Root-attacking soil worms may be beaten by microbes, gene editing and RNA sprays
Kud J, Ehlers RU, Topalović O, Siddique S, Mitter N
Soil Health
If your tomatoes stall, your roses decline, or your fruit trees fade for no obvious reason, root-feeding nematodes in the soil may be the cause, and the tools to fight them are shifting toward living soil and gentler biological products.
Tiny worms in the soil chew on plant roots and cause huge crop losses. Many harsh chemical treatments are being phased out, so researchers are looking at building soil communities that keep the worms in check, editing plant genes for resistance, and using sprays that switch off key worm genes. The authors also say regulators should approve safe biological products faster.
Key Findings
Biological control products have strong safety records and scalable production, but regulatory and market hurdles slow their adoption.
Suppressive microbial consortia, validated delivery systems, and diagnostics can shift soils toward durable nematode suppression.
RNA interference target discovery for perennial crops, paired with transgrafting, and affordable RNA-based biopesticides offer new nematode control options, while genome editing that mirrors natural allelic variation could warrant streamlined oversight.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Microscopic soil worms that attack plant roots cost growers billions, and the old chemical fixes are disappearing. This review argues that healthier soil microbes, gene editing, RNA-based sprays, and faster approval of low-risk biological products can replace them.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Rethinking control strategies for plant-parasitic nematodes.
To improve management for plant-parasitic nematodes, new solutions must reflect biological realities and be guided by coherent, science-based regulations. This study addresses five areas: (1) regul...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Targeted knockout of a host peroxisomal peptidase confers field resistance to...
The corn in your grocery store and the staple food keeping millions of East African families fed is under serious threat from a viral disease that can wipe o...
Crop-improvement refers to the systematic enhancement of plant varieties through selective breeding, genetic modification, and biotechnological approaches to develop cultivars with superior agronomic, nutritional, or environmental traits. This field is essential for addressing global food security,
arrow_forward Explore topic