10.

PLANT DISEASES
A disease or disorder is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the
structure or function of all or a part of an organism which occurs in plants, animals
and humans. It is not due to any immediate external injury. Diseases are often known
to be medical conditions that are associated with specific symptoms and signs which
show during any disease.

What is a Plant Disease?

A plant disease is defined as “anything that prevents a plant from performing to its
maximum potential.”

Terminology of Plant Diseases

1. Pathogen: A pathogen is any organism that causes disease which is of majorly

Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi and Parasites.
2. Host: A host is an organism that harbours another organism, inside or near its
body, in a symbiotic relationship.
3. Vector: A vector is any organism that does not cause disease itself but
spreads infection by conveying pathogens from one host to another, also
termed as Carrier.

1. Symptom: It is subjective evidence of disease or physical disturbance broadly

or something that indicates the presence of bodily disorder. For example: -
Back pain or fatigue.
Bacterial Plant Disease
Disease Causal Organism Symptoms
Name
Plant affected

Granville Tobacco, tomato, Pseudomonas o Stunting

wilt potato, eggplant, solanacearum o Yellowing
pepper, and other o Wilting of parts
plants above ground
o Roots decay and
become black or
brown

Fire blight Apple and pear Erwinia Blossoms appear water-

amylovora soaked and shrivel
Wildfire of Tobacco Pseudomonas Yellowish green spots on
tobacco syringae leaves
Blight of Beans (common Xanthomonas Yellowish green spots on
beans blight) campestris leaves

Soft rot Many fleshy tissue Erwinia Soft decay of fleshy tissues
fruits such as carotovora that become mushy and
cabbage, carrot, soft
celery, onion
Crown gall More than 100 Agrobacterium Stems and roots becoming
genera of woody tumefaciens wrinkled and turning brown
and herbaceous to black
plants
Aster Many vegetables, Mycoplasma-like o Chlorosis
yellows ornamentals, and organism (MLO) o Dwarfing
weeds malformations

Citrus Citrus and stone Spiroplasma citri o Chlorosis

stubborn fruits and (MLO) o Yellowing of leaves
disease vegetables shortened internodes
 o Wilting

Viral and Viroid Plant Disease

Disease Plant Affected Causal Symptoms
Name Organism
Tobacco Tobacco, tomato, Tobacco o The mottled
mosaic and hundreds of mosaic virus appearance of leaves
other vegetables (TMV) (mosaic pattern)
and weeds o Dwarfing

Cucumber Cucumber, bean, Cucumber Similar to those of TMV

mosaic tobacco, and other mosaic virus infections
plants (wide range (CMV)
of hosts)
Barley yellow Barley, oats, rye, Barley yellow o Yellowing and
dwarf wheat; also pasture dwarf virus dwarfing of leaves
grasses and weeds (BYDV) o Stunting of plants

Tomato Tomato, pepper, Tomato o Leaves show

spotted wilt pineapple, peanut, spotted wilt concentric, necrotic
and many other virus (TSWV) ringS
plants o Necrotic region yellow,
then turning red-
brown

Prunus Stone fruits—e.g., Prunus necrotic o Delayed foliation

necrotic ring cherry, almond, ringspot virus o Leaves on infected
spot peach, apricot, plum, (PNRV) branches show light
and others green spots and dark
rings

Potato Potato and tomato Potato spindle o Stunted growth

spindle tuber tuber viroid o Tubers are spindle-
(PSTV) shaped
 o Smaller than healthy
tubers

Citrus Orange, lemon, lime, Citrus exocortis o Infected trees show

exocortis and other citrus viroid (CEV) vertical splits in the
plants bark
o Thin strips of partially
loosened bark.

Fungal Plant Disease

Disease Plant affected Causal Organism Symptoms
Name

Late blight of Potato Phytophthora o Water-soaked dark

potato infestans green to black or
purplish lesions with
pale green margins on
lower leaves
o White mildew at the
edge of lesions

Chestnut Chestnut tree Endothia parasitica o Yellowish to reddish-

blight brown patches appear
on the bark
o Lesions spread quickly
and girdle twigs or
limbs, which die

Dutch elm Elm tree Ceratocystis ulmi o Leaves wilt, turn dull
disease green to yellow or
brown and drop off
o Branches die

Black stem Wheat and Puccinia graminis o On wheat, rust-

rust of wheat many types of coloured pustules with
grass spores, chlorosis of
surrounding tissue,
 followed by the
development of black
teliospores
o On barberry, chlorosis
and hypertrophy of
infected tissue, orange
spore masses

White-pine White Pine tree Cronartium ribicola o Small, discoloured,

blister rust spindle-shaped
cankers surrounded by
a narrow band of
yellow-orange bark
o Blisters exude
secretion followed by
bright orange pustules

Corn smut Corn Ustilago maydis o Minute galls form on

young corn seedlings
o On older plants, large
galls are produced on
the silk of ears and on
tassels, leaves, and
stalks

Citrus Orange, lemon, Citrus exocortis o Infected trees show

exocortis lime, and other viroid (CEV) vertical splits in the
citrus plants bark
o Thin strips of partially
loosened bark

Loose smut Barley, oats, Ustilago nuda Infected heads are covered
wheat with masses of olive-green
spores
Downy Many types of many species of o Yellow irregular spots
mildew plants: grapes, the family appear on the upper
grasses, Peronosporaceae leaf surface
 vegetables, o Downy fungus growth
and others appears on the
underside

Black spot of Rose Diplocarpon rosae o Large circular black

rose lesions on leaves
o Leaves turn yellow and
fall off

Anthracnose Grapes Elsinoe ampelina o Same as the black

of grape spot of rose

Nectria Apple and Nectria galligena o Initially, small circular

canker pear and brown areas enlarge
many and become
hardwood depressed with raised
forest trees edges
o Callus tissue produced
around the canker

Black knot of Plum and Plowrightia Small black knotty swellings

plum and Cherry morbosum on twigs and branches
cherry
Soft rot Flowers, fruits, Rhizopus species Tissues become soft with a
and water-soaked appearance
vegetables that often spreads rapidly,
with fleshy followed by the development
organs of fuzzy grey mycelium and
black spores
Fusarium wilt Tomatoes Fusarium o Leaves are bent down,
of tomato oxysporum growth is stunted
o Dark streaks appear in
vascular tissue