Summary
This narrative review by Jeger and colleagues examines whether recent methodological advances in plant pathology are sufficiently integrated to address disease management at scale. Whilst individual advances—including high-throughput sequencing, host resistance deployment, epidemiological modelling, microbiome research, and artificial intelligence—have successfully managed specific crop–pathogen combinations, the authors conclude that broader impact requires systems-level thinking that coordinates surveillance, genetic diversity, pathogen adaptation dynamics, climate change impacts, and soil microbiota. The review emphasises that adoption of emerging tools must be contextualised within agricultural and ecological settings, and that coordination of information across these domains remains an outstanding challenge.
UK applicability
This framework is directly applicable to UK plant health policy and research, particularly given the emphasis on integrating genetic diversity, soil health, and climate adaptation within disease management strategies. The review's call for coordinated research agendas aligns with UK farming sustainability objectives and could inform Defra and research council priorities for crop protection in a changing climate.
Key measures
Qualitative assessment of integration across: high-throughput sequencing adoption; host resistance deployment and genetic diversity; epidemiological modelling; plant microbiome research; climate change impact analyses; informatics and artificial intelligence applications in plant pathology
Outcomes reported
The review synthesises recent methodological advances in plant pathology and evaluates their integration for disease management at systems level. It identifies key gaps between individual crop–pathogen management successes and broader, contextualised implementation across agricultural and ecological settings.
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