COURSE CODE: PERM 324

CREDITS: 3

COURSE TITLE: Pests and Diseases in Forest

 Course Goals:

1. To provide students with the biological

basis for recognizing, diagnosing, and
managing insects and pathogens
affecting multiple uses of forest
resources.

2. To guide students in gaining general

understanding of the roles insects and
pathogens play in natural ecosystem
processes.
 Learning Objectives:
1. To examine the contributions of insects and
pathogens in ecosystems management and
processes.

2. Know major insects & pathogens affecting forest

resources, and from their biology, understand their
roles in basic ecosystem processes and biodiversity.

3. Be able to recognize these agents, and the various

signs & symptoms that signify their presence.

4. Be equipped with management options.

Assignments, Presentations &Test Dates

• Assignment I Week 2
• Field work and Practical Week 3
• Assignment II Week 4
• Field work and Practical Week 5
• Presentations Week 6
• Mid Semester Exams Week 8
• Field work and Practical Week 9
• Assignment III Week 10
• Assignment IV Week 11
1. General principles of plant pathology, entomology and pest management

Concept of diseases in plants

A normal plant is supposed to carry out some physiological
activities which include;

- Normal cell division

- Normal cell differentiation and development (growth)

- Absorption of water and mineral salts from the soil and

translocation of same throughout the plant

- Respiration

- Reproduction etc.
 2. Plant pests and disease agents
• Diseases are carried by agents including pathogens, pests and
weeds.

• Whenever plants are disturbed by any disease agent to such an

extent that one or more of the above-mentioned functions is not able
to perform well, the plant is said to be diseased.

• Plant diseases may also be taken as impaired metabolism that

results from continuous irritation by a primary causal agent.

• The primary causal agent is the actual organism responsible for the
disease.

• Secondary organisms, mainly saprophytes are intruders in disease

development.
 assignment 1
• List five (5) primary agents that cause diseases.

• List five (5) secondary organisms responsible for disease

development.
 3. What is a symptom?
• When an ineffective agent or
environmental conditions cause the plant
to deviate from its normal functions, the
plant manifests these through what we call
symptoms.

• Symptoms are manifestations of the

diseased conditions of the plant or the
living organism.
 4. Disease diagnosis in forest ecosystems
Diseases are expressed in morphological and histological
symptoms which along with the signs of the pathogens are
useful in the diagnosis of diseases.

• Morphological symptoms are the outward manifestations

or expressions of the diseased condition of the plant as a
result of the presence of the pathogen. E.g. Wilting of
leaves, necrosis or death of cells, stunting of plants etc.

• Histological symptoms are usually deep seated, or

situated within the host tissue and are invisible to the
eye, e.g. Discolorations of cells due to the presence of the
disease, enlargement of cells, abnormal multiplication of
cells, de-lignifications of cell walls or suberization etc
 Assignment 2

• What is the difference between a disease symptom and a

sign?
 5. What is a forest plant disease?
1. It is any deviation or departure from normal growth or
structure of the forest plant, that is sufficiently pronounced
and permanent to produce symptoms that impair the quality
and reduce economic value of the plant.

2. A plant disease is any abnormal condition in plants which

results in changes in structure and physiological processes
which are brought about by unfavorable environment.

• A diseased plant is the one which has its physiological

functions interfered with by disease agents beyond a
certain deviation from the normal resulting in the
production of certain definite symptoms.
 Assignment 3

• What is the difference between the plant disease and the

diseased plant?
 6. Causes of plant diseases
The primary causes of plant diseases may be grouped into three
(3):

1. Pathogenic causes through action of bacteria, fungi, insects,

nematodes, etc
2. Non-pathogenic agents such as abnormal or extremes of
temperature and moisture, respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon
dioxide), atmospheric impurities, nutritional disorders. Also wounding,
mechanical, chemical and physical damage to plants etc.

3. Viruses – present in soil or plant parts used for propagation.

• The plant that harbors the disease causing organism is called the
host plant.
• A plant is host susceptible if it is vulnerable to infection.
 7. Classification of forest plant diseases

1. Based on symptom expression include; wilting, necrosis, gall, chlorosis,

mosaic etc.

2. Based on causal agent; fungal diseases, bacterial diseases, viral diseases,

physiological disorders, nutritional diseases, mechanical diseases etc.

3. Based on part of the plant affected; leaf or foliar diseases, root diseases,
stem and fruit diseases, etc.

4. Based on age of plant; seedling diseases, storage diseases etc.

5. Based on type of crop affected; field crop diseases, vegetable crop

diseases, plantation crop diseases, cash crop diseases etc.
 8. Kinds of symptoms produced on forest plants

• Necrosis, canker, chlorosis, leaf curl, mildew,

leaf spot, wilt, mosaic, etiolation, withering,
blast, die-back, blight, vein–clearing, gall etc.

*Assignment 4
Students write short notes on the above
symptoms.
 9a. Definitions of some terms
• Inoculum; that portion of the pathogen which when transferred into a host is
capable of initiating a disease.

• Infection; the establishment of the pathogen within the host following penetration.

• Penetration; the initial invasion of the host by a pathogen.

