IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i5p1808-d1343763.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tomato and Pepper Seeds as Pathways for the Dissemination of Phytopathogenic Bacteria: A Constant Challenge for the Seed Industry and the Sustainability of Crop Production

Author

Listed:
  • Bekri Xhemali

    (Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
    Laboratory of Plant Protection, Kosovo Institute of Agriculture, 30000 Pejë, Kosovo)

  • Davide Giovanardi

    (Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy)

  • Enrico Biondi

    (Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

  • Emilio Stefani

    (Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy)

Abstract

The seed industry plays a crucial role in global food production but it faces a persistent challenge in ensuring the health and quality of seeds, particularly those of tomato and pepper seeds, which represent key seed commodities on the global market. Seeds can serve as potential pathways for the introduction and dissemination of seed-borne bacteria, which may have devastating effects on crop yield, farmers’ remunerability, and food security. Therefore, fungicides and other antimicrobial compounds are extensively used to disinfect the seeds, thus increasing the input of chemicals in the agri-environment. In this review, we address aspects that connect disease epidemiology with seed infection and health, including seed contamination, endophytic colonization, and seed-borne infections. We focused on the main bacterial diseases affecting tomato and pepper seeds by discussing their official seed testing methods as requirements supporting a smooth seed trade. Moreover, we present a survey on the past and recent innovations for seed treatments, focusing on sustainable disinfection methods. Therefore, this review will be a short but indispensable guide for seed technologists and pathologists involved in the production of high-quality seeds, providing indications and suggestions to contrast seed-borne pathogen dissemination and avoid international controversies and complaints by phytosanitary authorities, extension services, and farmers.

Suggested Citation

  • Bekri Xhemali & Davide Giovanardi & Enrico Biondi & Emilio Stefani, 2024. "Tomato and Pepper Seeds as Pathways for the Dissemination of Phytopathogenic Bacteria: A Constant Challenge for the Seed Industry and the Sustainability of Crop Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-26, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:1808-:d:1343763
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/1808/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/1808/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:1808-:d:1343763. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.