AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

Plant Pathology or Phytopathology is a branch of agricultural, botanical or biological

science which deals with the cause, etiology, interaction of plant and pathogen resulting
losses (both quality and quantity) and management of plant diseases.
• It is derived from Greek term
• Pathos suffering, / ailment,
• Logos to study / to discourse / to speak.
The term 'pathology' etymologically means the "study of the suffering".
Objectives of Plant pathology: It has four main objectives
1. Etiology: To study the cause of disease / disorder (living, non-living including
environmental factors) in plants.
2. Pathogenesis: To study the mechanism of disease development by pathogen/s (Host
Pathogen interaction).
3. Epidemiology: To study the development of disease in relation to interaction among
plant, pathogen and overall environmental conditions.
4. Control / Management: To develop systems of management of disease/s and
reducing the losses caused by diseases.
Historical examples which affected human activity are mentioned below.
Irish famine:
• Year – 1845, In 1845- this destroyed the potato crop of Ireland
• Disease: Potato Late blight: Phytophthora infestans
• Place: Ireland,
Bengal famine:
• Year: 1942
• Disease: Brown leaf spot of paddy Helminthosporium leaf spot (sesame leaf spot)
• Causal agent: Drechslera oryzae (Heleminthosporium oryzae)
Coffee rust:
• Year: 1867
• Place: Srilanka (Ceylon)
• Causal agent: Hemileia vastatrix
Southern leaf blight of maize
• Year: 1970
• Place: USA

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

• Causal agent: Helminthosporium maydis

Citrus canker:
• Year: 1910
• Place: Florida, USA
• Causal agent: Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri (Bacterial disease)
Bacterial leaf blight of paddy:
• Year: 1963
• Place: South India
• Causal agent: Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae
Bacterial blight of pomegranate:
• Year:2002 & afterwards
• Place: Maharastra, Karnataka, AP
• Causal agent: Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. Punicae
Chestnut blight disease
• Plant diseases limit the kind of plants or industries that can grow in large geographical
area,
• Ex: American chestnut (the queen of eastern American forest trees) is eliminated from
North America as a timber tree by the chestnut blight Cryphonectria parasitica
(Endothia parasitica).
Downy mildew of grapes Place: Europe (France)
• Year: 1878
• Causal agent: Plasmopara viticola
• Downy mildew of grape is responsible for discovery of Bordeaux Mixture by
Millardet from by Bordeaux University.
Powdery mildew of grapes
• Year: 1954
• Place: Europe (France)
• Causal agent: Uncinula necator
• Presence of white colored mycelium observed on upper surface of leaf, tendril,
inflorescence and berries.
HISTORY OF PLANT PATHOLOGY

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

Mycology
• 1675-Dutch worker Anton von Leeuwenhoek developed the first microscope.
• 1729-Italian botanist P. A. Micheli proposed fungi comes from spores; father of
Mycology.
Plant Bacteriology

• 1683-Anton von Leeuwenhoek first observed bacteria.

• 1876-Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch -They proved that anthrax disease of cattle was
caused by specific bacterium.
• 1876-Robert Koch of Germany described the theory called "Koch's postulates." He
established the principles of pure culture technique.

Plant Virology

• 1886-Adolf Mayer described a disease of tobacco called mosaikkranheit (tobacco

mosaic). Adolf Mayer demonstrated the sap transmission of Tobacco Mosaic Virus
disease.
• 1935-W. M. Stanley proved that viruses can be made as crystals. He got Nobel Prize
in 1946.

Grouping of Plant Diseases in various ways.

I. Based on Crops infected/ plant species
Diseases of cereals (rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, ragi, bajra)
Diseases of commercial crops (sugarcane, chilli, cotton, tobacco)
Diseases of oilseeds (groundnut, sunflower, linseed, sesamum)
Diseases of pulses (greengram, blackgram, bengalgram, cow pea)
Diseases of fibre crops (cotton, flax, sunhemp)
Diseases of horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants)
Diseases of plantation crops (arecanut, coconut, cocoa, black pepper)
Diseases of forage crops (maize, sorghum, lucerne, cowpea)

