Adaptation of Biotrophic Leaf Pathogens to Fertilization-Mediated Changes in Plant Traits: A Comparison of the Optimization Principle to Invasion Fitness.

One of the conclusions of evolutionary ecology applied to agroecosystem management is that sustainable disease management strategies must be adaptive to overcome the immense adaptive potential of crop pathogens. In this context, knowledge of how pathogens adapt to changes in cultural practices is necessary. In this article we address the issue of the evolutionary response of biotrophic crop pathogens to changes in fertilization practices.

Does the Latent Period of Leaf Fungal Pathogens Reflect Their Trophic Type? A Meta-Analysis of Biotrophs, Hemibiotrophs, and Necrotrophs.

We performed a meta-analysis to search for a relation between the trophic type and latent period of fungal pathogens. The pathogen incubation period and the level of resistance of the hosts were also investigated. This ecological knowledge would help us to more efficiently regulate crop epidemics for different types of pathogens.

Crop Fertilization Impacts Epidemics and Optimal Latent Period of Biotrophic Fungal Pathogens.

Crop pathogens are known to rapidly adapt to agricultural practices. Although cultivar resistance breakdown and resistance to pesticides have been broadly studied, little is known about the adaptation of crop pathogens to fertilization regimes and no epidemiological model has addressed that question. However, this is a critical issue for developing sustainable low-input agriculture.