in turn, suppress the
growth of fungal pathogens by starving them for iron (Chet and Inbar 1994; Calvent
etal. 2001). Siderophores are also involved in the synthesis of some volatile antibi-
otic compounds (Thomashow 1996). Depending on the host, the mechanism of
defense activation by siderophores involves either their Fe scavenging property or
receptor-mediated recognition as in the case of pattern-triggered immunity (Aznar
and Dellagi 2015). Furthermore, the mechanisms used by plants to perceive local Fe
depletion induced by siderophores and translate it into a defense response remain to
be elucidated (Aznar etal. 2015) and are not only mechanisms to limit the growth
of parasitic organisms (Dordas 2008).
Zinc (Zn) plays an important role in activating enzymes involved in various met-
abolic pathways, especially in protein and starch synthesis, and therefore, a low zinc
concentration induces accumulation of amino acids and reduces sugars in plant tis-
sue (Marschner 1995; Graham and McDonald 2001). Zinc is also involved in the
maintenance of the integrity of biomembranes (Marschner 1995; Huber etal. 2012).
Zn deciency might lead to increased membrane leakage of low-molecular-weight
compounds, the presence of which becomes more suitable feeding substrate for the
pathogens (Graham and Webb 1991; Marschner 1995; Huber et al. 2012). For
example, with Zn deciency, leakage of sugars onto the leaf surface of Hevea
brasiliensis increases the severity of infection with Odium (Bolle-Jones and Hilton
1956). On the other side, application of Zn had a positive effect on the tolerance of
wheat to Fusarium solani root rot (Khoshgoftarmanesh etal. 2010). A balanced Zn
application was found to increase the phenol contents of plant and to reduce the
severity of rice sheath blight (Singh etal. 2010; Khaing etal. 2014). Addition of Zn
to the soil reduced infection of crown root rot disease in wheat (Grewal etal. 1996;
Singh etal. 2010; Khaing etal. 2014). Zinc is found to be most potential in reducing
the disease severity caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Pareek 1999). Wadhwa
et al. (2014) found that soil application with Zn at 20 mg kg−1, as soil-nutritive
agent, played an important role in defense mechanism and provided resistance in
cluster bean seedlings against Rhizoctonia root rot by enhancing the activity of
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
236
antioxidative enzymes, which helps in fungal invasion (Table 8.5). The results
suggest that the addition of Zn plays an important role in disease tolerance.
Manganese (Mn) is the most studied micronutrient for its effect on diseases and
its importance in the development of resistance in plants (Graham and Webb 1991;
Huber and Graham 1999). Mn application can affect disease resistance, but the use
of Mn is limited, which is mainly due to the ineffectiveness and poor residual effect
of Mn fertilizers on most soils (Dordas 2008). Mn plays an important role in biosyn-
thesis of lignin and phenol compounds (Graham and Webb 1991; Marschner 1995;
Broadley etal. 2012). Due to such kind of roles, the capacity of roots to restrict
penetration of fungal hyphae into the root tissue is impaired in Mn-decient hosts
(Graham and Webb 1991). Plants with proper Mn nutrition subdue the synthesis of
aminopeptidase that renders essential amino acids required for fungal growth and a
fungal enzyme, namely, pectin methylesterase, which breaks down the host cell
walls.
Manganese is useful in controlling a number of pathogenic diseases (Huber and
Graham 1999; Heckman etal. 2003). Mn is responsible for the lignications of cell
wall that serve as a barrier against take-all disease in bent grass (Carrow etal. 2001).
Suppression of take-all disease by soil application of Mn fertilizers is possible under
eld conditions (Brennan 1992a), but foliar Mn sprays are not effective in suppres-
sion of root pathogens because of the poor phloem mobility of Mn (Huber etal.
2012). Cacique etal. (2012) reported that high Mn concentration on leaf tissues was
found to decrease blast symptoms (Pyricularia oryzae) in rice. Heine etal. (2011)
observed that Mn can also contribute to the control of black leaf mold disease
(Pseudocercospora fuligena) in tomato. The authors concluded that Mn-induced
activation of plant peroxidases in apoplast was responsible for this enhanced disease
resistance. The micronutrients may control the diseases in the inuence of each
other as well. In a study reported by Abd El-Hai etal. (2007), the nutritional ele-
ments (ferrous, zinc, calcium. and manganese) were promising in controlling both
rust and chocolate spot diseases in faba bean (Vicia faba L.).
Copper (Cu) is a component of many enzymes (polyphenol oxidase, diamine
oxidase, etc.) important for the synthesis of lignin that imparts strength and rigidity
Table 8.5 Effect of different levels of zinc on the incidence of root rot, specic activity of antioxi-
dative enzymes in roots of cluster bean seedlings uninoculated (UI) and inoculated (I) with
Rhizoctonia species at 15days after sowing
Treatments
Application rate
(mg kg−1 soil)
Disease
incidence (%)
Polyphenol oxidase
(×102, unitsa)
Peroxidase
(×102, unitsa)
UI I UI I
Control 0 68 2.81 5.38 10.17 25.52
Zinc 10 41 4.16 4.78 16.50 27.97
Zinc 20 27 4.26 6.87 29.54 34.73
SEm0.19 0.06 0.14 0.48 1.24
p=0.05 0.55 0.16 0.41 1.36 3.46
Adopted from Wadhwa etal. (2014)