• This system is useful to field workers, diagnosticians as well as research workers

specializing in the diseases of a plant species.
• But, this method does not help in understanding the basic principles of plant
pathology.
II. According to plant parts affected
Root diseases Leaf spots, leaf blights, rust, downy mildew, powdery mildew

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

Stem diseases Fruit rot, scab, canker,

Fruit diseases Stem rot, wilt, stem canker, collar rot, crown gall
Foliar diseases Root rot, damping off, club root, wilt

• Many pathogens show tissue specificity- the basis on which this classification is made
Ex: Sclerotium rolfsii on stem and roots
• But many pathogens don't show the tissue or organ specificity Ex: Pyricularia grisea-
Blast of rice (PS. Magnaporthe grisea and Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici Black stem
rust of wheat on all aerial parts of plant).
III. Based on chief source of inoculum

Diseases due to seed borne Ex: Loose smut of wheat, grain smut of sorghum
pathogens
Diseases due to soil borne pathogens Ex: Wilt, root rot, damping off
Diseases due to air borne pathogens Ex: Downy mildew, leaf spot, powdery mildew,
rust

IV. Based on the extent to which disease are associated.

Localised diseases: these diseases are Systemic diseases: In this pathogen spreads
limited to a definite area or only part of the throughout the entire plant to varying extent
plant and is associated with almost every stage of
plant's life cycle.
Ex: Leaf spot, blast, blight, rust, Ex. Crown gall, tobacco mosaic, leaf curl,
bud necrosis, wilt of tur. Sometime
symptoms seen only at ear head stage.
(Loose smut of wheat).

V. Based on geographic distribution / spread and severity of infection/ occurrence.

Endemic diseases: word 'endemic' means prevalent in Ex: Wart of potato is endemic
and confined to a particular district or location. When a in Darjeeling. Blast of rice in
disease is more or less constantly present from year to Ponnampet. Late leaf spot of
year in moderate to severe form in a particular area, it is ground nut in Dharwad in
called endemic to that area. Causal agent is well Kharif season.
established in the field, environmental conditions are
congenial for survival and multiplication.
Epidemic/ Epiphytotic: Derived from the Greek word Ex: Cereal rust, powdery
meaning "among the people" Disease occurs periodically mildew, blast of paddy
but in a severe state involving major area of the crop. This

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

is because environmental conditions favourable for rapid

disease development occurs only periodically. (An
epiphytotic disease is one which occurs widely but
periodically).
Sporadic diseases: Occur at very irregular interval and Ex. False smut of rice,
locations and in relatively few instances. udabatta disease of rice.
Pandemic diseases: Diseases assuming epidemic Ex: Late blight of potato,
proportion over a very extensive region causing Stem rust of wheat (Ug-99
devastating damage in a short period. Spread of disease race), Dutch elm disease A
from one continent to other continent given disease may be endemic
in one region and epidemic in
another.
VI. Based on symptoms
Rust:
• It appear as relatively small pustules of spores usually breaking through the host
epidermis. These pustules may be dusty or compact with red, brown, yellow or black
in color.
• Ex: Wheat rusts, coffee rust.
• Note: white rust of crucifer: it is not true rust because they are taxonomically belong
to different group (Albuginaceae of Oomycetes). True rusts belong to uredinales of
Basidiomycetes. Recently new name is Pucciniomycetes.
Plant disease Symptoms and Signs:
Anthracnose: Ulcer-like lesions on stem and pods.
Blight: sudden death of twigs, foliage, and/or flowers. Burnt like appearance.
Blotch: large and irregular-shaped spots or blots on leaves, shoots, and stems.
Canker: dead places on bark and cortex of twigs or stems; often discolored and raised or
sunken.
Chlorosis: yellowing of normally green tissue due to reduced chlorophyll content, such
tissue is chlorotic.
Conks: fungal fruiting structures formed on rotting woody plants (shelf or bracket fungi).
Damping-off: destruction of seeds in the soil, or seedlings near the soil line, resulting in
reduced stand, or the seedling falling over on the ground
Decline: progressive, gradual weakening and death of a plant or population of plants
Dieback: progressive, gradual weakening and death of individual branches of a plant, often
leading to decline
KINGDOM- FUNGI (TRUE FUNGI)
FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

