The Nature of Disease in Plants

by Robert P. Scheffer

Overview

This book is about how plants get diseases, from the origins and evolution of parasites to how the great plant epidemics developed. Conditions favoring disease are inherent in agriculture and diseases became destructive because of human activities. This book also deals with how people have dealt with plant diseases in history, and includes the natural histories of some of the most damaging plant diseases worldwide, with discussions of why each became destructive. It classifies diseases according to the most significant factors in the development of epidemics: every case involves a human factor. Each model disease proceeds from observable facts to more complex concepts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521482479
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/28/1997
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; 1. Perspective; Part I. Biology and Control of Plant Diseases: 2. Causes and spread of plant disease; 3. How pathogens attack plants; 4. How plants defend against pathogens; 5. Ecological considerations; 6. Disease controls and their limitations; Part II. Natural History of Some Destructive Diseases: 7. Native plants, alien pathogens; 8. Alien plants, native pathogens; 9. Pathogens overtake movement of crop plants; 10. Monoculture: removal of ecological restraints; 11. Monoculture: pathogen adaptability; 12. Monoculture: Cochliobolus diseases with toxins; 13. Monoculture: Alternaria diseases with toxins; 14. Diseases amplified by changes in agriculture; 15. Anthropogenic reintroduction each year; 16. Abiotic diseases: damage from air pollution; 17. Prospectus; Glossary: technical terms used in the texts; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"For the general horticulturist this book is a serious introduction to this broad discipline, and for the plant pathologist it is a refresher course that extends the science into another dimension. I heartily recommend this book." HortScience

"I was thrilled to see that the history of discovery was another theme in the book....This book represents an enormously rich field of inquiry." Plant Science Bulletin

"The approach is interesting and the reading is stimulating. Not only does the book inform about the fundamental principles of phytopathology and the most devastating plant diseases, it is also a very important source of references. I recommend it highly to anyone with interests in phytopathology, ecology, plant biology, agriculture or forestry." Canadian Botanical Association Bulletin

"Instructors of plant pathology would find this book most helpful for obtaining broad-based perspectives on the topics and to present historical lectures or background on many of the classic plant pathogens." Journal of Natural Resources Life Science Education

From the Publisher