UNIT III:

CONCEPTS
OF PLANT
DISEASE:
A. Concepts of Plant Disease
A) Whetzel (1929), “physiological malfunctioning
caused by animate agents.
B) Stakman and Harrar (1957) as“any deviation from
normal growth or structure of plants that is sufficiently
pronounced and permanent to produce visible symptoms or
to impair quality or economic value.
C)Horsfall and Dimond (1959) states that disease is
“a malfunctioning process caused by continuous irritation”.
D.Merril (1980) defines disease as “a dynamic
interaction between an organism and its environment which
results in abnormal physiological and often morphological
or neurological changes in the organism”.
E) Agrios (1998) defined disease as “any
malfunctioning of host cells and tissues that results from
continuous irritation by a pathogen or an environmental
factor and leads to the development of symptoms.
The salient point in most of the definition of disease
are:
(a) the presence of physiological disorders that
are generally detrimental
(b) morphological abnormalities result from the
physiological malfunctioning.

According to Ilag (19 )

Disease – is an injurious physiological process

caused by a continuous irritation by a primary causal
factor and is expressed by a characteristic
pathological condition called symptoms.
B. Definitions and Terminology in Plant Pathology
Pathogen
Parasite
Obligate parasite
Facultative parasite
Saprophyte
Host
Suscept
Pathogenecity
Pathogenesis
Virulence
Aggressiveness
Disease resistance
Tolerance
C. Requisites of Disease
Disease development requires the presence of:
(a) a susceptible plant
(b) the pathogen
(c) favorable environment

D. Symptoms of plant diseases

Symptoms are described as:
Primary /Secondary symptoms

Localized /Systemic symptoms

Histological /Morphological symptoms

Symptoms are classified as:
Necrotic Symptoms
Ex: spot, blight, scorch, canker, and die-back
Hypoplastic symptoms
Ex: Stunting, chlorosis, mottle, mosaic, curling
and rosetting.
Hyperplastic symptoms
Ex. Gall formation, fasciation, scab, premature
defoliation or fruit drop, and greening
Hypertrophy and Hyperplasia
Symptoms are categorized as:
a. abnormal coloration
b. wilting
c. death of host tissue
d. defoliation ands fruit drop
e. abnormal growth increase
f. stunting
g. replacement of host tissue
SPECIFIC SYPMTOMS:

Blight
Blotch
Blast
Canker Chlorosis
Etiolation
Mummification

Phyllody
Sarcody
Scab
Virescence/greening

Wilting