FUNDAMENTALS

OF
PLANT PATHOLOGY
APP-121
3(2+1)
 IMPORTANT
TERMINOLOGIE
S
Plant Pathology or Phytopathology
• Greek words
Phyton= Plant
Pathos= ailment/suffering
Logos= knowledge/study
• Definition:- Plant Pathology is that branch of
agricultural, botanical or biological science
which deals with the cause, etiology, resulting
losses & management of plant diseases.
• Disease-
Dis+ ease= lack of comfort
Any malfunctioning of host cells and tissues
that results from continuous irritation by a
pathogenic pathogenic agent or
environmental factor and leads to
development of symptoms.
- G.N. Agrios
(1995)
• Disorder-
• Non-infectious plant diseases that occur due
to abiotic causes
• like lack or excess of temperature, soil
moisture, soil nutrients, light, air and soil
pollutants, air humidity, soil structure and pH
etc.
• Non-infectious plant diseases occur in the
absence of pathogens, and cannot, therefore,
be transmitted from diseased to healthy
plants.
• Symptom-
The external and internal reactions or alterations
of a plant as a result of a disease. Eg: Leaf spot,
wilt, rot, blight etc.
• Sign-
The pathogen or its parts or products seen on a
host plant. Eg: Spores, sclerotia, pycnidia,
hyphae etc.
• Syndrome:
The set of varying symptoms characterizing a
disease are collectively called a syndrome.
• Parasite - An organism that derives nutrition from
living organism (host).

• Saprophyte- An organism that derives nutrition

from dead organic matter.

• Parasites & Saprophytes may change

their mode of nutrition
• Obligate parasites: A parasite that in nature can
grow and multiply only on or in living organisms.
Eg: Rust powdery mildew
• Obligate saprophyte: an organism that relies
completely on dead matter. Eg: Mucor &
Rhizopus
• Facultative parasites: Live as saprophytes but
under favourable conditions attack living plants &
become parasite. Eg: Pythium & Fusarium
• Facultative Saprophyte: A parasite which
becomes saprophytic in the absence of host. Eg:
Smut & Phytophthora
• Biotroph (Obligate parasites): An organism that can
live and multiply only on another living organism.
They always obtain their food from living tissues on
which they complete their life cycle. Ex: Rust and
powdery mildew fungi.
• Hemibiotroph (Facultative Saprophyte):The
parasites which attack living tissues in the same way
as biotrophs but will continue to grow and reproduce
after the tissue is dead. Ex: Leaf spotting fungi
• Perthotrophs or perthophytes (Necrotroph) : A
parasite is a necrotroph when it kills the host tissues
in advance of penetration and then lives
saprophytically. Ex: Sclerotium rolfsii.
• Pathogen –
An entity that can incite disease.
• Most (All) pathogens are parasites but all
parasites are not pathogens.
• Eg: Cuscuta/ Dodder is obligate stem parasite
on Lucerne
• Host-
A plant that is invaded by a parasite/ pathogen
• Pathogenicity –
Ability of a pathogen to cause disease.
• Pathogenesis-
Chain of events (steps) that lead to
development of disease in the host
OR
sequence of progress in disease development
from the initial contact between the pathogen
and its host to the completion of the syndrome
• Virulence –
Measure or degree of pathogenicity of an
isolate or race of the pathogen.
• Race-
A group of pathogens that infect a given set
of plant varieties (genetically and often
geographically distinct mating group within a
species)
Eg: Ug99 (a virulent race of Stem Rust of
Wheat- threat to 80-90% of global wheat
cultivars)
Puccinia graminis [Link]. tritici

Genus
Species
Forma
specialis
Puccinia graminis [Link]. hordei
Puccinia asparagi- Asparagus rust
Puccinia horiana- Chrysanthemum Rust
Forma specialis (plural: formae speciales):
• abbreviated f. sp. without italics,
• is an informal taxonomic grouping
allowed by the International Code of
Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and
plants, that is applied to a parasite
(most frequently a fungus) which is
adapted to a specific host.
Isolation –
The separation of a pathogen from its host
and its culture on a nutrient medium.
Isolate-
Collections of a pathogen, from different
places or made at different times, in form of a
single spore or culture and the subcultures
derived from it.
Infection : -
Infection is the establishment of
pathogen within a host plant.

