LECTURE 3

PLANT PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS: PROTOZOA, CHROMISTA, FUNGI,

BACTERIA, AND CANDIDATUS PHYTOPLASMA.
Causes of Plant disease:
Plant diseases are caused by both infectious (biotic) and non-infectious (abiotic)
agents. And the diseases are known as infectious disease and non-infectious disease/
disorders.
Infectious diseases are caused by the following;
1. Protozoan diseases:
Diseases caused by protozoans. Eg; Club root of crucifers (Plasmodiophora brassicae),
potato powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea), etc.

Club root of cabbage Powdery scab of potato

Flagellated protozoans:
Protozoa are microscopic, non-photosynthetic, eukaryotic, flagellate motile, single
celled animals.
2. Chromistan diseases:
Chromistans are generally called as water moulds. Their cell wall is made up of
cellulose. Eg: Late blight of Potato (Phytophthora infestans), Downy mildew (Peronospora
parasitica).

Late blight of potato Downy mildew of grapes

3. Fungal diseases:
Fungi are achlorophyllus heterotrophs, unicellular or multicellular in nature,
ubiquitously present in soil, water, and air, etc reproduces by both sexual and asexual means.
Few fungal diseases are rust, smut, leaf spot, powdery mildew, etc.

Grapes anthracnose Onion smudge Black spot of rose

Grapes anthracnose - Elsinoe ampelina
Onion smudge - Colletotrichum circinans
Black spot of rose - Diplocarpon rosae
Panama wilt - Fusarium oxysporium f.sp. cubense
Powdery mildew - Erysiphe cichoracearum
Grapes rust - Phakospora euvitis
Onion smut - Urocystis cepulae
4. Bacterial diseases:
Bacteria’s are minute unicellular protozoan, achlorophyllous, varying in shape and
size, either motile or non-motile in nature. Ubiquitously present in air, water and soil
reproduces mainly by binary fission. These are smaller than fungi.
Eg: soft rot of vegetables, fire blight of apple, bacterial wilt, bacterial leaf spots,
bacterial canker etc.

Soft rot of tomato Soft rot of potato

Bacterial blight of beans Citrus canker

Soft rot of vegetables - Pectobacterium carotovora sub species carotovora
Soft rot of potato - Pectobacterium carotovorum var atroseptica
Bacterial blight of beans - Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicola
Citrus canker - Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri
5. Mollicutes (phytoplasma and spiroplasma):
• Phytoplasma:
Phytoplasmas are pleomorphic, wall less prokaryotic micro-organisms, that can infect
plants and cannot be grown in culture.
 Little leaf of brinjal
Little leaf of brinjal - Candidatus phytoplasma