• Incubation period; the interval between infection and the appearance of the
symptoms of the disease on the host plant.

• Infection court; the place on or in the susceptible plant where incubation can
occur and where infection can occur.

• Disease development; the chain of events which take place from initial infection
to the expression of disease.

• Disease cycle; a repetition of chain of events leading to the expression of the

disease
 9b. Definitions of some terms

• Susceptibility; a condition of the plant in which it is usually subjected to

attack by a given disease pathogen.

• Resistance; (opposite of susceptible); a condition of the plant in which it is

not usually subjected to attack by a given disease pathogen.

• Pathogenesis; the process whereby disease development takes place. It

includes inoculation, penetration, incubation, and disease development.

• Epiphytes; non-parasitic plants which attach themselves to other plants for

mechanical support.

• Obligate parasite; an organism that can only grow or survive in the tissues of
another living organism.

• Facultative parasite; organisms that are capable of independent life, but

under certain conditions live as parasites.
 Assignment 5
• Students write essay on:

Importance of forest plant diseases

*Submission date: Two weeks

 Class Test 1
1. What is a disease cycle?

2. Describe the chain of events that lead to expression of

disease in plants.
Mid Semester Exam ---- Answer any Two Questions
1. With examples discuss ways insects contribute to ecosystems
management and processes.
2. Discuss the role pathogens play in ecosystems management
and processes.
3. Discuss ways major insects & pathogens affect forest
resources.
4. Describe different signs & symptoms that signify the presence
of pathogenic organisms in forest plants.
5. Discuss forest pest management options that do not use
chemical control.
6. State and discuss 4 New approaches including, employing
Forced diapauses, Use of juvenile hormones, Use of
Poisonous Octopus Venom, and Biological invasion for the
management of forest pests.
10. Roles insects play in natural ecosystems
• Some forest insect species:
1. Eat only tree leaves and or the bark of live trees.

2. Involved in food webs and nutrient cycles.

3. Provide ecological services such as pollination and

decomposition

4. Create conditions that promote forest renewal and

growth by removing old, weakened or otherwise
vulnerable trees.

5. Function as natural enemies to keep invaders in check.

6. Carry out Pollination in flowering plants.

7. Help in soil formation by breaking down dead trees and other

plant material.

8. Carry out recycling of the nutrients.

9. Cause radial and height growth loss, volume loss, dieback and
deformity.

10. Through damage, can kill individual trees or entire forests.

11. Cause widespread killing of existing forests.

12. Displacement of existing tree species

 Group Assignment
• Outline ten characteristics of insects that make them the
most successful animals on earth.

• Submit: After Mid-semester.

 11. Succession
• Succession: The colonization of plant communities following
a disturbance or stress such as flooding, fire or pollution etc.
-Once the stress has been removed, natural processes allow
an ecosystem to become re-established.

• Ecological succession is the process by which an environment changes

structure, in terms of resident species, over a period of time.

• Ecological succession falls under two categories, primary and secondary,

which determine the types of factors that are involved.

• The factors involved in ecological succession are either biotic or abiotic.

- Biotic factors are those that involve life and its aspects.

- Abiotic factors are those that involve aspects external to life but are still indirectly involved.
 Class test 2
Write short notes on causes of:
1. Gap formation and Succession in forest ecosystems.
 Abiotic factors

• Topography
• Soil
• Climate
• Light
• Water
• Nutrients
• Time
 Biotic stress agents
• Results of Species Interactions
• Results of Competition between species
• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Viruses
• Insects
• Pests
• Weeds
 12. Roles pathogens play in natural ecosystems

Forest diseases
• Stands attacked by forest diseases may develop any one
of a range of unhealthy conditions, from foliar (leaf) blight
to root rot and cankers.
 *Assignment 6

1. How do fungi feed?

2. Discuss importance of five (5) forest diseases.
 13. Managing of forest pests
• Forest pest is any organism that causes economic damage to
the forest.
- an organism that damages livestock, crops, humans, or land
fertility.

• Pest management is any of a wide range of environmental

interventions that have the objective of reducing the
populations of insect pests, plant pathogens and weeds to
acceptable levels.

• Specific control techniques include chemical, physical and

biological mechanisms, integrated and non-chemical pest
management practices.
 14. Chemical control

The chemical agents are called pesticides

include herbicides (for weed control),
insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, fumigants
etc.

*These cost us human poisonings, fish kills,

honey bee poisoning, and contamination of
livestock products etc.
 15. Non – chemical control

• Use of pheromones

• Physical control
- Mechanical manipulations
- Use of light traps

• Biological control
-Use of selective control agents as predators and parasites and hormones
for breaking the life cycle of organism

• combination of mechanical and physical control mechanisms etc.

• use of disease and pest resistant varieties

• plant breeding for selection of disease-free genetic materials /cloning/

biotechnology etc.

• scouting, monitoring and evaluation of populations of pest or diseases

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

• Combination of Chemical, Mechanical and

Physical control mechanisms etc.

• New approaches
- Employing Forced diapauses
- Use of juvenile hormones
- Use of Poisonous Octopus Venom
- Biological invasion