PLANT PATHOLOGY

BT 304
Department of Botany
University of Peradeniya
 Objectives
• At the end of the lecture series you will be
able to
1. list approached of plant disease control
2.
 PLANT DISEASE CONTROL

• Worldwide research data show that without

effective disease and pest management, crop
losses would average about 40%.
• This means without disease and pest control
the world’s food production would be
seriously threatened.
• Various aspects of plant disease are studied;
- causal agents,
- infection process,
- plant-pathogen interactions etc

• But the ultimate aim:- to find methods to control

diseases.

Disease control is largely based on `prevention

than cure’
It is always important to reduce inoculum
and delay initial infection process.
• Some important aspects here are;

- knowledge of the host, pathogen and their interaction,

- vectors, weeds etc. that harbour pathogens,
- weather conditions,
- disease forecasting,
- Crop loss assessment
- economical aspects of plant disease control
 Disease control approaches
1. Methods that exclude the pathogen,

2. Methods that eradicate or reduce pathogen

inoculum

3. Disease control by immunizing or improving the

resistance of host.

4. Direct protection of plants from pathogens.

 1. Methods that exclude the pathogen

• (a) Quarantine and inspection

Modern transport facilities permit rapid
movement of plant material through out the
world.
They could carry dangerous pests which could
be introduced into countries.
 Why exotic pests are more dangerous?
• When a pest/pathogen is introduced in to a region
where they did not previously exist, they may cause
more destruction than existing pests/pathogens.
• No natural enemies,
• Pest/pathogen finds a large amount of susceptible
plants,
• Plants have no opportunity to select resistant
factors.
 Among the pathogens that were introduced to Sri Lanka
by foreign plant material in the past were:

• Coffee rust
• Blister blight
• Coconut leaf miner – 1971 Promocotheca
coumingiae
• Swollen shoot disease in cocoa – 1936 from Ghana
• Potato cyst nematode – recently
• Asperisporium leaf disease, plumeria rust and many
other diseases and pests.
• Weligama Coconut Wilt Disease (cause ???)
 Plant Quarantine (under the Plant Protection
Ordinance of Ceylon 1924 – amended later)

• A legally based defence system against arrival

of exotic pests that compete for food shelter
and health or otherwise threaten human
comfort and welfare.
 Why is plant quarantine necessary?
• Arrival of new pests is a concern because they can
develop into destructive proportions in the absence
of natural enemies in the new environment.
• These can affect existing trade adversely.
• Therefore the main aim of quarantine is to prevent
entry of exotic pests by enforcing laws.
 How do these pests enter into the
country?
• Air crafts and ships, passengers, baggage,
• Plant products imported for consumption (fruits,
vegetables, cereals),
• Planting materials & seeds,
• Products made up of plant materials,
• Used vehicles, machinery etc.
• Mail
• Plant Quarantine
(PQ) Inspectors
 What are quarantine strategies?

• Embargo (official ban)

• Inspection at port of entry,
• Inspection at port of dispatch,
• Treatment as a condition of entry
• Post-entry growing and inspection
 Two categories:
(i) Prohibited materials

• The imports prohibited into the country include

several economic plants. The objective is to prevent
introduction of certain dangerous pathogens.
• E.g. Any seed or plant material from the South
America or any other country in which the South
American Leaf Disease (Microcyclus ulei)
• Tea, Rice, Coconut, Cacao planting materials are
some other examples.
 (ii) Restricted materials

• Imports of certain other plants are restricted

and will be allowed only under a permit by
Director General, Agriculture.
• Imported plant materials must accompany a
phytosanitary certificate.
• Phytosanitary certificate is a document that
states that the plant material is free from
harmful pests and conform to the plant
import rules of importing country.
• This is issued only after thorough examination
of plant material.
• If necessary treatments are also given.
 Institutions/persons involved are:

• National Plant Quarantine Centre (NPQC), Katunayake

• Plant Quarantine/Protection Station – Gannoruwa
• Plant Quarantine at Colombo air port, Palali
• Plant Quarantine at sea ports – Colombo, Trincomalee, Galle,
Thalaimannar.
• Local quarantine
 (b) Use of pathogen free planting material