Characters:
• These are eukaryotes identified by cell wall made up of chitin+glucan.
Achlorophyllous, nucleated and spore bearing organisms.
• These may be saprophytic, parasitic or pathogenic.
• Reproduce asexually and sexually and unicellular (yeast)or multicellular
(filamentous)
True fungi has 4 phyla:
1. Chytridiomycota
2. Zygomycota
3. Ascomycota
4. Basidiomycota
PLANT PARASITIC NEMATODES
• The term nematode is derived from Greek word "Nema" meaning "Hair", Thread,
Filament, and is called as "Hair like organisms".
• Commonly thesenematodes are known as Nemas in USA, Eel worms in Europe,
• Nematodes in India and Roundworms by taxonomists and belong to the kingdom
Animalia.
1. Plant feeders
2. Microbial feeders
3. Miscellaneous feeders
4. Predators
Saprophytes
• The first plant parasitic nematode i.e. Anguina tritici causing ear cockleof wheat (seed
gall) was reported by John Needham (1743).
• Nematodes are defined as triploblastic, bilaterally symmetrical, unsegmented,
pseudocoelomate and vermiform animals.
PHANEROGAMIC PARASITES
• Cuscutaceae (Convoluvulaceae): Genus: Cuscuta, dodder on alfalfa, onion, potato.
• Orobanchaceae: Genus: Orobanche, Broomrape of tobacco, tomato and other
solanaceae plants
• Scrophulariaceae: Genus: Striga, Witchweed of sorghum, maize, sugarcane
• Loranthaceae: Genus: Dendrophthoe Loranthus on mango, guava, sapota etc.

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

DODDER: Cuscuta: Complete stem parasite.

• Dodder may also serve as a living bridge for transmission of viruses fromvirus
infected to virus-free plants.
HOW PATHOGENS ATTACK PLANTS
• Plant cells consist of cell wall, cell membranes and cytoplasm, which contains the
nucleus and various organelles.
• The plant surfaces that come in contact with the environment either consist of
cellulose, cuticle and an additional of waxes.
• A pathogen to infect a plant it must be able to make its way into and through the
plant, and neutralize the defense reactions of the plant.
Mechanical Forces Exerted by Pathogens on Host Tissues
• For fungi and parasitic higher plants to penetrate a plant surface, by adhering to host
plant.
Other modes explained well….
TOXINS IN PLANT DISEASES
• Toxins increase the severity of disease caused by a pathogen, i.e., they affect the
virulence of the pathogen, but are not essential for the pathogen to cause disease, i.e.,
they do not determine the pathogenicity of the pathogen. Several of these toxins, e.g.,
tabtoxin, phaseolotoxin and cercosporin,
• Tabtoxin: Produced by Pseudomonas syringae; pv. tabaci, the wildfire disease of
tobacco.
• Tentoxin: Alternaria alternata (A. tenuis), spots and chlorosis.
• Phaseolotoxin: by Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola. Phaseolotoxin plays a
major role in the virulence of the pathogen by interfering with or breaking the disease
resistance of the host.
• Cercosporin: by Cercospora and by several other fungi. It causes damaging leaf spot
and blight diseases of many crop plants.
GROWTH REGULATORS IN PLANT DISEASE
Auxins
• Increased auxin (IAA) levels occur in many plants infected by fungi, bacteria, viruses,
mollicutes, and nematodes, although some pathogens seem to lower the auxin level of
the host.
Gibberellins

