Controlling plant pathogens and improving plant growth and productivity with biologicals

Recent advances with biocontrol fungi in the genus Trichoderma reveal new mechanisms by which they control plant-pathogenic fungi and improve plant growth and productivity. Within the past 2-3 years, the number of known general mechanisms has increased from three to eight. This knowledge, together with data from thousands of commercial and university field trials, indicates that the benefits from these fungi are much larger than heretofore expected. However, these mechanisms are invariably complex, poorly understood and no doubt multigenic. Relatively rapid increases in the level of use of products based on these fungi, and their reliability, are expected. These increases are based. on greater understandings of mechanisms and limitations, as well as registrations in an increasing number of countries and improved, mechanism-based marketing efforts. However, the greatest advances in commercial use and reliability await holistic understandings of the function and regulation of the genes of these fungi from genomics-based approaches.