Weed populations and pathogens

Abstract

Plant:pathogen systems are complex, highly spatial and fluctuate considerably. The dynamics of their individual populations depends on factors such as their patchiness, shapes and scales of dispersal distributions, genetic polymorphism and their responses to their biotic and abiotic environments. We review knowledge of these population properties in the context of weed management and biological control and discuss their likely influence on the population dynamics of pathogens.