I. Introduction Plant pathology

Pathos

suffering

logos

to study

Plant pathology or phytopathology

It is the study of the organisms and of the environmental factors that cause disease in plants;

Plant pathology as science

It looks into the characteristics of diseases, their causes, plant-pathogen interactions, factors affecting disease development in individual plants and in populations, and the various means of controlling diseases.

Plant pathology as an art

It deals with the application of the knowledge gained from studying the science.

potato late blight disease (1845-1846)

Caused famine and death of more than a million people in Ireland

Coffee rust in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)

Destroyed vast coffee plantations; tea was planted instead

Ergot poisoning in Europe (875 AD)

Acquired from eating bread made from infected rye grains;

Ergot of rye

caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea which produces sclerotia containing alkaloids that impede blood circulation

Downy mildew of corn

Caused by the fungus Peronosclerospora philippinensis (weston) shaw

Coffee rust

Destroyed the coffee industry in Batangas province

Citrus decline

Destroyed coffee plantations in Batangas

Leaf spots/blights

reduce photosynthetic capacity plants

Fruit rots and fruit spots

reduce quantity of harvestable and marketable fruits

Aflatoxin

produced by Aspergillus flavus;

Aflatoxin

carcinogenic to animals and man; commonly found in stored corn, sorghum, copra, root crops etc.

Ochratoxin

a mycotoxin produced by A. ochraceous; causes cancer of the liver

Yellow rice toxins

formed by Penicillium spp.; caused several deaths in Japan

Estrogenic factor in corn

produced by Fusarium graminearum;

Estrogenic factor in corn

causes testes of young male swine to have atrophy and the uteri of female pigs to enlarge and abort

Fumonisins

formed by Fusarium spp. in corn grains;

Fumonisins

caused esophageal cancer in man and toxic to animals like horses