• When a pathogen is excluded from the

propagation material of a host, it is possible to
grow the host free of that pathogen for the
rest of its life.
- pathogen-free seed
- pathogen-free vegetative

propagating material.
 Seeds & other planting material can carry
pathogens
• Seeds can transmit fungi, bacteria, viruses etc.
• Selection of pathogen free seeds is therefore crucial.
• Produce seeds in pathogen-free areas, an area not
suitable for a pathogen.
• Testing seeds for pathogens can be done by –
culturing, microscopic examination, observing
symptoms, serological methods.
Anthracnose on pods caused by Colletotrichum sp. is an example
of one of many pathogens that can be eliminated by clean seed
Clean planting material can be maintained by tissue culture.
 Disease control approaches
1. Methods that exclude the pathogen,

2. Methods that eradicate or reduce pathogen

inoculum

3. Disease control by immunizing or improving the

resistance of host.

4. Direct protection of plants from pathogens.

2. Methods that eradicate or reduce pathogen
inoculum
• Different control methods can be used to
eradicate or reduce pathogen inoculum.
- Cultural methods – actions by the grower.
- physical (heat, radiation), chemical and
biological methods are used.
 Cultural practices
These are practices that a farmer can do to
prevent or reduce the incidence of disease.
To combat plant diseases this way the farmer
needs to know which pathogens are likely to
develop during the life of the crop.
Fertilization and Nutrients
Fertilizer can change the resistance or tolerance
of the host plant.
The application of nitrogen generally increase
susceptibility to pathogens.
Potassium and calcium generally enhances
resistance to plant disease.
Calcium strengthens cell walls and makes
infection difficult.
 Blossom end rot – calcium deficiency

Control: apply CaCl2 4Ib/100 gal

Four applications. Maintain high soil moisture levels.
 Crop rotation
• Growing alternative crops in different seasons
and this creates conditions unfavorable for
pathogens and tends to starvation.

This will reduce pathogen populations.

 Field sanitation
“Hygiene practices”.
• Removal and destruction of diseased plants,
plant parts.
• Weed, insect control.
Deleaf any infected leaves on banana trees to maintain clean
healthy bunches.
Dead leaf stalks on these papaw trees removes a source of
inoculum for fruit.
Removing leaves from under citrus trees helps to eliminate the
source of ascospores but is not ecologically sustainable.
Bagging young fruits…
Fruit cracking – heavy rain, watering

Control: Avoid heavy watering or rainy weather

 Physical methods to eradicate inoculum

Temperatures:
• Heat-treatment – soil sterilization, hot water
treatment of propagative (seeds bulbs) and
storage organs (fruits) – hot air, hot water.
Disease control by radiation:
UV, X rays, gamma radiation
Chemical methods..
 Disease control approaches
• 1. Methods that exclude the pathogen,

• 2. Methods that eradicate or reduce pathogen

inoculum

• 3. Disease control by immunizing or improving the

resistance of host.

• 4. Direct protection of plants from pathogens.

 Disease control by immunizing or improving
the resistance of host.
• Introduction of resistance genes - Plant
breeding, genetic engineering.
• Introduction of other characters – BT gene
(Bacillus thuringiensis).
• Inducing plant resistance.
• Improving growing conditions.
• Use of resistant varieties.
• It is well known that plants have the natural
ability of protect themselves from pests and
pathogens.
• For this purpose the plants have evolved a
collection of natural defence resposes (NDR).
• These could be constitutive or inducible.
• Also defence mechanisms operate in
developing fruits or after harvest.
• Induced defence can be localized (e,g.
phytoalexins) and systemic (e.g. PR proteins).
• Constitutive defences could be enhanced and
new defences induced as a disease
management strategy.
• Agents that induce defence in plants against
pathogens are now available.
• Induced resistance – Systemic Acquired
Resistance (SAR), Induced Systemic Resistance
(ISR).
• Use of plant defence activators, elicitors.
 Plant activators
• Plant activators have been developed as a new generation of
crop management.
• This has provided a growers with an additional option for
disease management.
• The most extensively studied activator in the field has been
ASM, 2,6-dichloro-isonicotinic acid (DCINA) and strains of
PGPR.
• Other commercially developed plant activators that have
demonstrated efficacy in the field include Milsana®,
Messenger®, Oxycom®
• Treatments that induce natural disease
resistance of produce to be harvested – (i) use
of plant defence activators, elicitors – bion,
BABA, salicylic acid, Milsana.
• Use of non-pathogens that induce natural
resistance,
 Fertilizer
• Supply of soil nutrients, K improves resistance;
excess N makes plants more susceptible to
disease.
 Enhanced resistance to control
postharvest diseases
• Immature fruits display greater natural disease
resistance (NDR) against fungal pathogens.
• These provide protection to unripe fruits.
• Fungal quiescence in unripe fruit is attributed to
constitutive and/or inducible defences.
• NDR declines during ripening and rots occur.
• Despite the fact that ripening is accompanied by
decline in NDR , there is good evidence that
inducible defences have a role in postharvest
disease resistance.
 Disease control approaches
1. Methods that exclude the pathogen,

