FERTILIZERS AND SOIL-BORNE DISEASES

Abstract. Nutrient manipulation through fertilization or modification of the soil environment to influence nutrient availability is an important cultural control for plant disease and an integral component of production agriculture. Fertilization decreases soil‐borne diseases by maximizing the inherent disease resistance of plants, by facilitating disease escape through increased nutrient availability or stimulated plant growth, and by altering the external environment to influence the survival, germination and penetration of pathogens. The flexibility in most disease‐nutrient interactions permits a much broader utilization of this cultural control in decreasing disease severity than is presently practised. It is clear that the severity of most diseases can be decreased and the chemical, biological or genetic control of many plant pathogens enhanced by proper fertilization. Breeding nutrient‐efficient or disease‐tolerant crops and establishing cultivar requirements should further improve production efficiency. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved