title: Biological Control beneath the Feet: A Review of Crop Protection against Insect Root Herbivores.
abstract: Sustainable agriculture is certainly one of the most important challenges at present, considering both human population demography and evidence showing that crop productivity based on chemical control is plateauing. While the environmental and health threats of conventional agriculture are increasing, ecological research is offering promising solutions for crop protection against herbivore pests. While most research has focused on aboveground systems, several major crop pests are uniquely feeding on roots. We here aim at documenting the current and potential use of several biological control agents, including micro-organisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi, and nematodes) and invertebrates included among the macrofauna of soils (arthropods and annelids) that are used against root herbivores. In addition, we discuss the synergistic action of different bio-control agents when co-inoculated in soil and how the induction and priming of plant chemical defense could be synergized with the use of the bio-control agents described above to optimize root pest control. Finally, we highlight the gaps in the research for optimizing a more sustainable management of root pests.
authors.affiliation: Functional Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. alan.kergunteuil@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kergunteuil
authors.affiliation: Functional Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. mojtaba.bakhtiari@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Moe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakhtiari
authors.affiliation: Functional Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. ludovico.formenti@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Ludovico
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Formenti
authors.affiliation: Functional Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. zhenggao.xiao@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Zhenggao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Functional Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. emmanuel.defossez@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Defossez
authors.affiliation: Functional Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. sergio.rasmann@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rasmann
keywords: belowground plant defenses; biological control; root pests; soil fauna; tri-trophic interactions