a1 unit=change in 0.01 O.D. min−1mg−1 protein
N. Gupta et al.
237
of the cell wall (Marschner 1995; Broadley etal. 2012). Increased incidence of dis-
ease is observed due to reduced lignication in plants with low Cu. Copper de-
ciency also alters lipid structure in cell membranes that is essential for the resistance
to biotic stress (Broadley etal. 2012). Stem melanosis, take-all root rot, and ergot
infection can occur in Cu-decient small grains (Marschner 1995). Copper fertiliza-
tion had decreased the severity of a wide range of fungal and bacterial diseases
associated by cell wall stability and lignication in plants (Marschner 1995;
Broadley etal. 2012). The best evidence of an effect of Cu on host plant resistance
to disease is when Cu is applied to soil and it depresses leaf infections, for example,
powdery mildew in wheat and ergot (Claviceps sp.) in wheat (Evans etal. 2007), or
the control of stem pathogens by foliar application of Cu (Table8.6). Application of
Cu compounds and their mixtures with addition of fungicides like mancozeb has
been found to reduce the severe canker symptoms and fruit spotting in North
Carolina (Shoemaker 1992). In various studies, Cu compounds and their different
combinations were found to decrease diseases like sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani
Kuhn.) in rice (Khaing etal. 2014) and bacterial canker (Clavibacter michiganensis
subsp. michiganensis) in tomato (Bastas 2014).
8.2.7 Other Nutrients
Although silicon (Si) is not considered as an essential nutrient for plants, it stands
out for its potential to decrease disease intensity in many crops belonging to the
families Poaceae, Equisetaceae, and Cyperaceae (Marschner 1995; Huber et al.
2012; Pozza etal. 2015). Grasses, in general, and rice, in particular, are Si accumu-
lator plants. As Si is translocated in the xylem favorably to mature leaves, the blast
infection in rice occurs mainly in young leaves; the increased Si supply strongly
reduces the number of lesions on young leaves, indicating the increase of the resis-
tance to the disease, particularly at high N supply (Osuna-Canizales etal. 1991).
The mode of action on the control of plant diseases and its function in several patho-
systems are not yet fully understood.
However, there is evidence that the silicates induce the host defense responses
that are involved in strengthening of the cell wall structures via increased lignica-
tion or activation of phytoalexin production and pathogenesis-related protein syn-
thesis (Fawe etal. 2001, Oliveria etal. 2012). Si accumulated mainly in epidermal
Table 8.6 Stem melanosis (caused by Pseudomonas cichorii) in wheat grown on a soil with low
Cu availability with and without different forms of Cu application
Treatment Cu rate (kg Cu ha−1) Disease (%) Grain yield (kg ha−1)
Control – 92 294
CuSO4, banded 10 76 511
CuSO4, incorporated 10 34 2016
CuSO4, foliar spray 10 6 2116
Cu-chelate, foliar spray 2 7 2505
Adopted from Malhi etal. (1989)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
238
cells and exclusively on endodermal cells in roots, creating a physical barrier to
penetration of the roots by fungal hyphae (Najihah etal. 2015). Si is rapidly depos-
ited around the infected area (Heath and Stumpf 1986). In wheat and barley, the Si
accumulates at the sites of hyphal penetration (Leusch and Buchenauer 1988) within
20h, and this accumulation is 3–4 times higher around unsuccessful infection sites
than around successful ones (Carver et al. 1987). A continuous supply of Si is
required for the accumulation of Si at the point of pathogen penetration from the
roots (Samuels etal. 1991). Although the Si accumulation at the sites of penetration
causes inhibition of hyphal invasion and formation of haustoria in plant cells, the
protective effect is not due to Si alone. It was further reported that the presence of
soluble Si appears to facilitate the rapid deposition of phenolics at the sites of infec-
tion, which is a general defense mechanism to pathogen attack (Menzies et al.
1991). However, the mechanism by which Si induces accumulation of phenolics at
the infection sites remains unclear (Huber etal. 2012). Si application also increases
the activity of antioxidative enzymes involved in plant defense such as peroxidase,
polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, and lipoxygenase (Shetty etal.
2011; Polanco etal. 2012), which are considered as chemical barriers to pathogen
entry in host plant (Pozza etal. 2015).
It has been suggested that Si fertilization could be integrated as a sustainable and
environment friendly practice for the management of fungal brown spot (Bipolaris
oryzae) disease in rice (Ning et al. 2014). Increased brown spot resistance in
response to silicon fertilization was observed to be less in knockout mutant com-
pared to its wild-type counterpart cultivar Oochikara (Dallagnol etal. 2014). Si
content in rice straw and husks was proportional to the amount of Si applied to the
soil, and the severity of blast on panicles was inversely proportional to the amount
of the Si in rice tissues (Kawashima, 1927).
Grain discoloration, caused by a complex of fungal species such as Bipolaris
oryzae, Curvularia sp., Phoma sp., Microdochium sp., Nigrospora sp., and Fusarium
sp., is another important constraint for irrigated and upland rice production world-
wide. Prabhu etal. (2001) showed that the severity of grain discoloration in several
irrigated and upland rice genotypes decreased linearly as the rates of SiO2 in the soil
increased. Chang etal. (2002) reported a signicant reduction in lesion length of
bacterial leaf blight (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae) of 5 to 22% among four rice
cultivars following Si application. The reduction in lesion length was positively cor-
related with a decrease in the content of soluble sugar in leaves of plants amended
with Si. A recent study (Khaing etal. 2014) showed that Si fertilization was signi-
cantly more effective than Cu and Zn treatments in minimizing rice sheath blight
(Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn.) severity and yield loss (Table8.7). Reduced severity in
rice sheath blight disease was attributed to the increased lignin content and enhanced
activities of antioxidative enzymes in rice leaves with Si addition. Silicon, in the
form of silicic acid, acts locally by inducing defense reactions in elicited cells and
also contributes to systemic resistance by enhancing the production of stress hor-
mones (Alexander etal. 2010). Cacique etal. (2012) observed that addition of Si to
the nutrient solution medium signicantly reduced the lesion size and area under
blast progress curve caused by blast (Pyricularia oryzae Cooke) in rice.
