Before revision:  In this review, we provide an overview of what is currently known about the impact of residues on plant disease epidemics and describe how microbial interactions on these residues could be exploited to develop innovative crop protection strategies . Starting from the classical view of residues as a source of  inoculum, we  considered possibilities for the quantitative management of residues in crop protection. We describe residues as a transient half-plant/half-soil compartment constituting a key fully fledged microbial ecosystem  .
After revision:  In this review, we provide an overview of what is currently known about the impact of residues on plant disease epidemics and describe how microbial interactions on these residues could be exploited to develop innovative crop protection strategies . Starting from the classical view of residues as a source of inoculum, we considered possibilities for limiting the amount of residues on the soil surface to reduce the pathogen pressure. We then describe residues as a transient half-plant/half-soil compartment constituting a key fully fledged microbial ecosystem .