BeCrop Test Results: Diseases

Learn more about how to prevent disease risk

In this section of the BeCrop Test report, you will find information that will inform you about what is happening in the soil microbiome and how to prevent possible diseases that may affect your crops.

 

Healthiness Status

Crop health is determined by identifying pathogens present. This assessment is based on epidemiological information, which compiles data from various samples and involves analyzing the vulnerability of the microbial ecosystem. It is established depending on the risks of the progression of detected diseases. In this section, you can find information about the levels of soil microbes that support plant health, Biocontrol, Hormone Production, and Stress Adaptation.

How is it calculated?

• The risk level is calculated based on the pathogen load, as well as the ecology (biocontrol levels) of the sample. High or very high risk levels indicate a high probability of developing the disease. Low or very low risks do not need immediate action, though they require attention.
  

• Three primary factors drive plant disease development and are commonly referred to as the “disease triangle”: Plant phenology, weather conditions, and presence/dominance of the pathogen, which is the factor measured here. A high risk does not mean that you are going to develop the disease, but does indicate that you should be aware that one of the three disease triangle factors favors disease development.

Biocontrol

Microbial species are grouped here according to the type of pest or pathogen they can suppress. The four considered groups are Fungicides, Bactericides, Insecticides, and Nematicides. Biocontrol agents could be predatory, parasitoids of pathogens species, or competing for the same ecological niche with them. Based on the level detected, the presence of biocontrol agents indicates potential for natural control of pests and pathogens by beneficial soil microbes. So soils with high to very high values in these biocontrol indexes may not need to rely on heavy applications of plant protection products to control pest or pathogen impacts.

Hormone Production

Hormone producers: microbial species grouped according to the type of phytohormone they produce. Phytohormones are organic substances synthesized not only by plants, but also by microbes as part of their coexistence and interaction. Phytohormones, even in low concentrations, are responsible for benefits to plant growth. We evaluate three main groups of phytohormone producing microbes in our report: Cytokinins, Auxins, and Gibberellins.

Components: 

• AUXIN PRODUCTION (IAA): responsible for cell division and elongation.
• GIBBERELLIN PRODUCTION (GA): responsible for elongation, germination, and flowering.

• CYTOKININ PRODUCTION (CK): responsible for cell proliferation and cell differentiation.

 

Stress Adaptation

Adaptation to stress conditions: Microbial species grouped according to their ability to produce metabolites that help plants withstand stress conditions. The seven considered mechanisms are ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate) deaminase production, exopolysaccharide production, heavy metal resistance, salt tolerance, siderophore production, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid.

 

 

Frequent questions related to BeCrop Reports 

Here are some of the FAQs; remember that you can read all of them by clicking here 📚.

 

How long does it take to receive results? 

Result delivery takes approximately 3 weeks. Lead times vary depending on the sample quality, number of samples, location, and shipping times.

Do BeCrop metrics change throughout the season?

Yes, as environmental variables change certain microbial populations may be promoted or may decline.

Can you provide lists of the microbial species detected in each sample? 

Yes, by request we can provide microbial species identity and abundance data in spreadsheet format. We also offer free online tools to all clients via the BeCrop Portal that allow the specific microbial species to be explored and compared across samples. 

Can you detect soilborne pathogens?

Yes, we can detect most major bacterial and fungal soilborne pathogens and we provide a risk level based on the pathogen abundance and other factors that influence pathogen impact.

Is there a direct relationship with pathogen load and soil moisture/temperature?

Depending on the organism, it is probable as these conditions encourage microbial growth, but it depends on their vital cycle.