N. Gupta et al.
239
Therefore, Si application can contribute in the management of plant diseases,
among other practices. The potential of Si as a crop protectant has been investigated
and found promising against several patho-systems such as Asian soybean rust,
tomato bacterial wilt, melon bacterial blotch, passion fruit bacterial spot, and wheat
bacterial streak (Brancaglione etal. 2009; Ferreira 2009; Lima etal. 2010; Silva
etal. 2010). Resende etal. (2013) reported that sorghum grown in nutrient solution
with Si (2 mmol L−1) had severity of anthracnose (Colletotrichum sublineolum)
around 20%, while the control was 93%, at 10days after inoculation. There are also
reports of reduction of disease severity in sugarcane rust (Puccinia melanocephala)
(Naidoo et al. 2009) and control of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici on wheat
(Belanger etal. 2003) and Erysiphe graminis in barley (Carver etal. 1987) with Si
application. Cucumber plants inoculated with S. fuliginea and grown in nutrient
solution supplemented with sodium silicate showed a reduction in spore germina-
tion and the number and area of colonies per leaf compared with the control plants
without Si (Menzies etal. 1991). Plants in nutrient solution supplemented with Si
(2 mmol L−1) had higher incubation period compared with plants without Si
(Polanco etal. 2012). Therefore, knowing its effects in disease reduction, it can be
included in disease management plans, not as the only method able to solve disease-
related problems but as an important component of the integrated management of
diseases, that is, it can contribute.
8.3 Control of Diseases Through Sustainable Nutrient
Management
Disease suppression or management through nutrient manipulation has been
reported by many investigators, which were achieved by either modifying the nutri-
ent availability or modifying nutrient uptake (Huber and Graham 1999). Fertilizer
application affects the development of plant diseases under eld conditions directly
through the nutritional status of the plant and indirectly by affecting the conditions
which can inuence the development of the disease such as dense stands, changes
in light interception, and humidity within the crop stand (Dordas 2008). It is a gen-
eral assumption that balanced nutrition leads to a healthy plant, which reduces the
disease susceptibility and infection. Thus, it is important to provide a balanced
nutrition at the time when the nutrient can be most effectively used for disease control.
Table 8.7 Effect of sheath blight inoculation-fertilizer treatment combinations on sheath blight
incidence, highest relative lesion height (HRLH), and rice grain yield
Inoculation Treatment Incidence (%) HRLH (%) Grain yield (g pot−1)
Non-inoculated Non-treated 8.3 3.2 32.9
Inoculated Non-treated 51.4 40.0 22.2
Inoculated Si 39.2 30.5 39.5
Inoculated Cu 42.0 32.2 31.9
Inoculated Zn 44.5 33.9 31.1
Adopted from Khaing etal. (2014)
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
240
Not only fertilization can affect the disease development but also any management
practice that affects the soil environment such as pH modication through liming or
gypsum application, tillage, seedbed rmness, site for nursery, moisture control
through irrigation, and manures. For example, liming does not directly affect club-
root of crucifers, but at pH > 7.0, germination of clubroot spores is inhibited.
Alternatively, liming of soils to near-neutral pH increases the incidence of diseases
such as potato scab and take-all infection in wheat (Havlin etal. 2009). Thus, the
incidence of potato scab (caused by Streptomyces scabies) could be suppressed
either by lowering soil pH or by application of Mn (Thompson and Huber 2007).
The suppressive effect on Mn is perhaps due to (1) increased resistance of the tuber
tissue to the pathogen and (2) inhibition of the vegetative growth of S. scabies before
the onset of infection.
The root rot disease of wheat and barley (take-all) caused by Gaeumannomyces
graminis (take-all) is capable of seriously limiting grain production in many regions
of the world, but disease severity can be effectively controlled by nutrition of the
host plant (Graham and Webb 1991; Thompson and Huber 2007). The fungus has a
growth optimum at pH7 and is very sensitive to low pH (Römheld 1990); liming of
acid soils therefore increases the risk of root infections and yield losses by take-all.
Mn availability in the rhizosphere and Mn concentration of root tissues play a key
role in root infection and severity of take-all, as well as other soilborne fungal dis-
eases (Graham and Webb 1991; Thompson and Huber 2007). The severity of take-
all in wheat is increased not only by Mn deciency but also by deciency of N, P, or
Cu (Brennan 1992b). The decrease in severity with application of N (especially of
NH4+) and P fertilizer to decient plants is most likely due to a greater tolerance by
more vigorous growth rather than an increase in physiological resistance (Huber
etal. 2012).
Botrytis fruit rot (gray mold), caused by Botrytis cinerea, is the most devastating
disease of strawberry, which causes great losses and assumes serious concern with
the increasing environmental temperature (Singh et al. 2007; Fernandez-Ortuno
etal. 2014). Increasing the Ca and B content in the cell wall of fruit tissue can help
to delay tissue softening (by affecting phenolics and lignin synthesis) and mold
growth (by suppressing penetration of fungal hyphae) and thus can decrease the
gray mold incidence and other physiological disorders (Table8.8). This study sug-
gested that a combined foliar spray of Ca+B was more effective in reducing inci-
dence of gray mold, albinism, fruit malformation, and higher fruit yield and quality
parameters than either with Ca or B alone. Therefore, in other words, the conjoint
use of nutrients could serve better than nutrients alone, with respect to disease
suppression.
Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium albo-atrum and V. dahlia, is one of the
most devastating diseases of vegetables, ornamentals, fruits, herbs, eld, and forage
crops. Verticillium wilt can be controlled by resistant cultivars, careful crop rotation,
sanitation, soil fumigation, and sufcient nutrient additions such as N, P, and K
which have the potential to reduce the disease (Huber and Graham 1999). Methods
like soil fumigation and nitrication inhibitors maintain NH4+ in the soil; increase
N. Gupta et al.
241
Mn, Cu, and Zn; and reduce Verticillium wilt in tomato. Fusarium wilt (Fusarium
oxysporum) is an important disease in crops covering different vegetables and fruits
which is favored by warmer climate and acidic soil reaction. Application of NO3−
fertilizers and lime, which reduces the availability of Mn and Fe and increases soil
pH, results in the reduction of the pathogen (Dordas 2008).
Manipulating the various interactions of the host, pathogen, and environment
over time can also inuence most diseases through (1) the level of genetic resistance
of the plant (systemic induced or acquired resistance); (2) the nutrient availability
relative to plant needs (deciency, sufciency, or excess); (3) the predominant form
and biological stability of a nutrient that is applied or available (oxidized or reduced);
(4) the rate, time, and method of nutrient application; (v) the nutrient balance and
associated ions in plants; and (6) the integration of fertilization with other crop pro-
duction practices (crop rotation, intercropping, manuring, tillage, etc.) (Huber and
Haneklaus 2007). For example, higher bacterial blight disease (caused by
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae) severity in pomegranate plants grown on
high pH soil was mainly associated with lower concentration of Mg, Ca, Mn, and
Cu and higher concentration of N in leaves (Maity etal. 2016). In another case, the
take-all infection of spring wheat was high without N fertilization and was further
increased by application of ammonium in the autumn, leading to yield depressions
because of increased disease severity (Table8.9). In contrast, the same amount of
ammonium N sprayed in spring season suppresses take-all, and high grain yields
were obtained. Ammonium N applied in the autumn is rapidly nitried and nitrate
intensies take-all in non-suppressive soils. The use of timed ammonium fertilizer
application is therefore a practical approach to suppress take-all, and variations in
suppression between years and locations (Christensen et al. 1987) are probably
related to the rate of nitrication prior to N uptake by the crop. Therefore, various
effects of nutritional status and of fertilizer application on diseases are of direct
relevance to disease and pest control by pesticides and other chemicals. Fertilizer
application may substitute, or at least reduce, the demand for chemical disease con-
trol in some cases but may increase the demand in others (Huber etal. 2012).
Table 8.8 Effect of foliar application of Ca and/or B on quality parameters, physiological disor-
ders, gray mold, and fruit yield of strawberry
Treatment
TSS
(%)
Acidity
(%)
Albinism
incidence (%)
Fruit
malformation
(%)
Gray
mold
(%)
Fruit yield (g
plant−1)
Control 7.8 b 0.99 a 15.1 a 12.4 a 5.2 a 149.3 a
Ca spraya7.1 a 1.15 b 6.7 b 10.9 a 1.3 b 168.4 c
B sprayb7.7 b 1.02 a 14.8 a 3.4 b 4.8 a 161.3 b
Ca+B
spray
7.2 a 1.12 b 6.5 b 3.1 b 1.2 b 179.2 d
Adopted from Singh etal. (2007)
Means within the column with the same letter are not signicantly different by Duncan’s multiple
range test at p≤0.05
aAs CaCl2 at 2.0kg Ca ha−1 spray−1
bAs boric acid at 150g B ha−1 spray−1
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
242
8.4 Systemic Induced or Acquired Resistance
Various biotic inducers (e.g., fungi, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasma, insects, etc.) and
abiotic stresses (e.g., chemical and physical inducers) can trigger resistance in
plants, which is known as “induced resistance” (Pieterse etal. 2014). These can
produce rapid expression of defense responses (Fu and Dong 2013). Induced resis-
tance, produced by an array of treatments that elicit a cloud of defense responses
(Fig.8.3), is of two types in plants: systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and sys-
temic induced resistance (SIR). Both of these mechanisms can induce defenses that
confer long-lasting protection against a broad spectrum of microorganisms and are
mediated by phytohormones, such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and
ethylene (ET). SAR requires the signal molecule SA and is associated with accumu-
lation of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, which are believed to contribute to
resistance (Durrant and Dong 2004). Instead, the SIR pathway functions
Table 8.9 Take-all (Gaeumannomyces graminis) root infection and grain yield of winter wheat at
different times and rates of ammonium N fertilizer application
Time of application
Rate of application
(kg N ha−1)
Take-all infection
(%)
Grain yield
(kg ha−1)
0 0 1.9 2610
Autumn 83 2.8 1740
Spring 83 0.1 5290
Autumn + Spring 83+28 1.9 2350
Adopted from Huber (1989)
Fig. 8.3 Treatments that can induce resistance in host plants and the mechanisms or enzymes
involved. SA salicylic acid, JA jasmonic acid, Si silicon, INA 2,6-dichloronicotinic acid, BFO
Burdock fructooligosaccharide, BTH benzothiadiazole, BCA biocontrol agents, MeJa methyl jas-
monate, MVOCs microbial volatile organic compounds, PVOCs plant volatile organic compounds,
PG polygalacturonase, BABA β-aminobutyric acid, PR pathogenesis-related proteins, MAMP
microbe-associated molecular pattern, LOX lipoxygenase, RO S reactive oxygen species, CAT cata-
lase, ABA abscisic acid, PPO polyphenol oxidase, PAL phenylalanine ammonia lyase, PAMP
pathogen-associated molecular pattern, SOD superoxide dismutase, NPR1 non-expressor of
pathogenesis- related genes 1 (Plant image source http://hostted.com/plants-clip-art)
N. Gupta et al.
243
independently of SA, while it is dependent on JA and ET (Van Wees etal. 1999).
