FUNDAMENTALS OF   PLANT PATHOLOGY

PLANT PATHOLOGY 

      Patho - Disease / ailment + Logos –discourse / to study.

     Plant pathology is a science which deals with the cause, etiology and management methods of plant diseases.

OBJECTIVES

• To study biotic and abiotic causes of diseases or disorders

• To study the mechanisms of disease development by pathogens

• To study the plant pathogen interaction in relation to environment

• To develop methods of management

PLANT DISEASE 

     Any harmful deviation from normal functioning of plant physiological process.

HISTORY OF PLANT PATHOLOGY 

Mycology

• 1675 –Anton von Leeuwenhoek developed the first microscope

• 1729- P.A. Micheli fungi comes from spores (father of plant mycology)

• 1845-Irsh famine occurs due to late blight of potato caused by Phytophthora infestans 

• 1858- J.G.Khun published first textbook in plant pathology –the diseases of cultivated crops their causes and their control

• 1861-Anton de bary proved phytophthora infestans is the cause of potato late blight.and also reported Heteroecious nature of wheat stem rust.

• 1881-H.M.Ward worked in coffee leaf rust. He is called as father of tropical plant pathology.

• 1882- Robert Hartig published a textbook –diseases of trees. He is called as father of forest pathology.

• 1885-P.M.A.Millardet discovered the Bordeaux mixture for the control of downy mildew of grapevine.

• 1918-E.J.Butler published book on fungi and disease in plants. He made study on Indian fungi and the diseases caused by them. He is called as the father of modern plant pathology in India

• 1929-Alexander Fleming isolated the antibiotic, penicillin from the fungus Penicillium notatum

• 1943-Bengal famine due to Helminthosporium oryzae

• 1948- B.B.Mundkur published a book fungi and plant diseases, which is the second book in plant pathology.

PLANT BACTERIOLOGY

• 1876-Robert koch described the theory called koch’s postulates. He established the principles of pure culture technique.

• 1882-T.J.Burill proved that fire blight of apple caused by a bacterium Erwinia amylovora

• 1920-E.F.Smith worked on the bacterial wilt of cucurbits. He is also called as father of bacteriology

• 1952-S.A.Waksman discovered streptomycin.

PLANT VIROLOGY

• 1886-Adolf Mayer demonstrated the sap transmission of tobacco mosaic virus disease.

• 1892-Ivanowski demonstrated that the causal agent of tobacco mosaic could pass through bacterial filter

• 1898- Beijerinck was the first to use the term virus and believed it to Contagium Vivum Fluid (infectious living fluid)

• 1935-W.M.Stanley proved that viruses can be made as crystals.

• 1936- Bawden found that the crystalline nature of the virus contains nucleic acid and protein.

PHYTOPLASMA

• 1967-Doi etal and Ishiie found that Mycoplasma Like Organisms (MLO) could be responsible for the disease of the yellows type.

SPIROPLASMA

• 1972-Davies et al observed that a motile helical wall less microorganism (Spiroplasma) responsible for corn stunt diseases.