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Many agricultural operations routinely apply nutrients to enhance crop yields and improve overall crop health. While Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is often the primary methodology, the importance of balanced plant nutrition is frequently overlooked. Shifting focus from a particular disease or pest to plant health should be considered.

A plant’s nutrition significantly influences its resistance or susceptibility to diseases. In most cases, minerals within the plant serve as the primary defense against various plant diseases. Plant diseases and pests are extensively studied in horticultural research due to their impact on yields and crop quality. Diseases affect the plant’s physiology, reducing nutrient uptake, mineral distribution and utilization.

Agricultural chemicals like glyphosate can make plants more susceptible to pathogens by locking up or chelating certain minerals.

A fundamental strategy for maintaining plant health and preventing diseases is nutrition management. Nutrients play a crucial role in both plant growth and disease control (Agrios 2005). The use of synthetic pesticides raises concerns about food safety, environmental integrity and pesticide resistance, necessitating alternative pest management techniques.

Nutrients, in particular, can influence a plant’s tolerance or resistance to specific pathogens. The absence of essential nutrients in higher plants also disrupts the plant’s physiological life cycle.

Micronutrients have received plenty of attention in this research and are often the most overlooked in crop production. Among the micronutrients, Manganese (Mn) can control several diseases, playing a vital role in lignin biosynthesis, phenol biosynthesis, photosynthesis and other functions. Boron (B) was found to reduce the severity of many diseases due to its impact on cell wall structure, plant membranes and plant metabolism. While not a micronutrient, Calcium (Ca) affects disease susceptibility by stabilizing the structure and stability of cell walls and plant membranes, preventing pathogens from invading the xylem.

Can growers and researchers work diligently to determine optimal mineral nutrition levels in specific plants to reduce pest and disease pressure, ultimately minimizing synthetic inputs? (Plant sap analysis technology is a valuable tool in this journey) It’s a complex task, but well worth exploring.

The challenge lies in the lack of a general rule, as a specific nutrient’s level can either increase or decrease disease severity in a particular plant.

While detailed information on the ideal fertility requirements and diseases of specific crops is not well known, research by Datnoff, Elmer and Huber in the book “Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease” documents the relatedness between various elements and specific diseases.

Focusing on the microbiology below ground and the plant’s health above ground is crucial in farming and will help facilitate optimal intake and movement of nutrients into and within the plant.

Complete and balanced nutrition should be the primary consideration in a cropping system, given the strong correlations between nutrients and diseases. Addressing only the symptoms, without tackling the underlying problem, is not a sustainable approach. Instead of solely managing disease symptoms, an Integrated Plant Nutrition (IPN) approach prioritizing plant health should be implemented. An IPN approach can be more effective and more environmentally friendly.

Integrative Plant Nutrition can offer a sustainable, long-term and cost-effective approach, reducing a reliance on pesticides. A healthy plant exhibits high vigor and improved resistance, showcasing the role of mineral nutrients in disease management (Ojha and Jha, 2021). Nutrients have the capacity to bring disease levels to an acceptable point, allowing other cultural practices to be more successful and less expensive.

Proper nutrition is the first line of plant defense, with mineral elements directly involved in protecting the plant. Proper nutrition management, soil health, and mineral balancing should also be the first managerial focus in agricultural production.

Emphasizing optimal nutrition as the primary strategy in an integrative approach can lead to the benefits of vigorous plants and healthier crops.

More research and focus on this approach is needed.

Farming is the management of a living system in combination with all of the abiotic elements (time, moisture, temperature, etc.). Optimizing the health of the ecosystem requires using mineral nutrition to suppress plant disease, which will also improve the farmland’s natural resources and enhance the quality of food produced.

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