Lecture 1 & 2

Plant Pathology: An Overview

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq

Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences & Informatics,
Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and
Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta
 PLANTS AND DISEASE
Plants make up the majority of the earth’s living
environment as trees, grass, flowers, and so on.

Major producer (Autotrophs) on earth, All non-

producer directly of indirectly depend upon
plants

Plants require, sufficient nutrients, moisture,

light, and appropriate temperature
 PLANTS AND DISEASE
However, Plants may also get sick.

Sick plants grow and produce poorly, they

exhibit various types of symptoms, and, often,
parts of plants or whole plants die.

It is not known whether diseased plants feel

pain or discomfort.
 PLANTS AND DISEASE: Contd.
Plant pathology is the study of the organisms
and of the environmental factors that cause
disease in plants; of the mechanisms by which
these factors induce disease in plants; and of
the methods of preventing or controlling
disease and reducing the damage it causes.

Plant pathology is for plants largely what medicine is

for humans and veterinary medicine is for animals.
 PLANTS AND DISEASE: Contd.
Each discipline studies the causes, mechanisms, and
control of diseases affecting the organisms with
which it deals, i.e., plants, humans, and animals,
respectively.

Plant pathology is a science that studies plant

diseases and attempts to improve the chances for
survival of plants when they are faced with
unfavorable environmental conditions and parasitic
microorganisms that cause disease.
 PLANTS AND DISEASE: Contd.

The agents that cause disease in plants are the

same or very similar to those causing disease in
humans and animals.

They include pathogenic microorganisms, such

as viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and
nematodes, and unfavorable environmental
conditions, such as lack or excess of nutrients,
moisture, and light, and the presence of toxic
chemicals in air or soil.
 PLANTS AND DISEASE: Contd.

Plants also suffer from competition with

other, unwanted plants (weeds), and, of
course, they are often damaged by attacks of
insects. Plant damage caused by insects,
humans, or other animals is not usually
included in the study of plant pathology.
 Estimated Annual Crop Losses Worldwide
Attainable crop production (2002 prices) $1.5 trillion

Average annual losses to world crop production (36%) $550 billion

Actual crop production (-36.5%, Average annual losses) $950 billion

Production without crop protection $455 billion

Losses prevented by crop protection $415 billion

Actual Losses caused by Plant diseases only (14.1%) $220 billion

Postharvest losses particularly in developing tropical countries 6-12%

Losses Caused by Plant Diseases (2020-21) 14-41%

Plant pathology is an integrative science and
profession that uses and combines the basic
knowledge of: Botany, Mycology, Bacteriology,
Virology, Nematology, Plant Anatomy, Plant
Physiology, Genetics, Molecular Biology and Genetic
Engineering, Biochemistry, Horticulture, Agronomy,
Tissue Culture, Soil Science, Forestry, Chemistry,
Physics, Meteorology, and many other branches of
science.
Plant pathology profits from advances in any one of
these sciences, and many advances in other sciences
have been made in attempts to solve plant
pathological problems.

As a science, plant pathology tries to increase our

knowledge about plant diseases.

At the same time, plant pathology tries to develop

methods, equipment, and materials through which
plant diseases can be avoided or controlled.
Uncontrolled plant diseases may result in less
food and higher food prices or in food of poor
quality.

Diseased plant produce may sometimes be

poisonous and unfit for consumption.

Some plant diseases may wipe out entire

plant species and many affect the beauty and
landscape of our environment.
Controlling plant disease results in more food
of better quality and a more aesthetically
pleasing environment, but consumers must
pay for costs of materials, equipment, and
labor used to control plant diseases and,
sometimes, for other less evident costs such
as contamination of the environment.
 The Concept of Disease in Plants
When the ability of the cells of a plant or plant part
to carry out one or more of the essential functions
is interfered with by either a pathogenic organism
or an adverse environmental factor, the activities of
the cells are disrupted, altered, or inhibited, the
cells malfunction or die, and the plant becomes
diseased.
 The Concept of Disease in Plants
The meristematic (cambium) cells of a healthy plant
divide and differentiate as needed, and different
types of specialized cells absorb water and nutrients
from the soil; translocate these to all plant parts;
carry on photosynthesis, translocate, metabolize, or
store the photosynthetic products; and produce seed
or other reproductive organs for survival and
multiplication.
The kinds of cells and tissues that become
affected determine the type of physiological
function that will be disrupted first

For example, infection of roots may cause Roots to Rot

and make them unable to absorb water and nutrients
from the soil

Infection of Xylem Vessels, as happens in Vascular Wilts

and in some Cankers, interferes with the translocation of
water and minerals to the crown of the plant
Infection of the foliage, as happens in Leaf Spots, Blights,
Rusts, Mildews, Mosaics, and so on, interferes with
photosynthesis;
Infection of phloem cells in the veins of leaves and in the
bark of stems and shoots, as happens in cankers and in
diseases caused by viruses, mollicutes, and protozoa,
interferes with the downward translocation of
photosynthetic products
Infection of flowers and fruits interferes with
reproduction.
Although infected cells in most diseases are weakened or
die, in some diseases, e.g., in crown gall, infected cells
are induced to divide much faster (Hyperplasia) or to
enlarge a great deal more (Hypertrophy) than normal
cells and to produce abnormal amorphous overgrowths
(Tumors) or abnormal organs.
 Development of Disease in Plants
At first, the affliction is localized to one or a few
cells and is invisible.
Soon, however, the reaction becomes more
widespread and affected plant parts develop
changes visible to the naked eye.
These visible changes are the symptoms of the
disease.
 Development of Disease in Plants
The visible or otherwise measurable adverse
changes in a plant, produced in reaction to
infection by an organism or to an unfavorable
environmental factor, are a measure of the amount
of disease in the plant.
 Development of Disease in Plants
Disease in plants, then, can be defined as the
series of invisible and visible responses of plant
cells and tissues to a pathogenic organism or
environmental factor that result in adverse
changes in the form, function, or integrity of the
plant and may lead to partial impairment or death
of plant parts or of the entire plant.
 Development of Disease in Plants: Contd…

Pathogenic microorganisms, i.e., the transmissible biotic

(= living) agents that can cause disease and are
generally referred to as pathogens, usually cause
disease in plants by disturbing the metabolism of plant
cells through enzymes, toxins, growth regulators, and
other substances they secrete and by absorbing
foodstuffs from the host cells for their own use.
 Development of Disease in Plants: Contd…

Some Pathogens may also cause disease by

growing and multiplying in the xylem or phloem
vessels of plants, thereby blocking the upward
transportation of water or the downward
movement of sugars, respectively, through these
tissues.
 Development of Disease in Plants: Contd…

Environmental Factors cause disease in plants

when abiotic factors, such as temperature,
moisture, mineral nutrients, and pollutants, occur
at levels above or below a certain range tolerated
by the plants.