Microbiome dynamics of disease suppressive soils

Samenvatting (in Engels)

Disease suppressive soils are soils in which plants do not get diseased from plant pathogens due to the presence (and activities) of the microbes present in the soil. Understanding which microbes contribute to confer suppression and through which mechanisms they protect plants is crucial for a sustainable control of plant diseases. The research conducted in this thesis firstly aimed at examining the role of application of both single bacteria as bacterial consortia in suppressing disease caused by the fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani on sugar beet. Secondly, it investigated the dynamical changes in the bacterial community composition and functions occurring during the process of disease suppressiveness induction by performing whole community analyses.