Abstract

Plant pathogens need to be controlled on disease plants in order to obtain maximum yield and to ensure food security. By doing so, practitioners should be mindful of the appropriate control options available and their effects on the environment and human health. Plant diseases can be managed by either chemical pesticides, regular agronomical practices (cultural control), biological or judicious combination of all available options in an integrated manner (IDM). Though the combination of the chemical option with the cultural are effective, fast and reliable, the former causes both environmental and health hazards. Moreover, much attention has not been paid to the biological control option which is considered as safer and devoid of risk as biocontrol agents or their secondary metabolites are neither phytotoxic nor hemotoxic. This mini-review reports on the prospects of using microbial antagonists as biological agents for the control of plant diseases in Ghana. Even though this is a short review, it is very important since it is going to create awareness especially to policy makers of the impact of synthetic pesticides on agriculture and health and the need to find alternative control option which is more environmentally friendlier and devoid of human risks.

Keywords: Biological control; Biotic stress; Chemical pesticides; Bioengineering; Biotechnology

Abbreviations: IDM: Integrated Disease Management; Biocontrol: Biological Control