This induced resistance does not directly activate plant defense responses but acti-
vates the plant to a state of “alertness,” so that a future pathogen attack will be
strongly and efciently recognized and responded to. This phenomenon is also
known as the “priming effect,” and one of the most known priming effects is root
colonization by plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which induce plant
development and SIR-mediated resistance (Verhage etal. 2010).
Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is the most adapted response of plants to
infection by pathogens. The concept of SAR has been widely recognized and stud-
ied for the past 100years in relation to increasing resistance to fungal, bacterial, and
viral pathogens of economically important crop plants. SAR occurs in many plant
species and is effective against a broad range of pathogens, and it can last for several
weeks to months after its induction. SAR is associated with the coordinate expres-
sion of a suite of genes (Ward etal. 1991), some of which confer resistance to spe-
cic pathogens when the genes are individually and constitutively expressed in
transgenic plant (Alexander etal. 1993). SAR and microbial biological control are
examples of emerging alternatives for disease management that are of interest
because of the current focus on making farming systems more environmentally
safe. Such alternatives can be expected to be used in combinations and as a result
may interact in unexpected or unpredicted ways. Therefore, ecological research is
needed to understand whether and how disease management methods interact or
interfere. Such research also offers new opportunities to increase our understanding
of plant and microbial ecology at the molecular level. The term chemically induced
resistance introduced by Wiese etal. (2003) is used to describe the systemic resis-
tance after application of synthetic compounds. This resistance is due to the forma-
tion of structural barriers such as lignication, induction of pathogenesis-related
proteins, and conditioning of the plants (Graham and Webb 1991). Nearly nine gene
families were induced in uninfected leaves of inoculated plants; these gene families
are now known as SAR genes (Ward etal. 1991).
Several of these SAR gene products have direct antimicrobial activity or are
closely related to classes of antimicrobial proteins. These include β-1,3-glucanases,
chitinases, cysteine-rich proteins related to thaumatin, β-l,3-glucanase, and PR-1
proteins (Anfoka and Buchenauer 1997). The characterization of pathogenesis-
related proteins (PRs) greatly helped to reveal the induced proteins involved in the
regulation of Ca2+ on SA-induced resistance to Botrytis cinerea.
Linlin etal. (2016) have found that the combination treatment of CaCl2 and SA,
the defense response, and antioxidative protein were clearly upregulated much more
than SA alone or the control treatment by the method of proteomics and real-time
PCR.They have suggested that susceptible tomato cultivars treated by the combina-
tion treatment of CaCl2 and SA might possess a more sensitive SA signaling system
or effective pathway than SA treatment alone. In addition, their results indicated
that SA could coordinate other cellular activities linked with photosynthesis and
metabolism to facilitate defense response and recovery, indicating that the self-
defense capability of tomato was improved by the combination treatment of CaCl2
and SA.
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
244
Systemic induced resistance (SIR) is often reported to be induced by foliar appli-
cations of many essential elements like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Due
to SIR, an immunity signal has been found to be synthesized at the elicitation site of
the induced leaves. Further, the signal is systemically transferred to the affected
leaves, where it is assumed to activate the defense mechanisms that put a barrier to
the pathogen attack. Many researchers indicated that salicylic acid (SA) could be
the possible immunity signal synthesized in the induced leaves; moreover, its foliar
spray induces host resistance and can trigger the production of PR proteins, which
typically accompany SIR (Dordas 2008). Therefore, stimulation of SIR with appli-
cation of nutrients/SA could become an indispensable component of disease reduc-
tion strategies in agricultural production systems. For example, very high levels of
systemic resistance against powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) can be
induced by a single foliar spray of phosphate in cucumbers. Similarly, foliar spray
with phosphate induced systemic resistance against common (Puccinia sorghi) and
northern leaf blight (Exserohilum turcicum) in maize (Dordas 2008).
Micronutrients inducing systemic resistance may also play an important role in
the host plant susceptibility to fungal or bacterial infection. Foliar application of B
as H3BO3, Cu as CuSO4.5H2O, Mn as MnCl2, or KMnO4 has been found to impart
systemic protection against powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) in cucum-
bers. Similarly, Simoglou and Dordas (2006) found that foliar spray of Mn, Zn, and
B separately induced the systemic protection of plants to tan spot disease in wheat.
Foliar application of trace elements like B, Cu, and Mn synergistically interacts
with Ca2+ and can increase its concentrations in plants, which further interacts with
SA and can trigger the activation of SIR in the host plants (Dordas 2008). These
reports indicate that the inherent resistance of the host plants could be induced by
foliar spray with simple inorganic chemicals, and this induced resistance against the
virulent pathogens is not pathogen specic.
Further, many commercially usable products such as acibenzolar-S-methyl, bet-
ter known as “Actigard,” are available that trigger the same systemic resistance as
much as SAR in plants. Till date, in addition to SA, derivatives of isonicotinic acid
(INA) and benzothiazoles (BTH) have also been used to induce SAR in plants
against a wide range of pathogens. However, BTH is reported to be used as com-
mercially. When these three compounds, namely, Actigard, INA, and BTH, were
applied separately to reduce powdery mildew in barley, these compounds induced
systematic resistance in barley by inducing expression of a number of defense
response genes, including the genes encoding Ca2+-binding protein, fatty acid desat-
urase, acid phosphatase, lipoxygenase, serine proteinase inhibitor, thionin, and sev-
eral other proteins whose specic functions in disease resistance have not been
assessed yet. Out of these chemicals, the latter two were reported to be better induc-
ers of gene expression and subsequent disease resistance in plants. Apart from these
chemical compounds, many fungicides such as triazoles, fosetyl-Al, and metalaxyl
reported to have shown resistance-inducing activity to some extent. Probenazole, a
fungi-bactericide, is little toxic invitro but is reported to induce various defense
responses in submerged paddy. These defense responses include the appearance
N. Gupta et al.
245
of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to an oxidative burst and signicant accumu-
lation of fungitoxic factors such as unsaturated fatty acids. Likewise, several other
compounds and many microbes have also been tried for their potentiality to induce
SIR and/or SAR in eld crops, but so far, their signicant efcacy has not been
proved (Agrios 2005).
8.5 Disease Resistance Through Sustainable Practices
8.5.1 Soil Organic Matter/Amendments
Soil health and quality, as affected by soil organic matter (SOM) content, is a major
component of raising holistic and preventive approach to sustainable agricultural
ecosystems. SOM is an important aspect of fertility in soils, sustainable agricultural
production systems, crop yield, and productivity, and there is increased concern
about the declining levels of SOM in many soils around the world, with its potent
relation to global warming. Long-term experimental results from the Rothamsted
(since 1843) render the most farsighted data sets on the effect of soils, crops/crop-
ping systems, manuring, and other eld management practices on changes in SOM
contents, under temperate climate (Johnston et al. 2008). The contents of SOM
depend primarily on the quantity and quality of organic inputs, its rate of decompo-
sition, C/N ratio, existing microbial communities, clay content, and climate. Organic
residues such as crop residues, green manures, cover crops, and other organic wastes
can affect the soilborne pathogens and ability to infect the hosts, and their eld
application mostly affects the availability of nutrients to the crops (Stone et al.
2004).
Hu et al. (1997) observed that addition of sphagnum peat to soil was able to
inhibit the disease caused by Pythium spp. Similarly, Phytophthora root rot was also
reported to be suppressed by addition of various organic amendments in a number
of species (Spencer and Benson 1982; Szczech etal. 1993; Hu etal. 1997). Soil
amendment with paper mill residue (PMR), in a composted form, suppressed the
symptoms of bacterial speck (Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato) in tomato plants
compared with plants grown in elds without composted PMR or non-amended
soils (Vallad etal. 2003). Further, the authors attributed the enhanced resistant to the
disease mainly due to systematic activation of plant defenses, comparable to
SAR.Wu etal. (2009) experimented with a biofertilizer, which is composed of the
microorganisms Paenibacillus polymyxa and Trichoderma harzianum for the con-
trol of Fusarium wilt in watermelon. The microbial combination was able to reduce
the infection of Fusarium wilt, which was induced due to the increase in the defense-
related enzyme activities like peroxidase, catalase, SOD, and β-1,3-glucanase in the
affected leaves of watermelon. Recent study reports have shown that biofertilizer
application may lead, with time, to reduction of banana Fusarium wilt disease
caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Fu etal. 2017) and point to the sustainability
of biofertilizer, as a soil amendment.
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
246
Organic amendments encompass a wide range of products, from crop residues
and wastes and animal manures to solid wastes and various rural/urban composts.
Till date, most of the research has often been concluded that addition of organic
amendments/wastes to elds has a benecial effect on the disease suppression.
Composts or manures have been successfully applied for the enhancement in soil
health and quality, crop yield/productivity, nutrient and SOM contents, plant growth,
and also the suppression of diseases caused by soilborne pathogens (Mays and
Giordano 1989; Janvier etal. 2007; Mehta etal. 2013). Lewis etal. (1992) found
that 3–4years of compost treatment improved cotton stand and also signicantly
reduced the inoculum population of Rhizoctonia solani in soil. Szczech (1999) also
reported that application of vermicompost to a conductive pot culture resulted in
suppression of Fusarium wilt (F. oxysporum) in tomato. Compost-based suppres-
sion of germination of S. rolfsii sclerotia was studied by Danon et al. (2007).
Suppressive germination of the sclerotia on plates was detected, when an intermix
of sewage sludge and yard waste (mature biosolids compost) was used as a medium.
This intermix was also found to suppress the disease development in bean (Phaseolus
vulgaris L.) plants. Fusarium, a soilborne pathogenic fungus, is the causal organism
for common root rot, stem rot, and wilt diseases in many eld/vegetable crops, and
there are several reports available on compost-based suppression of wilt caused by
this fungus (Reuveni etal. 2002; Postma etal. 2003). In these studies, suppression
of pathogens by the application of compost was reported to be about 20–90%, and
enhanced benecial microbial activities in soil played the major role in suppression.
The critical role of organic wastes/residues is that they are rich source of energy for
the soil microorganisms due to the presence of easily assimilable C substrates, and
moreover, these can contain microorganisms that are antagonistic to the soil patho-
gens (Janvier etal. 2007).
In addition, recent advances have indicated that anaerobic soil disinfestation
(ASD) could serve as a better approach for suppression of the soilborne diseases in
relation to organic amendments. ASD is based on the fact that application of organic
residues/composts, or other labile sources of C in conjunction with irrigation, and
followed by covering of the surface soil with polythene mulch, can create microbial-
mediated anaerobic soil environments, which could suppress the soilborne patho-
gens and even the weeds due to anoxia (Momma etal. 2013). To be precise, ASD is
developed based on the experience that submerged paddy-arable cropping system
was found to suppress soilborne pathogens at a greater extent compared to arable
cropping systems. In addition to anoxia, the suppression in the inoculums of fungal
pathogens by ASD has also been ascribed to many changes in the soil microenviron-
ment including high temperature, synthesis of fungitoxic organic acids (acetic acid,
n-butyric acid) and volatile organic compounds, and increased solubility and avail-
ability of trace metals like Fe2+ (Momma and Kobara 2012; Momma etal. 2013).
For example, ASD in conjunction with 1% ethanol (C source) was found to strongly
suppress tomato Fusarium wilt in Japan (Momma etal. 2010).
