PLANT DISEASE AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Presented by S.Palaniananth
PRESENTED TO P.Maheshwari
Plant disease, an impairment of the normal state of a plant that interrupts or
modifies its vital functions
• Plant diseases are known from times preceding the earliest writings. Plant
disease outbreaks with similar far-reaching effects in more recent times include
• Late blight of potato in Ireland (1845–60)
• Powdery and downy mildew of grape - France (1851 and 1878)
• coffee rust - Ceylon (starting in the 1870s);
• Sigatoka leaf spot and panama disease of banana - central America (1900–65)
• Black stem rust of wheat - (1916, 1935, 1953–54)
• Loss of crops from plant diseases may result in hunger and starvation, especially
in less developed countries where access to disease-control methods is limited
and annual losses of 30 to 50 percent are common for major crops.
• In some years, losses are much greater, producing catastrophic results for those
who depend on the crop for food.
• Major disease outbreaks among food crops have led to famines and mass
migrations throughout history.
• The devastating outbreak of late blight of potato (Phytophthora infestans) that
began in Europe in 1845 and brought about the Irish famine caused starvation,
death, and mass migration of the Irish population.
Diseases—a normal part of nature:
• Plant diseases are a normal part of nature and one of many ecological factors
that help keep the hundreds of thousands of living plants and animals in
balance with one another .
• Plant cells contain special signaling pathways that enhance their defenses
against insects, animals, and pathogens. One such example involves a plant
hormone called jasmonate (jasmonic acid).
• In the absence of harmful stimuli, jasmonate binds to special proteins, called
JAZ proteins, to regulate plant growth, Pollen production, and other.
• It also increase the defense mechanism of plants.
Disease development and transmission Pathogenesis and saprogenesis:
• Pathogenesis is the stage of disease in which the pathogen is in intimate
association with living host tissue.
Three fairly distinct stages are involved:
• Inoculation: transfer of the pathogen to the infection court, or area in which
invasion of the plant occurs (the infection court may be the unbroken plant
surface, a variety of wounds, or natural openings.
• Incubation: the period of time between the arrival of the pathogen in the
infection court and the appearance of symptoms
• Infection: the appearance of disease symptoms accompanied by the
establishment and spread of the pathogen.
Environmental factors affecting disease development:
• Temperature: Each pathogen has an optimum temperature for growth. In
addition, different growth stages of the fungus, such as the production of
spores, their germination, and the growth of the mycelium, may have slightly
different optimum temperatures.
• Relative humidity : Relative humidity is very critical in fungal spore germination
and the development of storage rots.
• High humidity favours development of the great majority of leaf and fruit
diseases caused by fungi and bacteria. Moisture is generally needed for fungal
spore germination, the multiplication and penetration of bacteria, and the
initiation of infection.
• Soil moisture: High or low soil moisture may be a limiting factor in the
development of certain root rot diseases.
• High soil-moisture levels favour development of destructive water mold fungi,
such as species of Aphanomyces, Pythium, and Phytophthora
Soil Ph:
• Soil pH, a measure of acidity or alkalinity, markedly influences a few diseases,
such as common scab of potato and club root of crucifers (Plasmodiophora
brassicae).
• Growth of the potato scab organism is suppressed at a pH of 5.2 or slightly
below (pH 7 is neutral; numbers below 7 indicate acidity, and those above 7
indicate alkalinity).
• Scab is not normally a problem when the natural soil pH is about 5.2.
Soil type :
• Certain pathogens are favoured by loam soils and others by clay soils.
• Phymatotrichum root rot attacks cotton and some 2,000 other plants
• Phymatotrichum fungus is serious only in black alkaline soils—pH 7.3 or
above—that are low in organic matter
Soil fertility:
• Greenhouse and field experiments have shown that raising or lowering the
levels of certain nutrient elements required by plants frequently influences the
development of some infectious diseases.
Plant disease and symptoms description and causes examples
Water soaking A water-soaked, translucent condition of
tissues caused by water moving from
host cells into intercellular spaces
late blight lesions on potato and tomato
leaves; bacterial soft rot of fleshy
vegetables
Wilting Temporary or permanent drooping of
leaves, shoots, or entire plants from lack
of water bacterial
bacterial wilt of cucumber; Fusarium wilt
of tomato
Abnormal coloration Abnormal coloration Yellowing,
reddening, bronzing, or purpling in
localized areas of leaves where
chlorophyll has been destroyed; may be
due to a variety of causes
cabbage and aster yellows; halo blight of
beans; potassium or phosphorus
deficiency
Plant disease and symptoms Description and causes Examples
Blight Sudden or total discoloration and killing
of large numbers of blossoms, leaves,
shoots, or limbs or the entire plant;
usually young tissues are attacked; the
disease name is often coupled with the
name of the host and the part attacked—
blossom blight, twig blight,
Leaf blight
canker A definite, dead, often sunken or swollen
and cracked area on a stem, limb, trunk,
tuber, or root surrounded by living
tissues
Nectria canker of hardwoods
rot Decomposition and putrefaction of cells,
later of tissues and organs; the rot may
be dry, firm, watery, or mushy and is
characterized by such names as hard rot,
soft rot, dry rot, black rot, and white rot
bacterial soft rot; berry rot; bud rot; bulb
rot
Principles of disease control
• Exclusion and avoidance:
• The principle of exclusion and avoidance is to keep the pathogen away from the
growing host plant.
