Vineyards face several biotic threats that compromise the grape quality and quantity. Among those that cause relevant economic impact and have worldwide distribution are the oomycete Plasmopara vitícola, the fungi Erysiphe necator and Botrytis cinerea, and the arthropods Lobesia botrana, Tetranychus urticae, and Phylaenus spumarius (principal vector of the bacterial disease Xylella fastidiosa in Europe). Their management relies primarily on agrochemicals with short persistence; widespread use of these chemicals causes environmental and human health problems. The challenge of sustainable viticulture is to provide ecologically sound alternatives. In this regard, the application of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) and natural products derived from their symbionts can be an alternative. EPNs are well-known biocontrol agents for soil-dwelling insects. However, current research demonstrates the great potential of both EPN and their derivates as direct bio-tools against some of the key fungal and arthropods pests present aboveground. In addition, recent evidence shows that detecting EPN presence and activity and their relation with other soil organisms associated with them can help us to understand the impact of different agricultural practices on vineyard management. Altogether, this review illustrates the great potential of EPN to enhance pest and disease management in the next generation of viticulture., This review is produced in the context of the grant
awarded from Ministry of Science and Innovation
(PID2019-104112RB-I00). Also, some of the studies
presented were conducted in the framework of the
Interdisciplinar Thematic Platform PTI-SolXyl on Xylella
fastidiosa from CSIC (Spain). RCH is awarded by Ramon
y Cajal contract award (RYC-2016-19939) from the
Government of Spain. IVD is supported with a FPI-UR
(2021) fellowship (Universidad de La Rioja, Spain). RBP
is financed by the Department of Economic Development
and Innovation, Government of La Rioja (Spain) with an
FPI contract (CAR-2018). MC is supported by a Moroccan
scholarship for the Ministry of National Education,
Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific
Research, and the travel assistance associated with the
grant CSIC I-COOP+ 2018 grant (COOPA20231).
MMGT is funded by the Programme JAE-Intro CSIC
call 2020 (JAEINT20_EX_0939). MP is funded by an
introduction to research fellowship from Government
of La Rioja (CAR 2020). RC is funded by a postdoctoral
internship from Lituania Goverment supported by EU
funds (LMT-K-712-21-0098).