2. Methods that eradicate or reduce pathogen

inoculum

3. Disease control by immunizing or improving the

resistance of host.

4. Direct protection of plants from pathogens.

4. Direct protection of plants from pathogens.

• Chemical protection
• Biological control agents
 Chemical control measures
• Fungicides
• Antibiotics
• Nematicides
• Insecticides
• Insect sterilents
• Antifeedants
• Insect attractants (pheramones).
 Problems associated with chemical usage
in disease control.
• Toxicity problems – to humans, mammals, effect on
non-target organisms, useful organisms,
environmental pollution, phytotoxicity.
• Residues
• Chemical treatments are expensive – cost of
chemical, labour, application machinery.
• Pesticide tolerance.
• Effectiveness – Weather, proper coverage
 Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs)
• Pesticide residues can pose threats to trade in
agricultural produce.
• In most countries, Maximum Residue Levels
(MRLs) have been set for agricultural and
fresh produce, indicating permissible limits to
contamination.
`To achieve MRLs requires careful attention,
(i) reduce number & rate of application, delay until it
is needed
(ii) selection of safe pesticide that gives least residual
effects,
(iii) strict adherence to recommended `withholding
periods’. During this period residue levels fall to
acceptable levels (chemical, biological & photo-
degradation, volatility, rain wash-off).
 Biological control
• Biological control broadly involves the control of
pathogens/pests through manipulation of the host or
use of antagonist/predator.
• Fungal antagonists –
-soil borne diseases (Trichoderma harzianum)
- aerial plant pathogens
- post-harvest diseases
• Bacterial antagonists, virusesPredators
An example of a nematode trapping fungus.
Examples of biocontrol versus fungicide control of stonefruit diseases (photo
courtesy of Plant Disease).
 Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Excessive reliance of pesticides to control
pests has led to various problems - health and
environment.
• To minimize these pest control practices must
be diversified.
• This strategy is called – IPM.
 IPM adheres to three principles
• Keeping the pests below economically low levels
rather than seeking to eradicate them.
• Relying as far as possible `non-chemical’ methods to
keep pest populations low.
• Applying pesticides only when they have to be used,
minimizing the adverse effects on humans,
environment and beneficial organisms.
 Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• `A pest management system that utilizes all
possible techniques and methods and
maintains the pest populations below those
causing economically acceptable damage or
loss’.
• Keeping the pests below economically low levels
rather than seeking to eradicate them.
• Relying as far as possible `non-chemical’ methods to
keep pest populations low.
• Applying pesticides only when they have to be used,
minimizing the adverse effects on humans,
environment and beneficial organisms.
 Safer postharvest treatments:
• Neem oil,
• Papaya latex (with chitinase activity) –
fungicide,
• Botanicals,
• Essential oils
 Use of non-residual chemicals
• Chlorine in the gaseous form is a very potent
disinfectant, much safer and easier to use when
dissolved in water.
• The most common source of chlorine used in
postharvest chlorination is calcium hypochlorite.
• The form desired for chlorination is hypochlorous
acid (HOCl).
• pH should be kept in the practical range between 6.5
and 7.5.