Role of Cyanobacteria in Crop Protection
2016
Singh, Nirbhay Kumar | Dhar, Dolly Wattal | Tabassum, Rizwana
Cyanobacteria belong to a diverse group of photosynthetic prokaryotes. They are increasingly being used as biofertilizer in agriculture due to their role as diazotrophs, ameliorant for soil physical and chemical properties, establishing proficiency in diverse soil ecologies, and their ability to compete with native flora and fauna. These are producers of a large number of biologically active/biocidal substances. However, most researches concerning them and their derived products focus on pharmaceutical applications and their use in agriculture is often regarded as a secondary goal. Existing literature suggests that cyanobacteria may play a potential role in crop protection. Thus, this is the first review of its kind that focuses on the potential application of cyanobacteria for crop protection. Commercial development of cyanobacterial compounds for non-biomedical applications includes herbicides, algicides, nematocides and insecticides. Bioactive compounds like, hapalindoles from Fischerella, calothrixins from Calothrix, cyanobacterins LU-1 and LU-2 from Nostoc and γ–lactone from Scytonema are proposed to possess allelopathic effect. Cyanobacteria show significant biocidal activity against important agricultural insect-pests. The biomass extract of Nostoc can kill Helicoverpa armigera larvae at a dose of 2.20 mg cm⁻². The antimicrobial substances produced include nostocyclyne A, nosto fungicidin, nostocin A, Ambigol A and B, hapalindoles, tjipanazoles and scytophycins and exhibit fungicidal activity against important plant pathogens. These biocontrol agents provide multiple benefits and act as useful pointers for improving cultivation practices and establishment of plants in diverse inhospitable/barren habitats. They depict a promising multifaceted bioinoculants in organic farming practices popular in present day agriculture.
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