Practical application of induced resistance to plant diseases: an appraisal of effectiveness under field conditions

SUMMARY Plants resist pathogen attack through a combination of constitutive and inducible defences. Different types of induced resistance have been defined based on differences in signalling pathways and spectra of effectiveness. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) occurs in distal plant parts following localized infection by a necrotizing pathogen. It is controlled by a signalling pathway that depends upon the accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) and the regulatory protein NPR1. In contrast, induced systemic resistance (ISR) is promoted by selected strains of non-pathogenic plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). ISR functions independently of SA, but requires NPR1 and is regulated by jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET). Resistance can be induced by treatment with a variety of biotic and abiotic inducers. The resistance induced is broad spectrum and can be long-lasting, but is rarely complete, with most inducing agents providing between 0·20 and 0·85 disease control. In the field, expression of induced resistance is likely to be influenced by the environment, genotype, crop nutrition and the extent to which plants are already induced. Unfortunately, understanding of the impact of these influences on the expression of induced resistance is rudimentary. So too is understanding of how best to use induced resistance in practical crop protection. This situation will need to change if induced resistance is to fulfil its potential in crop protection.