Introduction to Plant Pathology - Pr. Bruce A. McDonald

A pdf document with text and illustations, together with a series of 14 lectures on Introductory plant pathology by Prof. Em. Bruce McDonald is now available for instructors and students worldwide. The topics covered are listed below: 

Introduction to Plant Pathology: A 67-page document including lecture notes and  illustrations

1. A short history of plant pathology and human affairs

2. Koch’s Postulates. The concept of plant disease and some definitions

3. Abiotic diseases. Basic categories of infectious agents: parasitic plants, nematodes, viruses

4. Basic categories of infectious agents: bacteria and fungi and oomycetes

5. Pathogen life cycles and disease cycles. Pathogen infection processes

6. Disease development. Plant defense strategies and resistance mechanisms

7. Genetics of resistance in plants. Gene-for-gene hypothesis and receptor-elicitor models

8. Disease triangle and pathogen infection cycle. Epidemiology: the development of epidemics, dispersal patterns and gradients

9. Disease progress curves. Monocyclic and polycyclic diseases

10. Effects of environment and plant on epidemic development. Disease forecasting systems

11. Disease control strategies: exclusion and quarantines, sanitation

12. Crop rotation, biological control, genetic resistance. Resistance genes, boom and bust cycles, gene deployment strategies

13. Chemical control. Fungicides and risk assessment. Genetic engineering of plants for resistance to pathogens

14. Genetic engineering of plants for resistance to pathogens. Integrated management strategies

Introduction to Plant Pathology: 14 lectures introductory course as ppt slides