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

• Gibberellins were first isolated from the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi, the cause of the
foolish seedling disease of rice. The best-known gibberellin is gibberellic acid.
• Compounds such as vitamin E and helminthosporol also have gibberellin-like activity.
Defense mechanism in plants: structural, biochemical and host plant resistances
Two types of defensive response:
I. Morphological or structural defense mechanisms
a. Pre-existing defense structures
b. Defense structures formed after infection (Active)
II. Biochemical defense mechanisms
a. Pre-existing biochemical defense
b. Biochemical defense induced by the pathogen.
Effect of pathogens on plant physiological processes: Photosynthesis, Transpiration,
Respiration, Transcription and Translation.
1. Photosynthesis:
It is the basic function of green plants; it enables them to transform light energy into chemical
energy, which they can utilize in all cell activities.
Plant disease epidemiology: Components of epidemic: Factors affecting the
development of epidemics, Patterns of epidemics and Disease progress curve (DPC).
• When a pathogen spreads to and affects many individuals within a population over a
relatively large area and within a relatively short time, the phenomenon is called an
epidemic. The study of epidemics and of the factors that influence them is called
epidemiology.
• Disease Triangle: The interactions of three components of disease, i.e., the host,
pathogen and environment, can be visualized as a disease triangle.
• Disease Pyramid: The disease triangle can be expanded to include two more
components, time and humans. The addition of time component to the disease triangle
results into a tetrahedron or disease pyramid.
Assessment of disease severity and crop losses
For the measurement of disease, the following three assessments are commonly employed
1. Incidence:
• It will give percentage of infected plant in the field
number of infected plants
• Percent disease incidence = X 100
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

• This method is useful and extensively used in assessment of viral diseases and wilts.
Because, they may cause total loss to the plant.
2. Severity:
• Per cent incidence may not indicate clear picture in all diseases. Such as leaf spots,
leaf blights, cankers are assessed by this method. It gives the proportion of area or
amount of plant tissue that is diseased. This can be derived form Percent disease
index (PDI)
𝐒𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
• PDI= 𝐍𝐨.𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐗 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 X100

3. Yield loss:
In 1971, the FAO brought the first manual on crop loss assessment methods with objective of
introducing a uniform system of appraisal at international level.
Plant disease forecasting, Survey, Surveillance, and Remote sensing
Disease forecasting
• Positive forecast: employs need based chemical sprays, provides adequate protection
to crop and reduces damage to environment
• Negative forecast: Avoids unnecessary chemical sprays, no risk to the crop health
and no disruption of environment
Seed pathology:
Definition of seed health, importance of seed health, seed borne nature of the plant
pathogens, Identification and detection of seed borne plant pathogens

• Paul Neerguard: Father of seed Pathology

• Seed Health: - Refers primarily to the presence or absence of disease causing
organisms.
Principles of plant disease management: Avoidance, Exclusion, Eradication, Protection,
Resistance and Therapy

Management:
• It is not based on the principle of only eradication of the pathogen but, on the
principle of maintaining the damage/loss below an ETL or at least minimizing the
occurrence of a disease above that level.

General principles of disease management

1. Avoidance
2. Exclusion

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

3. Eradication
4. Protection
5. Disease resistance
6. Therapy
ALL PRINCIPLES EXPLAINED WELL…..
Methods of plant disease management: Cultural, Physical, Biological, Regulatory, Host
resistance and Chemical methods
I. Cultural practices for disease management
1. Production and use of disease free propagating material
• A large number of fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens are transmitted through true
seed or vegetative propagating material. For effective disease control this source of
primary inoculums must be taken care,
DETAILED EXPLAINATION OF ALL METHODS….
Classification of fungicides based on chemical nature
Contact fungicides
I. Copper compounds:
Mode of action (MOA): Inhibit SH containing enzymes
1. Bordeaux mixture - In 1882 Millardet discovered this and recommended against downy
mildew of grapes -Plasmopara viticola -France
This mixture has the reaction product of copper sulphate and calcium hydroxide
Original mixture : 15% Copper sulphate +8% lime
Copper sulphate : 5lb(2.268 kg)
Hydrated lime : 5lb(2.268 kg)
Water : 50 gallons
CuSO4 , Ca(OH)2 : Cu(OH)2 ,CaSO4
Integrated disease management
The attempt to prevent pathogens causing economic crop losses by using a variety of
management methods that are cost effective and cause the least damage to the environment.
The main goals/phases in integrated plant disease control program are to
1. Eliminate or reduce the initial inoculum,
2. Reduce the effectiveness of initial inoculum,
3. Increase the resistance of the host,

