Common Strategies to Control <i>Pythium</i> Disease
Weijun Wu, Fumie Ogawa, Masaki Ochiai, Kunio Yamada, Hirokazu Fukui
Abstract
Pythium species are soil-borne pathogens which can cause serious economic loss worldwide and threatening agricultural production. Traditional management methods like chemical fungicides are effective against Pythium spp. But as people pay more attention to human health and environmental issues, alternative methods that are ecofriendly and harmless to health are urgently needed. Currently, various approaches had been made including using natural extract, regulating planting conditions, using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and screening disease tolerance plants. Hereby, we review the recent achievements, particularly chemical and physical methods, biocontrol and host plant defense which can be used to control Pythium disease.