Plant Pathology: Diseases and Management

Description

Plant Pathology is the scientific study of plant disease caused by pathogens (infectious diseases) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplamas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants. Disease development and plant resistance working against disease development are not relatively better understood. Molecular plant pathology is providing appropriate diagnostic tools/techniques for identification of causal agents and introduction of resistance in plants. The goal of plant disease management is to reduce the economic and aesthetic damage caused by plant diseases. Traditionally, this has been called plant disease control, but current social and environmental values deem “control” as being absolute and the term too rigid. More multifaceted approaches to disease management, and integrated disease management, have resulted from this shift in attitude, however. Single, often severe, measures, such as pesticide applications, soil fumigation or burning are no longer in common use. Further, disease management procedures are frequently determined by disease forecasting or disease modeling rather than on either a calendar or prescription basis. Disease management might be viewed as proactive whereas disease control is reactive, although it is often difficult to distinquish between the two concepts, especially in the application of specific measures. This book has been formatted to cover several aspects of plant pathology to cater to the need of students.