Contact
Professor Dan Funck Jensen
Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology
dan.jensen@slu.se, 018-672798
SLU calculates and reports emissions and uptake from Sweden's Land use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector (LULUCF).
We provide undergraduate courses that can take place both in the field and in the molecular lab. We also give a postgraduate education.
Our research is focused on interactions involving plants, pathogenic, symbiotic and saprotrophic fungi and other microorganisms and their role in forest and agricultural systems.
It is very intriguing that biological control with beneficial microorganisms (BCAs) can be used to fight serious plant diseases. Biological control will play an important role in the future as many pesticides are being faced out and organic and IPM production is encouraged in Europe aiming at improving sustainable plant production. Biocontrol also play an important role in forestry.
We have identified a range of plant diseases for which it is likely to develop effective BCAs. A few very effective strains have been selected – both bacterial and fungal BCAs – which now are undergoing detailed studies.
Our present activities embrace applied research dealing with production, formulation and application as well as efficacy testing under field conditions and, basic research focusing on biocontrol mechanisms studying molecular interactions between the BCAs and their prey.
We are also working together with partners in the forest- and agro-industry to bring these BCAs further for commercial exploitation.
Read more about ongoing projects below the slide show.
Wheat is grown in Denmark and Sweden on more than 1,100,000 hectares and is one of the most important crops in the Nordic countries. However, there are major problems with plant diseases that reduce yield and quality. Septoria leaf blotch is caused by the fungus Zymoseptoria tritici and is one of the most serious wheat diseases. So far, control has been based on repeated spray treatments with fungicides. Unfortunately, many populations of Zymoseptoria tritici have develop resistance to fungicides. Thereby, the fungicides lose their effect in the disease control.
In a collaboration between SLU, the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University, we have tested biological control of Septoria leaf blotch in field trials by spraying the crops with the fungus Clonostachys rosea, which is known to effectively combats a number of plant diseases.
Over a number of years, we have achieved a significant level of biological control of the Septoria leaf blotch in the field. In addition, C. rosea shown great tolerance to a number of fungicides. By using C. rosea in combination with fungicides, we investigate whether biological control can have a central role in integrated pest management (IPM) of Septoria leaf blotch. In an ongoing research project, we are investigating if we can:
The project is funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency in Denmark.
Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology
dan.jensen@slu.se, 018-672798
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