Structure
The group is associated with the working group “Biological Control” of the European Foundation for Plant Pathology (EFPP) through a joint management committee consisting for the IOBC-WPRS of C. Alabouvette (France), Y. Elad (Israel), J. Köhl (The Netherlands) and for the EFPP of G. Défago (Switzerland), D. Funk-Jensen (Denmark) and J. Whipps (U.K.). The group comprises about 200 active scientists.
Activities
Organisation of annual workshops for scientists and extension people as well as (potential) producers and users of biocontrol products. These workshops focus on specific aspects of biocontrol of plant pathogens and also of particular groups of pathogens e.g. soilborne pathogens, above-ground pathogens (biotrophic/necrotrophic) or sclerotial pathogens, each of them differing ecologically and demanding specific control strategies. Workshops have also been oriented on specific cultivation conditions such as soilless cultures or the use of specific molecular techniques for better understanding mechanisms of interaction and establishment of the biocontrol agent.
Achievements
The main result so far is the creation of a scientific platform for the development of realistic biocontrol strategies. The workshops have demonstrated an intensification of research and implementation, and of cooperation between research groups often resulting in successful EU-R&D-projects and other international projects on biological control.
Several promising biocontrol products against diseases have become commercially available. An increase in the involvement of growers’ organisations and producers of biocontrol products in our working group is noticed. A major obstruction in the implementation of microbial biocontrol agents are the costs related to meeting the requirements for registration as (bio)pesticide.
The results of the group’s activities are published in bulletins:
Keywords
fungal phytopathogens, bacterial phytopathogens, viruses, nematodes, biological control
Aim
The general goal is to promote cooperation between biocontrol scientists and to exchange expertise on biological control of plants diseases in the West Palaeartic Region in order to support the implementation of biological control strategies in agriculture.