Induced Resistance for Plant Defense: A Sustainable Approach to Crop Protection

Plant diseases worldwide are responsible for billions of dollars worth of crop losses every year. With less agrochemicals being used and less new fungicides coming on the market due to environmental concerns, more effort is now being put into the use of genetic potential of plants for pathogen resistance and the development of induced or acquired resistance as an environmentally safe means of disease control. This comprehensive book examines in depth the development and exploitation of induced resistance. Chapters review current knowledge of the agents that can elicit induced resistance, genomics, signalling cascades, mechanisms of defence to pests and pathogens and molecular tools. Further chapters consider the topical application of inducers for disease control, microbial induction of pathogen resistance, transgenic approaches, pathogen population biology, trade offs associated with induced resistance and integration of induced resistance in crop protection. The book concludes with a consideration of socio–economic drivers determining the use of induced resistance, and the future of induced resistance in crop protection.