• This practice commonly excludes pathogens by disinfection of plants, seeds, or
other parts, using chemicals or heat.
• Inspection and certification of seed and other planting stock help ensure
freedom from disease.
Eradication :
• Eradication is concerned with elimination of the disease agent after it has
become established in the area of the growing host or has penetrated the host.
• Such measures include crop rotation, destruction of the diseased plants,
elimination of alternate host plants, pruning, disinfection, and heat treatments
Protection:
• The principle of protection involves placing a barrier between the pathogen
and the susceptible part of the host to shield the host from the pathogen.
• This can be accomplished by regulation of the environment, cultural and
handling practices, control of insect carriers, and application of chemical
pesticides.
Regulation of the environment
• Selection of outdoor growing areas where weather is unfavourable for disease
is a method of controlling disease by regulating the environment.
Cultural practices
• Selection of the best time and depth of seeding and planting is an effective
cultural practice that reduces disease impact.
• Adjustment of soil moisture is another cultural practice of widerspread
usefulness. Adjustment of soil pH also leads to control of some diseases.
Regulation of fertility level and nutrient balance:
• Potash and nitrogen, and the balance between the two, may affect the
incidence of certain bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases of corn, cotton, tobacco,
and sugar beet.
• Adjusting the soil pH, adding chelated or soluble salts to the soil, or spraying
the foliage with these or similar salts is a corrective measure
Control of insect vectors:
• There are many examples in which losses by bacteria, viruses, and mycoplasma-
like disease agents can be reduced by controlling aphids, leafhoppers, thrips,
beetles, and other carriers of these agents.
Biological control:
• Biological control of plant diseases involves the use of micro organisms other
than humans to reduce or prevent infection by a pathogen.
• These organisms are called antagonists; they may occur naturally within the
host’s environment, or they may be purposefully applied to those parts of the
potential host plant where they can act directly or indirectly on the pathogen.
Late blight of potato
Black stem rust of wheat
Coffee rust
Plant disease and its importance
Plant disease and its importance

Plant disease and its importance

  • 1.
    PLANT DISEASE ANDITS IMPORTANCE Presented by S.Palaniananth PRESENTED TO P.Maheshwari
  • 2.
    Plant disease, animpairment of the normal state of a plant that interrupts or modifies its vital functions • Plant diseases are known from times preceding the earliest writings. Plant disease outbreaks with similar far-reaching effects in more recent times include • Late blight of potato in Ireland (1845–60) • Powdery and downy mildew of grape - France (1851 and 1878) • coffee rust - Ceylon (starting in the 1870s); • Sigatoka leaf spot and panama disease of banana - central America (1900–65) • Black stem rust of wheat - (1916, 1935, 1953–54)
  • 3.
    • Loss ofcrops from plant diseases may result in hunger and starvation, especially in less developed countries where access to disease-control methods is limited and annual losses of 30 to 50 percent are common for major crops. • In some years, losses are much greater, producing catastrophic results for those who depend on the crop for food. • Major disease outbreaks among food crops have led to famines and mass migrations throughout history.
  • 4.
    • The devastatingoutbreak of late blight of potato (Phytophthora infestans) that began in Europe in 1845 and brought about the Irish famine caused starvation, death, and mass migration of the Irish population. Diseases—a normal part of nature: • Plant diseases are a normal part of nature and one of many ecological factors that help keep the hundreds of thousands of living plants and animals in balance with one another . • Plant cells contain special signaling pathways that enhance their defenses against insects, animals, and pathogens. One such example involves a plant hormone called jasmonate (jasmonic acid).
  • 5.
    • In theabsence of harmful stimuli, jasmonate binds to special proteins, called JAZ proteins, to regulate plant growth, Pollen production, and other. • It also increase the defense mechanism of plants. Disease development and transmission Pathogenesis and saprogenesis: • Pathogenesis is the stage of disease in which the pathogen is in intimate association with living host tissue. Three fairly distinct stages are involved: • Inoculation: transfer of the pathogen to the infection court, or area in which invasion of the plant occurs (the infection court may be the unbroken plant surface, a variety of wounds, or natural openings.
  • 6.
    • Incubation: theperiod of time between the arrival of the pathogen in the infection court and the appearance of symptoms • Infection: the appearance of disease symptoms accompanied by the establishment and spread of the pathogen. Environmental factors affecting disease development: • Temperature: Each pathogen has an optimum temperature for growth. In addition, different growth stages of the fungus, such as the production of spores, their germination, and the growth of the mycelium, may have slightly different optimum temperatures. • Relative humidity : Relative humidity is very critical in fungal spore germination and the development of storage rots.