Inoculum:-
It is the part of the pathogen which
causes infection.
• Hypertrophy-
Enlargement of tissue by an increase in the
size of the cells.
• Hyperplasia-
Enlargement of tissue by an increase in the
number of cells.
• Epidemic or Epiphytotic disease: A disease which
usually occurs widely but periodically in a
destructive form. Ex: Late blight of potato – Irish
famine (1845)
• Endemic: A disease which is constantly present in
a moderate to severe form and is confined to a
particular country or district. Ex: Club root of
cabbage in Nilgiris. Ex:Black wart of potato –
Synchytrium endobioticum & Onion smut –
Urocystis cepulae
• Sporadic disease: Occur at very irregular intervals
and locations and in relatively fewer instances. Ex:
Udbatta disease of rice, Angular leaf spot of
cucumber – Pseudomonas lachrymans
Pandemic disease:
• An epidemic occuring across the international
boundaries (countries & continents) affecting
people on a worldwide scale.
Incubation period:
• The period of time between penetration of a
host by a pathogen and the first appearance of
symptoms on the host.
• It varies with pathogens, hosts and
environmental conditions.
• Epidemiology-
The study of factors affecting the outbreak
and spread of infectious diseases.
• Etiology-
The determination and study of
the cause of a disease.
Disease Resistance
• The ability of a plant to exclude or overcome,
completely or in some degree, the effect of a
pathogen or other damaging factor.
(Immune/disease free, moderately resistant)
• Denotes incompatibility between the host & the
parasite.
Susceptibility
• The inability of a plant to resist the effect of a
pathogen or damaging factor.
• Denotes compatibility between the host & the
parasite.
 Disease tolerance
• The ability of a plant to sustain the effects of a
disease without dying or suffering serious
injury & crop loss.
• Attacked by a pathogen to the same degree as
other plants but suffers less damage in terms
of yield or quantity.
• Inherent/ acquired capacity to endure disease
& give satisfactory return to growers.
 Disease Escape:
• The failure of the host to become diseased
because of separation, in time or space, of
host tissues and pathogen
• Disease escaping varieties have no true
genetic resistance & can exhibit highly
susceptible reaction if the pathogen can attack
them at proper time.
 [Vanderplank, 1963]

Vertical Resistance

• Complete resistance to some races of

pathogen. (Qualitative resistance/Race
Specific / Non-uniform resistance)
• Governed by one or few genes (oligogenic
resistance/ major gene resistance)
• Easily break down when new race of pathogen
is formed -Short lived/ less durable
• Due to high heritability, can easily be identified
in breeding programs.
Horizontal resistance
• Partial resistance equally effective against
all races of pathogen. (Quantitative
resistance/ General resistance/ Uniform
resistance)
• Governed by a number of genes
(polygenic resistance/ minor gene
resistance)
• Low heritability, it is difficult to transfer
polygenic resistance from one host
genotype to another.
Alternate host:
• One of two kinds of plants on which a parasitic
fungus must develop to complete its life cycle.
• Eg: Stem rust of wheat has Barberry as its
alternate host.
Collateral Host:
• Wild host of the same families of main crop.
• Eg: Rice pathogens like Helminthosporium and
Pyricularia can survive on weed hosts like
Echinocloa, Digitaria etc.
Primary inoculum:
• The overwintering or oversummering pathogen, or
its spores that cause primary infection.
• It initiates the disease.
• Primary inoculum is in form of resting spores or other
dormant structures surviving in the soil or plant
debris etc.
Secondary inoculum:
• Inoculum produced by infections that take place
during the same growing season.
• It spreads the disease
• In viral diseases, secondary inoculum is spread by
insect vector.
Primary infection
• The first infection of a plant by the
overwintering or oversummering pathogen.
Secondary infection
• An infection caused by secondary inoculum.
• Subsequent infection caused by inoculum
produced as a result of a primary infection
Antagonism:
• A relationship between different organisms in
which one, partly or completely inhibits the
growth of another.
• Eg: Trichoderma viride & Rhizoctonia solani
Synergism:
• Association of two or more organisms acting at
one time and effecting a change which one of
them alone does not make.
• Eg: Tundu disease of wheat caused by Anguina
tritici & Corynebacterium tritici
• SAR
• ISR
• HR
• Elicitor
• Inducer
• Symbiosis
• Mutualism
• Antibiosis
• Disease Incidence
• Disease severity
• Disease cycle: The chain of events involved in disease
development, including the stages of development of
the pathogen and the effect of the disease on the
host. (Pathogenesis)
• Epidemiology-The study of factors affecting the
outbreak and spread of infectious diseases.
• Etiology- The determination and study of
the cause of a disease.
• Inoculum potential:
• Inoculum density
• Phytotoxin
• Phytoalexin
• Enzyme
• Toxin
Since, host, pathogen & environment are intimately related
in the causation of a disease, the principles of management
should tackle all 3 of them.
Water

