Disease Cycle

Prepared by: Mellprie B. Marin, PhD

Disease Cycle
 the sequence of events leading to
disease development in a single
plant or in plant populations
 includes the activities of the
pathogen while it is on and within the
suscept as well as those while the
pathogen is away from the host
Parts of a Disease Cycle
 INOCULATION

inoculum – any part of the

pathogen that can initiate disease
infection court – may be a natural
opening (stomata, lenticel,
hydathode, growth crack), a
wound or the intact host surface
Parts of a Disease Cycle
 INOCULATION
The deposition of inoculum unto or
into an infection court
 INOCULATION
 Deposition of inoculum on or in the infection
court through:
1. use of contaminated agricultural
implements (for pruning, trimming, etc.) usually
transfers viral, bacterial or fungal inocula from
diseased to healthy plants
 INOCULATION
 Cigarette-smoking farmers often inoculate
the tobacco mosaic virus to healthy plants as
they handle the plants with contaminated
hands
 INOCULATION
 Insects play an important role in field
inoculation especially as they can travel
relatively long distances and find their
suscepts
Parts of a Disease Cycle
 PENETRATION
Occurs upon the entrance of the
pathogen into the host. It is completed
when the pathogen has passed
through the initial cell wall or entered
the intercellular areas so that the
pathogen is within the plant
Parts of a Disease Cycle
 PENETRATION
 PENETRATION
 Intact Host Surface – uredospore of
Phakopsora pachyrhizi
Parts of a Disease Cycle
 INFECTION
Occurs when the pathogen has
become established in the plant tissues
and obtains nutrients from the host;
activities of the pathogen between
penetration and the time the
pathogen starts to cause the host to
respond to the pathogen’s invasion
Parts of a Disease Cycle
 INFECTION
Parts of a Disease Cycle
COLONIZATION
Following infection, the pathogen
continues to grow and colonize the
host. Colonization is the growth or
movement of the pathogen through
the host tissues.
Parts of a Disease Cycle
COLONIZATION
Parts of a Disease Cycle
DISSEMINATION
Signs or pathogen structures are
usually formed on the colonized
surface of the host. These structures
which can serve as inoculum later are
disseminated or spread by insects,
wind, water and other agents
Parts of a Disease Cycle
DISSEMINATION
Parts of a Disease Cycle
SURVIVAL
The pathogen tide over adverse
condition or survive until conditions
become once more favorable for
pathogenesis
Disease Cycle
EPIDEMIOLOGY
the study of disease development in
plant populations
Factors affecting the development of
epidemics:
1. The occurrence of an epidemic requires
that susceptible plants at a susceptible
stage be exposed to abundant viable
inoculum of a virulent pathogen during
favorable environmental conditions for
pathogen multiplication, infection and
dissemination
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 2. An epidemic is more likely to occur
when a single crop variety is planted
over a wide area or when the plants
are predisposed to infection by
excessive nitrogen fertilization or by
injuries.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 3. The inoculum should be abundant
enough, rapidly formed, vigorous,
efficiently liberated, spread and
inoculated. The more numerous and
more efficient the vectors are, the
more chances of an explosive
disease outbreak.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 4. All factors in the environment must
favor the pathogen through out the
disease cycle – from inoculation, to
spore liberation, and subsequent
dissemination. The environment
should also favor the multiplication
and spread of vectors, if there are
any.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 Analysis of Epidemics
The increase in the amount of
disease at any one time is dependent
on the following:
1. the initial amount of disease or
initial inoculum
2. the rate of disease increase
3. the duration of disease increase
or the period of time involved
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 Van der Plank – “epidemic always starts
with the first diseased plant in the
population”
 During ideal conditions for disease
development, the amount of disease on
a susceptible population increases
logarithmically in the beginning until the
remaining uninfected plant population
decreases, thereby limiting disease
increase
(forms a sigmoid epidemic curve)
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 Epidemic – starts at that point where
the sigmoid curve begins to leave the
horizontal line and to approach the
vertical line
 Soon after the onset of the epidemic,
disease incidence becomes
logarithmic until the amount of
susceptible plant tissues decrease.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 Epidemic – ends when all infection
courts have been eliminated or some
factors in the environment prevent
further increase in the amount of
disease. The sigmoid curve levels off
at this stage.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
The sigmoid curve
EPIDEMIOLOGY
The sigmoid curve