  • 7.
    • High humidityfavours development of the great majority of leaf and fruit diseases caused by fungi and bacteria. Moisture is generally needed for fungal spore germination, the multiplication and penetration of bacteria, and the initiation of infection. • Soil moisture: High or low soil moisture may be a limiting factor in the development of certain root rot diseases. • High soil-moisture levels favour development of destructive water mold fungi, such as species of Aphanomyces, Pythium, and Phytophthora
  • 8.
    Soil Ph: • SoilpH, a measure of acidity or alkalinity, markedly influences a few diseases, such as common scab of potato and club root of crucifers (Plasmodiophora brassicae). • Growth of the potato scab organism is suppressed at a pH of 5.2 or slightly below (pH 7 is neutral; numbers below 7 indicate acidity, and those above 7 indicate alkalinity). • Scab is not normally a problem when the natural soil pH is about 5.2.
  • 9.
    Soil type : •Certain pathogens are favoured by loam soils and others by clay soils. • Phymatotrichum root rot attacks cotton and some 2,000 other plants • Phymatotrichum fungus is serious only in black alkaline soils—pH 7.3 or above—that are low in organic matter Soil fertility: • Greenhouse and field experiments have shown that raising or lowering the levels of certain nutrient elements required by plants frequently influences the development of some infectious diseases.
  • 10.
    Plant disease andsymptoms description and causes examples Water soaking A water-soaked, translucent condition of tissues caused by water moving from host cells into intercellular spaces late blight lesions on potato and tomato leaves; bacterial soft rot of fleshy vegetables Wilting Temporary or permanent drooping of leaves, shoots, or entire plants from lack of water bacterial bacterial wilt of cucumber; Fusarium wilt of tomato Abnormal coloration Abnormal coloration Yellowing, reddening, bronzing, or purpling in localized areas of leaves where chlorophyll has been destroyed; may be due to a variety of causes cabbage and aster yellows; halo blight of beans; potassium or phosphorus deficiency
  • 11.
    Plant disease andsymptoms Description and causes Examples Blight Sudden or total discoloration and killing of large numbers of blossoms, leaves, shoots, or limbs or the entire plant; usually young tissues are attacked; the disease name is often coupled with the name of the host and the part attacked— blossom blight, twig blight, Leaf blight canker A definite, dead, often sunken or swollen and cracked area on a stem, limb, trunk, tuber, or root surrounded by living tissues Nectria canker of hardwoods rot Decomposition and putrefaction of cells, later of tissues and organs; the rot may be dry, firm, watery, or mushy and is characterized by such names as hard rot, soft rot, dry rot, black rot, and white rot bacterial soft rot; berry rot; bud rot; bulb rot
  • 12.
    Principles of diseasecontrol • Exclusion and avoidance: • The principle of exclusion and avoidance is to keep the pathogen away from the growing host plant. • This practice commonly excludes pathogens by disinfection of plants, seeds, or other parts, using chemicals or heat. • Inspection and certification of seed and other planting stock help ensure freedom from disease.
  • 13.
    Eradication : • Eradicationis concerned with elimination of the disease agent after it has become established in the area of the growing host or has penetrated the host. • Such measures include crop rotation, destruction of the diseased plants, elimination of alternate host plants, pruning, disinfection, and heat treatments Protection: • The principle of protection involves placing a barrier between the pathogen and the susceptible part of the host to shield the host from the pathogen. • This can be accomplished by regulation of the environment, cultural and handling practices, control of insect carriers, and application of chemical pesticides.
  • 14.
    Regulation of theenvironment • Selection of outdoor growing areas where weather is unfavourable for disease is a method of controlling disease by regulating the environment. Cultural practices • Selection of the best time and depth of seeding and planting is an effective cultural practice that reduces disease impact. • Adjustment of soil moisture is another cultural practice of widerspread usefulness. Adjustment of soil pH also leads to control of some diseases.
  • 15.
    Regulation of fertilitylevel and nutrient balance: • Potash and nitrogen, and the balance between the two, may affect the incidence of certain bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases of corn, cotton, tobacco, and sugar beet. • Adjusting the soil pH, adding chelated or soluble salts to the soil, or spraying the foliage with these or similar salts is a corrective measure Control of insect vectors: • There are many examples in which losses by bacteria, viruses, and mycoplasma- like disease agents can be reduced by controlling aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, beetles, and other carriers of these agents.
  • 16.
    Biological control: • Biologicalcontrol of plant diseases involves the use of micro organisms other than humans to reduce or prevent infection by a pathogen. • These organisms are called antagonists; they may occur naturally within the host’s environment, or they may be purposefully applied to those parts of the potential host plant where they can act directly or indirectly on the pathogen.
  • 17.
    Late blight ofpotato Black stem rust of wheat Coffee rust