Microbial Consortia for Plant Disease Management and Sustainable Productivity

Crop diseases take heavy toll on agriculture. The estimated annual loss due to various diseases ranged from 15% to 20% of the total production. Apart from the yield losses in commercial productions, the losses in storage and perishables are equally significant. Out of several management options of disease control in commercial production (row crops, vegetables, and horticultural), potential use of microbial consortia as a holistic approach for integrated management option has been explored. The various aspects of microbial consortia such as development of formulation, strain compatibility, mechanism of action, and delivery methods are discussed in this chapter.