Introduction to crop

disease
Any damage of crop, reduce the yield, lower the quantity and
quality, increase the cost of production and require cash
outlays for material and equipment for control measure any
diseases.
 Crop Disease
• Plant said to be diseased when its chemistry or structure has been subjected to an abnormal
and sustained alteration.
• An injury is caused when a leaf pulled off a tree
• A fungus, bacterium or virus enters a plant and deprives the plant of nourishment or alters
normal functions of the plant.
• There a dysfunction of a plant due to lack of a nutrient resulting in undesirable symptoms.
• For a disease to occur it is necessary to have a susceptible plant, an agent causing the
disease, and a suitable environment are all necessary for disease to occur.
MOST COMMON DISEASES OF CROPS
•            Root rots e.g. root rot of cotton
•              Powdery mildews e.g. Powdery mildews of mango/ jujube
•              Downy mildews e.g. Downy mildew of cucurbits
•              Rusts e.g. rust diseases of wheat
•              Smuts e.g. whip smut of sugarcane
•              Bunts e.g. bunt diseases of wheat
•              Wilts e.g. wilt of tomatoes, chilies, cucurbits etc
•              Damping off e.g. Damping Off of papaya, vegetable crops etc
•              Blights e.g. blight of rice, sunflower etc
•              Canker diseases e.g. citrus canker
 SYMPTOMS OF CROP DISEASES
• The crop disease may associate with various external and/or internal changes, reactions or
alteration in the plant, which we call symptoms.
• Where one particular casual agent is involved, there are often a number of symptoms, which
together form a characteristics symptoms picture or syndrome to which a specific disease
name is given.
• The symptoms that appear for a long period of time are termed as chronic symptoms.
• The symptoms may also be categorized on the basis of common names of plant diseases which are
given on the basis of major symptoms developed due to disease e.g. rusts, smuts, mildews etc
•  The symptoms are further termed on the basis of disease causing agent e.g. symptoms
caused by fungi, bacteria, nematode, mycoplasma; or symptoms caused by deficiency or excess
of nutrients, low or high temperature/ moisture, lightening injury or  symptoms caused by
injurious atmospheric gasses etc
 Symptoms and Signs of Plant Disease 
• Visible effects of disease on plants are called symptoms
• Any detectable changes in color, shape, and/or functions of the plant in
response to a pathogen or disease-causing agent is a symptom
• Signs of plant disease are physical evidence of the pathogen, for example,
fungal fruiting bodies, bacterial ooze, or nematode cysts
• Signs also can help with plant disease identification 
 THEExternal
MOST symptoms
COMMON SYMPTOMS
Internal symptoms

Necrosis (The death of cell or of tissues) Hyperplasia (Excessive development due to

  increase in number of cells)
Chlorosis (Yellowing of green tissues due to  
chlorophyll destruction) Hypertrophy (Excessive development due to
  increase in size of cell)
Rosette (Short, bunchy habit of plant growth)  
  Hypoplasia (Underdevelopment of tissue or plant
Rot (Softening, discoloration and disintegration of due to decreased cell enlargement)
tissues)  
  Hypotrophy (Underdevelopment of a tissue or
Wilt (Loss of rigidity and dropping of plant parts, plant due to reduced cell enlargement)
wholly or partially)
 
Gall/tumor (Unusual development or
transformation)
 
Gummosis (Excessive gum formation)
Blight – A rapid discoloration and death of twigs, Chlorosis – yellowing (chlorosis is so generic that
foliage, or flowers without additional details diagnosis is impossible)

Symptoms
Decline – Progressive decrease in plant vigor Dieback – scorch – Burning along the leaf margin and into the
Progressive death of shoot, branch or root starting at the leaf from the margin
tip
Witches broom – Abnormal broom-like growth of Wilt – General wilting of the plant or plant part
many weak shoots 

Stunting – lack of growth Necrosis – dead tissue (necrotic areas are also so
generic that without additional details diagnosis is
impossible)

Mosaic – varying patterns of light and dark plant tissue Leaf spot – A spot or lesion on the leaf
 Signs
• Signs are the actual organisms causing the disease.
• Conks – woody reproductive structures of fungi
• Fruiting bodies – reproductive structures of fungi; could be in the form of mushrooms, puffballs,
pycnidia, rusts, or conks
• Mildew – whitish growth produced by fungi composed of mycelium
• Mushrooms – fleshy reproductive structures of fungi
• Mycelium – thread-like vegetative growth of fungi
• Slime Flux or Ooze – A bacterial discharge that oozes out of the plant tissues, may be gooey or a
dried mass.
• Spore masses – masses of spores, the “seeds” of a fungus. 
 Causes of Crop Diseases 
•Crop diseases are caused by:
Non-living agents including low temperatures, high temperatures,
atmospheric impurities, mineral deficiencies and mineral excesses
Living agents such as fungi, bacteria, a few higher plants, nematodes, algae,
viruses, mycoplasmas, and viroids.
Fungi and bacteria cause the majority of plant diseases
Viruses are minor causal agents but their damage is severe and they are
more difficult to control. 
 FACTORS INFLUENCE DISEASE
DEVELOPMENT
• Many factors influence disease development in plants including
hybrid/variety genetics, age of the plant at the time of infection,
environment (e.g., soil, climate), weather (e.g., temperature, rain, wind,
hail, etc.), single versus mixed infections, and genetics of the pathogen
populations