Towards more sustainable agriculture through managing the soil microbiome

Doreen Babin, Rita Grosch, Alicia Balbín-Suaréz, TraudWinkelmann, Doris Vetterlein, Victoria Cerecetto, Carolina Leoni, Namis Eltlbany, Tarek Elsayed, Kornelia Smalla

Decline of soil health as a result of agricultural intensification – Urgent need for soil quality restoration and sustainable plant production.

To unravel etiology and causes of the replant disease to:

• Replace ecologically harmful or expensive soil disinfection treatments
• Develop strategies to maintain or restore soil health
• Provide management to overcome replant disease
• Develop tools for communication of knowledge in formats mediately applicable by farm decision makers and policy makers