MANAGEMENT

Soil Crop
ENVIRONENT

PATHOGEN HOST
Inoculum Nutrition
Reduction

Quarantine Eradication Resistance Protection

 CLASSIFICATION OF PLANT
DISEASES
Plant diseases can be classified on the basis of:
1. Cause
2. Occurence/ prevalence and periodicity
3. mode of spread
4. plant parts affected-foliar, root etc
5. parasitic nature-
 Based on host plants
affected
i) Diseases of cereal crops: Examples: Blast
disease of rice, wheat rust, smut of sorghum,
downy mildew of bajra, brown spot of maize,
root rot of ragi, etc.
ii) Diseases of horticultural crops: Examples:
Club root of cabbage, white rust of radish,
tomato wilt, anthracnose of mango, citrus
canker, guava wilt, papaya mosaic, powdery
mildew of rose, etc.
iii) Diseases of plantation crops: The plantation crops such
as coffee, tea, rubber, cocoa, cardamom, mulberry, etc.
Examples: Coffee rust, blister blight of tea, stem rot of
rubber, powdery mildew of mulberry, mosaic disease of
cardamom, etc.
iv) Diseases of oil seed crops: Examples: Tikka disease of
groundnut, stem bleeding of coconut, castor, etc.
v) Diseases of pulse crops: Examples: Anthracnose of
cowpea, wilt of gram, downy mildew of peas, leaf spot
of soyabean, etc.
vi) Diseases of cash crops: The crops such as sugarcane,
cotton, jute, tobacco, etc. grown for commercial purpose
are known as cash crops. Examples: Red rot of
sugarcane, root rot of cotton, root knot of tobacco, stem
rot of jute, etc.
Based on mode of spread
i) Seed borne diseases: transmit through the
seeds. Examples: Leaf spot of rice and ergot
disease of bajra.
ii) Soil borne diseases: spread through the soil.
Examples: Root knot, root rot, collar rot and
cutting rot diseases of mulberry.
iii) Air borne diseases: spread through air.
Examples: Leaf spot, powdery mildew and
leaf rust diseases of mulberry.
 Based on prevalence &
periodicity
i) Epidemic disease: A disease which occurs
widely but periodically in destructive form. Eg:
Late blight of potato(Irish famine 1845)
ii) Endemic disease: When a disease is constantly
present in moderate to severe form and is
confined to a particular country or district.
Examples: Club root of cabbage in Nilgiris, Black
wart of potato in Darjeeling of West bengal
 Based on prevalence &
periodicity
i) Epidemic disease: A disease which occurs
widely but periodically in destructive form. Eg:
Late blight of potato(Irish famine 1845)
ii) Endemic disease: When a disease is constantly
present in moderate to severe form and is
confined to a particular country or district.
Examples: Club root of cabbage in Nilgiris, Black
wart of potato in Darjeeling of West bengal
iii) Sporadic disease: The disease which occurs
at very irregular intervals and locations and in
relatively fewer instances. Examples: Udbatta
disease of rice, Angular leaf spot of
cucumber.
iv) Pandemic disease: A particular disease that
occurs across the world or continents causing
heavy damage. Examples: Root knot disease of
mulberry. Examples: Stem Rust of Wheat in
India in 1947.