Chitosan as a potential natural compound to manage plant diseases.

The necessity for non-chemical approaches has grown as awareness of the dangers posed by pesticides has spread. Chitosan, due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and bioactivity is one the effective choice in phytopathology. Chitosan is a biopolymer that reduces plant diseases through two main mechanisms: (1) Direct antimicrobial function against pathogens, including plasma membrane damage mechanisms, interactions with DNA and RNA (electrostatic interactions), metal chelating capacity, and deposition onto the microbial surface, (2) Induction of plant defense responses resulting from downstream signalling, transcription factor activation, gene transcription and finally cellular activation after recognition and binding of chitin and chitosan by cell surface receptors.