Disease control is largely based on the use of different chemical compounds toxic to pathogens. However, the hazardous effect of these chemicals on the environment and human health strongly forces to seek harmless means of disease control. During the evolutionary process, plants have developed many different defence mechanisms against pathogens. Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) is one of the most promising defence mechanisms which is induced not only by pathogens but also by molecules released during plant–pathogen interaction. Exogenous application of SAR inducers is an interesting and safe for the environment a means of plant protection, because they do not act directly on pathogens (and other microorganisms) but only by a plant metabolism. The SAR acts against broad-spectrum of pathogens and can be quite long time lasting but it is rarely complete. The SAR is a plant response and that can be affected by numerous factors for instance environment, plant and pathogen genotypes, plant health condition, and means of the inductor application. The use of the resistance inducers is still limited in the practice. Our current knowledge about it comes mainly from experimental trials and there is a need to develop more wide scale field experiments. Presently, the following benefits of using resistance inducers can be expected: (1) reduction of damage of pathogens, (2) reduction of application of pesticides that present hazards to environmental human, (3) inductors can be alternative to genetically modified plants, (4) they can be applied together with fungicide.

Ochrona roślin przed patogenami opiera się głównie na stosowaniu pestycydów, które są bezpośrednio toksyczne dla patogenów. Chemikalia te są szkodliwe dla środowiska i człowieka, co zmusza do poszukiwania bardziej bezpiecznych sposobów ochrony roślin. Rośliny w trakcie ewolucji nabyły mechanizmy obronne, z których bardzo obiecująca jest systemiczna odporność nabyta (Systemic Acquired Resistance – SAR). SAR jest indukowana przez patogeny, ale także przez inne czynniki powodujące wytwarzanie molekuł sygnałowych w roślinie. Systemiczna odporność nabyta chroni rośliny przed zakażeniem przez szerokie spektrum patogenów i jest stosunkowo trwała, ale rzadko całkowita. SAR jest reakcją rośliny i na jej wystąpienie mają wpływ liczne czynniki, takie jak: warunki środowiskowe, genotypy rośliny i patogenu, kondycja rośliny, sposób aplikacji induktora oraz inne. Stosowanie induktorów w praktyce jest wciąż ograniczone. Wiedza o zjawisku pochodzi głównie z badań eksperymentalnych i istnieje potrzeba rozwinięcia na szeroką skalę badań w warunkach polowych. Obecnie, ze stosowania induktorów SAR można oczekiwać następujących korzyści: (1) ograniczanie szkodliwości patogenów, (2) ograniczanie stosowania szkodliwych dla człowieka i środowiska pestycydów, (3) są alternatywą dla roślin genetycznie modyfikowanych, (4) można je stosować łącznie z fungicydami.

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