Disease suppressive soils function to prevent the establishment of pathogens in the rhizosphere of plants.
[2] A variety of PGPR genera provide a wide array of functions that directly improve plant health.
[1] Over time, plants are able to create disease-suppressive soils in response to these pathogens through the increasing the abundance of these PGPR in their rhizosphere area.
PGPR are recruited through the natural release plant exudates from root cells as they push through the soil.
[6] Different species of plants release different exudates and therefore recruit different microbial communities to their rhizosphere from the microbes already present in the surrounding bulk soil.