Plant endophytes are symbiotic, and often beneficial, microbes living inside plants that can boost growth, enhance stress tolerance, and help protect against pests and diseases. By harnessing these natural allies, we can reduce reliance on pesticides while improving crop resilience and productivity.

There are an increasing number of non-native pests and pathogens that are impact the UK’s trees. The decline in a particular tree species will impact a wide range of other species that use that trees species as well as driving changes in ecosystem functions.

Plant microbiome-based approaches aim to enhance plant immunity and resilience by leveraging beneficial microbes and managing the microbial community through both direct applications and indirect agricultural practices. Advances in sequencing technologies now enable targeted, sustainable disease management strategies that complement traditional crop protection within integrated pest management (IPM) frameworks.

Biostimulants have the potential to enhance both plant growth and defence mechanisms. Elicitors, a specific category of biostimulants, can activate plant defence responses by simulating the presence of biotic stressors. The use of natural products such as biostimulants and elicitors can reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, promote crop resilience and health, and contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices.

The invasive spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is an emerging pest of fruit crops in Scotland and efforts to develop IPM strategies that control numbers and limit damage are focussing on understanding the population genetics, habitat and landscape features and varietal susceptibility.