N. Gupta et al.
247
8.5.2 Intercropping
The holistic approach of practices to control plant diseases is inclined to subdue
pesticides consumption, and intercropping is, by far, one of such practices.
Intercropping is a practice of growing two or more crops within a eld in order to
derive the benets of unutilized inter-row spaces, complementation, and competi-
tion among the crops (Boudreau, 1993). The most potent goal of this practice is to
harness a greater yield from a selected piece of eld by maximizing the potential
use of resources that is normally not utilized by a single eld crop, otherwise. Prior
to intercropping, proper planning is required by taking into account of the soil con-
ditions, climatic parameters, type of crops, varieties, and compatibility. Special
emphasis is always given on growing crops that do not compete with each other for
solar radiation, space, nutrient accession, and water. Therefore, the most common
intercropping strategies adopted include either growing deep-rooted crops with
shallow-rooted crops or planting crops together which are different with respect to
their heights. The success of intercropping primarily depends on understanding the
physiology of the crops to be planted together, their growth patterns, canopy and
root architecture, nutrient and water requirement, and the extent of utilization
(Gómez-Rodríguez etal. 2003). In general, plants used to compete for sunlight in
phyllosphere, while for nutrients and moisture in rhizosphere; therefore, competi-
tion involves a combination of radiation and edaphic factors in time and space.
Further, different crop species struggle for various resources at different times in
their life cycle, and, for example, the competition might end up in shade issue that
begun with nutrient competition among the crops.
Intercropping leads to the efcient utilization of resources over monoculture and
thus usually attracts more resources. This cuts down the accessibility of worthy
resources like water and nutrients to the weeds, and the resulting underutilization of
resources is declined (Zimdahl 1993). Numerous theoretical and experimental stud-
ies demonstrated the effectiveness of intercropping in disease management (Bouws
and Finckh 2008). For example, a series of experiment indicated that intercropping
was able to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases by 53%, while some of the
studies reported increment in them by 18% (Francis 1989). The possible causes for
this increase in pests and diseases are attributed to the reduced tillage operations and
light penetration and increased humidity, generating a microclimate favorable for
pests and pathogens and their associated alternate hosts. Further, the crop residues
remaining on the elds during zero tillage practice could serve as a hibernating
place for the pathogen inoculums in the absence of appropriate hosts. However, at
the same time, intercropping resulted in the enhancement of nutrient availability
such as increasing N from legumes or may increase the uptake of many nutrients
like K and P (Anil etal. 1998).
Intercropping watermelon with upland rice suppressed Fusarium wilt in rice
(Ren etal. 2008). They argued that the differences in the compounds, released as
root exudates between watermelon and aerobic rice, are responsible for Fusarium
wilt suppression in the aerobically grown rice. In addition to the differences in the
contents of sugars and amino acids in the root exudates of rice and watermelon,
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
248
p-coumaric acid was only detected in root extracts of upland rice. Later, Hao etal.
(2010) observed that exogenous application of p-coumaric acid was able to decline
sporulation and spore germination with increasing concentrations over the non-
treated spores.
A likewise observation was also recorded when water chestnut was intercropped
with paddy in relation to the suppression of rice sheath blight and blast (Qin etal.
2013), which is shown in Table8.10. They detected that antifungal activity of water
chestnut extracts and root exudates played a critical role in restricting the expansion
of fungal lesions. Nevertheless, the extent of these inhibitions was found to be lim-
ited by time and accumulation of root exudates. Thus, paddy-water chestnut inter-
cropping system could be a potent environmentally sound and sustainable practice
for the control of these diseases in submerged rice eld. Moghaddam etal. (2014)
reported that intercropping of fenugreek in cumin had positive effect on Fusarium
wilt disease control because of the physical barrier established by the fenugreek. On
contrary, the incidence or severity of Fusarium wilt remained unaffected, when
tomato intercropped either with cucumber, leek, or basil, which is ascribed to the
absence of allelopathic activities between these vegetables (Hage-Ahmed et al.
2013).
8.5.3 Crop Rotation
Crop rotation refers to the practice of growing different type of crops in a piece of
land in successive seasons in a calendar year. This practice particularly helps in
increasing soil fertility and crop production, maintaining the soil health, and reduc-
ing nutrient depletion and soil erosion. Growing any particular crop in a piece of
Table 8.10 Effect of rice monoculture and rice-water chestnut intercropping systems on sheath
blight and blast diseases in rice. Values are means ± SE
Disease parameter Disease Rice monocropping
Rice-water chestnut
intercropping
Growth rate (%) Sheath blight 64.81±0.96 25.39±0.72
Rice blast 62.54±0.58 39.26±0.23
Lesion length (cm) Sheath blight 4.36±0.32 2.06±0.37
Rice blast 6.76±1.46 5.28±0.74
Lesion width (cm) Sheath blight 0.89±0.13 0.53±0.02
Rice blast 0.63±0.03 0.51±0.05
Disease levelaSheath blight 1.15±0.19 1.00±0.17
Rice blast 5.94±0.15 5.25±0.18
Disease indexbSheath blight 20.53±0.65 6.04±1.21
Rice blast 54.07±0.30 33.35±0.61
Adopted from Qin etal. (2013)
aDisease level rated visually using a 0–9 scale, where 0=no lesion and 9=lesions covering the
whole rice leaves
bDisease index <4 moderately resistant, 5–6 moderately susceptible, and 7–9 highly susceptible
N. Gupta et al.
249
land for successive years (i.e., monocropping) disproportionately exhausts the soil
fertility and nutrient availability.
