Plant Disease Management

Dealing with Plant Diseases

• Dealing with plant diseases through spraying only suppresses symptoms, but does not address the root cause.
• A healthy plant can naturally resist most diseases.
• The use of fertilizers has led to the increased use of pesticides, which has negative consequences.

Improving the Soil

• The key to healthy plant growth is improving the soil, which requires a partnership between plants, fungi, and bacteria.
• This partnership is based on trading products, with fungi and bacteria supplying nutrients and plants providing sugars in the form of glucose.

The Plant-Fungi-Bacteria System

• Fungi and bacteria supply nutrients from the soil that would be hard for plants to access.
• Plants supply sugars in the form of glucose in exchange for these nutrients.

Plant Limitations

• Plants have limited root capacity, with fine absorption roots that only use 4 to 7% of the soil volume and have a short lifespan of only one to three weeks.

Plants Need Help

• Plants need external help to overcome their limitations, and they form partnerships with fungi and bacteria to achieve this.
• If plants cannot find partners, they will die, but if they succeed, it marks the start of a beautiful symbiotic relationship.

Rhizobia Bacteria

• Rhizobia bacteria are specialized in releasing phosphate from the soil, which is essential for plant growth.
• They also carry out other important tasks, including forming a natural defense system around the roots to prevent disease-causing bacteria from entering.
• This defense system is mutually beneficial, as the plant provides the bacteria with food in return.