Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are among the most notorious and underrated threats to food security and plant health worldwide, compromising crop yields and causing billions of dollars of losses annually. Chemical control strategies rely heavily on synthetic chemical nematicides to reduce PPN population densities, but their use is being progressively restricted due to environmental and human health concerns, so alternative control methods are urgently needed. Here, we review the potential of bacterial and fungal agents to suppress the most important PPNs, namely Aphelenchoides besseyi, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Ditylenchus dipsaci, Globodera spp., Heterodera spp., Meloidogyne spp., Nacobbus aberrans, Pratylenchus spp., Radopholus similis, Rotylenchulus reniformis, and Xiphinema index.

The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD) and a quarantine organism in many countries. Managing PWD involves strict regulations and heavy contingency plans, and present climate change scenarios predict a spread of the disease. The urgent need for sustainable management strategies has led to an increasing interest in promising biocontrol agents capable of suppressing the PWN, like endoparasitic nematophagous fungi of the Esteya genus. Here, we review different aspects of the biology and ecology of these nematophagous fungi and provide future prospects.