Prospects for the Use of Chitosan and Other Alternatives in Ornamental Conservation

Environmental and technological influences complicate the task of achieving disease-free products in the ornamental industry. Research is needed to support progress in the development of integrated environmental, biological, and chemical control techniques for management of diseases in floriculture. However, due to the unavailability of desirable resistance in cultivars and exorbitant cost of chemicals for the management of diseases in ornamentals, the introduction of biological and alternatives methods is believed to be an alternative to chemical methods. Moreover, management practices using a single control measure are not successful in controlling the diseases. For this reason, integrated management practices based on resistant cultivars, chemical methods, biological methods, and alternatives under experimentation (chitosan, extracts, and essential oils) are being adopted for successful management of diseases in ornamentals.