With rotation, a crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed dur-
ing the next growing season by a different crop that returns that nutrient to the soil
or uptakes a balanced ratio of soil nutrients. Further, it eliminates the chances of
accumulation of soil borne-pathogen inoculums and pests, unlike what is observed
in monocropping. Moreover, differences in the biomass from varied root structures
of the crops in a crop rotation may also result in better soil structure and its stability
against the erosive forces. Rotating crops allows soil to “rest,” that is, to replenish
its vital nutrients, microbial activity, and other important components. This practice
can increase the availability of N in soil when rotated with legumes and, subse-
quently, can affect other nutrient availability, which can also affect the severity of
many disease incidences (Huber and Graham 1999; Reid etal. 2001).
Research ndings indicate that Mn availability is strongly affected by crop rota-
tion, and Graham and Webb (1991) reported that crop rotation with lupins increased
soil Mn availability. Cerkauskas (2005) observed that growing paddy followed by
tomato can suppress Fusarium wilt in tomato. The broccoli residues are reported to
have suppressive effect on soilborne pathogens, and effective suppression of straw-
berry Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae) can be achieved when
rotated with broccoli, which may serve as non-host to the fungi (Njoroge et al.
2008). Pathogenic inoculums of Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum)
in a long-term watermelon monocropping and its subsequent disinfection in soil by
land fallowing were studied by Wu etal. (2013). The authors investigated the elds
with a continuous 5years of watermelon production with subsequent 3years of land
fallowing. The results of this study indicated a sharp reduction in culturable fungal
pathogen recovered from soil by about 20, 40, and 50% in the rst, second, and third
years of land fallowing. Surprisingly, fungal inoculums of other Fusarium species
like F. merismoides and F. fusariodes also reduced. However, bacterial communities
increased as a proportion of the gross microbial population as the period of land
fallowing increased.
Crop rotation is likely to affect the incidence and severity of soilborne diseases
by increasing the soil buffering capacity, restraining the virulent pathogen from the
access to host plant by growing of a non-host crop species, and affecting the con-
tents of inorganic N forms by inuencing the rate of nitrication in soil (Graham
and Webb 1991; Huber and Graham 1999). Rotation of eld out of the host crops
can be a strategic and relatively cost-effective approach for management of many
diseases in eld crops. Crop rotation without hosts is a well-tested strategy of inte-
grated pest management (IPM) that is indispensable for suppression of many soil-
borne diseases (Fang et al. 2012; Koike and Gordon 2015). To be precise, the
success of crop rotation for managing diseases lies within the understanding of the
epidemiology of the pathogens. In general, crop rotation is aimed for managing
diseases by growing non-host crop species until the eradication of pathogens from
soil, or its inoculums are declined to such extent, which can cause least yield reduc-
tion. Successful management of diseases with crop rotation mainly depends on the
8 Role of Nutrients in Controlling the Plant Diseases in Sustainable Agriculture
250
knowledge of the following factors: (1) the associated plants (weeds and other
crops) serving as alternate hosts that it can hibernate up on, (2) the persistence
pathogen in the absence of hosts, (3) how the pathogen can be reintroduced into a
land, (4) other ways of survival between the susceptible host crop species, and (5)
management of other pathogen sources (Davis and Nunez 1999; Smith and
McSorley 2000). For example, windblown airborne pathogens, which can also sur-
vive in soil, may not be effectively controlled by crop rotation, if infected plants
occur in the nearby areas, with possible chances of spore dispersal to the cultivated
crop species.
8.6 Concluding Remarks and Future Perspective
It is essential to fulll the need of ~9 billion people, the estimated global population
by 2050. The demand has to be supplied; however, system and method must be
adopted for sustainable agricultural production systems. This can be achieved by
developing high-yielding crops, pathogen-resistant varieties, and biofortied crops
with minimum addition of synthetic fertilizers and nutrients, thus maintaining the
integrity of the ecosystem.
Disease resistance of any plant is mainly genetically controlled but has a close
association with the nutritional status of the plants or pathogens; and thus, nutrient
management has always been an important regulator for plant diseases. There is a
dynamic interrelation between the nutritional status of plants with pathogen and
abiotic environment, and hence, proper management of nutrients in cultivated crops
can effectively decline the severity of most diseases. Further, with nutrient manage-
ment, the decrease in the severity of diseases is more pronounced, when the crops
are undernourished. The morphological or histological characteristics of the host
plants are also governed by their nutritional status, which, in turn, regulates the
pathogen entry, its penetration, and spreading of infection to the unaffected plant
parts. Healthy plants with optimum nutrition can suppress diseases to a permissible
level or to a level which can further be controlled by pesticides or other conventional
practices that are more successful, cost-effective, and environment friendly.
Nevertheless, knowing the effects of plant nutrients in disease reduction, it should
be included in disease management plans, strictly not as the only method but as an
integral aspect of IPM practices.
This chapter has discussed many studies which mostly report that foliar spray of
nutrients or fertilizer application has either declined the severity of diseases or
increased resistance in many crops. Changes in the physiological or biochemical
processes, as affected by the plant nutrients, are perhaps responsible for this ele-
vated tolerance or resistance mechanisms of the host plant. However, more intensive
studies are required to investigate the use of plant nutrients to alleviate the plant
diseases vis-a-vis enhancing the soil fertility that can sustain crop productivity for
our future generations. It is of paramount importance to understand the physiologi-
cal or biochemical mechanisms involved in disease suppression with the application
of nutrients. To lessen the use of extra nutrients, genetically engineered crops with
N. Gupta et al.
251
better nutrient use efciencies and biofortied crops should be included in sustain-
able agricultural production systems to maintain soil fertility and health. In addi-
tion, there is an utmost need for inclusion of varieties with disease resistant or
tolerance in IPM practices that can effectively be combined with specic nutrient
management schedules for managing plant diseases and preserve environmental
quality, at the same time.
Acknowledgments We are thankful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their construc-
tive criticisms, valuable comments, and suggestions for improving the scientic quality of the
chapter.
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