Biocontrol of Plant Diseases for Agricultural Sustainability

Abstract

High input agriculture is increasingly recognised as environment and health degrading and not profitable due to its dependence on chemical inputs. Green revolution in India during 1970s no doubt brought about self sufficiency in food and millions escaped starvation. There is serious concern for food security of developing countries including that of India for the following reasons as described by Khanna-Chopra and Sinha (1998): (i) Increasing food demand for the rapidly burgeoning population which will be further enhanced due to improved economic growth, (ii) stagnating or declining productivity in high productivity regions, often described as “Green Revolution” fatigue, and (iii) Increasing vulnerability to agriculture as a result of potential climate change. Moreover. major advances in development in general and agricultural production in particular have also brought in its wake serious environmental degradation in term of salinity, water logging, soil erosion, air and water pollution and poor soil health. Therefore, there is a conscious effort to improve production through use of environment friendly products such as bioinoculants, instead of chemicals. This may ensure that the nature is not exploited in the production process but is instead harmonised so that the entropy of the environment decreases and sustainability in agricultural production is promoted (Narain, 1998; Purohit, 1995; Sinha, 1996, 1997).