A Textbook of Plant Diseases

Plant diseases are usually caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. Also there are other diseases which are caused by adverse environmental conditions. Plant diseases are known from times preceding the earliest writings. Fossil evidence indicates that plants were affected by disease 250 million years ago. The Bible and other early writings mention diseases, such as rusts, mildews, blights and blast that have caused famine and other drastic changes in the economy of nations since the dawn of recorded history. Other plant disease outbreas with similar far-reaching effects in more recent times include late blight of potato in Ireland (1845-60), powdery and downy mildews of grape in France (1851 and 1878), coffee rust in Ceylon (starting in the 1870s). Fusarium wilts of cotton and flax, southern bacterial wilt of tobacco (early 1900s), Sigatoka leaf spot and Panama disease of banana in Central America (1900-65), black stem rust of wheat (1916, 1935, 1953-54) and southern corn leaf bight (1970) in the United States. The book fulfil not only the need of the students to find literature on the diseases and other pathological conditions difficult to obtain and access, but also provide complete systematic treatment of the subject from their point of view.