The use of pesticides and the cultivation of plants modified to contain a resistance gene against a particular insect or pathogen is not viable for long-term agriculture, say the scientists in their dossier. Excessive pesticide use harms the environment and human health, and contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, insects and microbes can evolve to overcome both strategies, reducing or even eliminating their long-term effectiveness.
Potatoes, vines and tomatoes
A promising avenue is emerging to overcome these pitfalls: induced resistance (IR). More than six decades of research in the laboratory, and more recently in the field, show that this is a very promising strategy for protecting crops", says Professor Brigitte Mauch-Mani, retired from the University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) and lead author of the article published in Frontiers in Science. Today, the technique has proved its worth on numerous field crops such as potatoes and vines, and also under glass to protect tomatoes, peppers and other crops.The advantage of IR is that it effectively protects plants against a wide range of pathogens and pests. In the case of diseases and pests that have emerged as a result of global warming, IR can provide faster solutions than traditional breeding," adds the researcher. IR also presents itself as an alternative against pathogens and pests for which there are no effective pesticides or whose use has been (or will be) banned. Although the protection provided by this process is not necessarily complete, it nevertheless offers substantial benefits to farmers, helping them to overcome emerging challenges.
