Australasian Plant Pathology

This book attempts to investigate advances in viral, fungal, bacterial, and other diagnostic molecular approaches in various plants.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the identification, detection, characterization, classification and management of plant pathogens and other beneficial microbes in agriculture. The science of plant pathology is a dynamic field and, given the growing interest in sustainable agricultural practices, plant disease management has also gained importance.

Plant diseases play an important role on our daily lives. Most of plant diseases are visible and are caused by biotic and/or abiotic factors. Symptoms are usually the results of a morphological change, alteration or damage to plant tissue and/or cells due to an interference of the plant’s metabolism. All basic structures of vascular plants are subject to attack by pathogens.

This book provides new insight and a better understanding of nanotechnology in mitigating crop biotic stresses.It covers crop diseases and different nano-based management strategies used to manage pathogens and plant-parasitic nematodes damaging crops. Nanoparticles have the potential to revolutionize crop yield and can control plant biotic stress. Nanotechnology in plant pathology is a new frontier among various nanotechnological applications. Nanotechnology applications include the development of nano-based pesticides and nanoformulations of chemicals for crop improvement by reducing biotic stress. Different nanomaterials like ZnONPs, SiO2NPs, CuONPs, AgNPs, and TiO2NPs have been examined for their impacts on plant growth and biotic stress management. This book deals with the advanced use of nanotechnology in managing the biotic stress of crops and improving crop production. It covers these issues and many more. Each chapter focus on one particular topic. Incorporate chapters provide detailed information on nanotechnology and may help in future research. This book will be useful for researchers, professors, and postgraduate and undergraduate students, especially concerning agriculture and plant pathology.

This book covers the fundamental and applied characteristics of opportunistic (OP) fungi, plant parasitic nematodes (PPN), and plant interactions. Fungal behavior and cultivation, physiological and molecular changes in relation to hosts and pathogens, and the mechanistic aspects of their management strategies are also covered in this volume. In the diverse agro-climatic conditions of the world, PPN has been identified as the most damaging pest to a variety of commercial and agro-important crop plants. Various chemical nematicides have been widely employed to treat nematode infection in recent decades, but use of these chemicals has been restricted due to widespread concerns about human health and environmental safety. In this regard, rhizospheric microorganisms can act as a first line of defense against pathogen attacks on the root and play a critical role in the management of plant diseases caused by PPN. The OP might directly parasitize the PPN by secreting metabolic chemicals that affect the viability of one or more phases of the nematode's life cycle.

This fully revised 3rd edition provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of fungi associated with plants. Since the publication of the 2nd Edition in 2009, tremendous new knowledge has been gained in the field of fungal-plant interactions, which is reflected in the contributions of this book.

Plant mycobiome represents a diverse array of plant-associated communities of endophytic and epiphytic fungi. These communities fundamentally affect plant health, development, adaptation, and communication with the surrounding ecosystem. Furthermore, they have key roles in the establishment, diversification, productivity, and sustainability of different natural ecosystems. However, some of these communities are pathogenic for the plant itself or dangerous for the consumers, due to the production of mycotoxins. In other words, plant mycobiome represents two faces of a coin.

This book focus on creating popularity and interest in modeling, derivation of equations for plant disease forecasting or construction and use of Web-based Expert Systems among plant pathologists. This book covers descriptions of many historic plant disease epidemics, various forecasting systems and methods of their construction, instruments required for study of plant disease epidemics, widely used commercial forecasting systems and present global scenario of forecasting.

In the human history plant disease epidemics have brought unsurmountable misery many a times. Still breaking out of epidemic in any time in any part of the world is a stark reality. The panic spraying of chemical pesticides is not a panacea. Only the IPM technology may give relief. This technology if backed by the disease forewarning system may yield the desired results. Hence, an in depth understanding of plant disease forecasting system and its successful implementation may bring the global food security.

This title provides a useful background for all students, practitioners, and researchers interested in the field of epidemiology, food security and agriculture sciences.

Westcott’s Plant Disease is a reference book on diseases which attack plants. Diseases of plants are found on most all plants including trees, shrubs, grasses, forage, fruits, vegetables, garden and greenhouse plants as well as native wild flowers and even weeds. The Plant Disease Handbook identifies various types of diseases which are known to invade these plants located throughout North and South America.