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

4. Delay the onset of disease, and

5. Slow the secondary cycles.
Diseases of Rice
Fungal Diseases
Blast Pyricularia oryzae (Syn: P. grisea) (Sexual stage: Magnaporthe grisea)
Symptoms
• On the leaves, the lesions appear as spindle shaped spots with grey centre and
dark brown margin (Leaf blast).
• Spots also appear on sheath. Severely infected nursery and field appear as burnt.
• Black lesions appear on nodes girdling them. The affected nodes may break up
and all the plant parts above the infected nodes may die (nodal blast).
• During flower emergence, the fungus attacks the peduncle and the lesion turns to
brownish-black which is referred to as rotten neck / neck rot / panicle blast (neck
blast).
Pathogen
• The perfect state of thefungus is M. grisea producing perithecia. The ascospores are
hyaline, fusiform, 4 celled and slightly curved.
Favourable Conditions
• Intermittent drizzles, cloudy weather, more of rainy days, longer duration of dew high
relative humidity (93-99 per cent). And Low night temperature (between 15-20°C or
less than 26°C).
Disease Cycle
• The disease spreads primarily through airborne conidia.
• Mycelium and conidia in the infected straw and seeds are major sources of inoculum.
Management
• Grow resistant to moderately resistant varieties CO47, IR 20, ADT36, ADT39, ASD
18 and IR64.
• Remove and destroy the weed hosts in the field bunds and channels.
• Treat the seeds with Captan or Thiram or Carbendazim or Tricyclazole at 2 g/kg. or
Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10g/kg of seed. Spray the nursery with carbendazim
500mg/L or tricyclazole 300mg/L.
• Spray the main field with Edifenphos 500 ml or Carbendazim 500 g or Tricyclazole
500g or Iprobenphos (IBP) 500 ml/ha.

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

Diseases of wheat at glance…

Stem rust Leaf rust Stripe rust
Causal organism Puccinia graminis Puccinia recondita Puccinia striiformis
f.sp. tritici
Pustule location Stem and leaf, upper Leaf, mainly on the Leaf, upper surface;
and lower surfaces upper surface occasionally on head
of leaf, occasionally and seeds
on head and seeds
Pustule color Orange-red to dark- Orange-brown Orange-yellow
red
Pustule arrangement Single and random Single and random Stripes
Pustule shape and Oval shaped or Round or slightly Round, blister-like;
size elongated; small to elongated; small to small
large medium
Tearing of host Conspicuous Rare, visible with None
epidermis magnification

Optimum 15 - 28˚C 15 - 20˚C 7 - 12˚C

temperature for
infection
Optimum 27 - 30˚C 20 - 25˚C 10 - 15 ˚C
temperature for
disease development
Alternate hosts Barberry (Berberis Thalictrum sp. and Not reported
sp.) and Mahonia Isopyron

Stem rust Leaf rust Stripe rust

Uredosori rust red, large, Orange later turn Lemon yellow,
elongated and brown, smaller, oval small pin head size,
coalesce to form to round, not never coalesce,
continuous pustules coalescing arranged in rows
Uredospores Oval, with 4 Round, 7-10 Round, 6-10
equatorial germ scattered germ pores scattered germ pores
pores
Teliosori Resemble uredosori Teliosori rare Teliosori are
except the black frequently formed
colour

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IMOD LEARNING CENTRE

Epidermis bursts Epidermis never Epidermis does not

irregularly bursts burst
Teliospores Spindle shaped, apex Round at the apex Flattened at the apex
pointed

Disease Loose smut Common bunt Karnal bunt Flag smut

Causal Org. Ustilago nuda Tilletia caries Tilletia indica Urocystis
tritici agropyri
Spread Internally seed Externally seed Soil and air Soil borne &
borne borne(contamina borne seed
nt) contaminant.
Infection Systemic Systemic Non-systemic Systemic.
Infected plant Entire grain Entire grain Part of grain is Leaves as well
part converted to converted to infected as leaf sheath.
smut smut
Opt. Temp. for 18-20°C 18-20°C 18-22°C 18-25°C
infection

Sporidial No sporidia 1°& 2° sporidia 1°& 2° sporidia 1° sporidia

formation.

DISEASES OF GIVEN FIELD CROPS, VEGETABLES, PLANTATION CROPS,

FRUIT CROPS AND ORNAMENTAL CROPS DISCUSSED…..

FOR STUDY MATERIALS, CONTACT: +91-9164188444