Diseases of Horticultural Crops: Fruits

Fruit plant diseases often are the worst natural hazards in horticulture. New diseases and new biotypes of existing disease-producing organisms appear from time to time in a more virulent form. With the liberalization of import and export of large quantities of horticultural planting materials, the risk of spread of diseases into new areas has also increased. The most startling aspect of fruit plant diseases is that their control cost us a huge sum every year with serious environmental consequences. Therefore, integrated disease management practices need to be adopted to reduce the losses. In this book, the information on various aspects of diseases of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical fruits including integrated disease management strategies has been included. Major focus is on diseases of temperate fruits as these were not given enough attention in earlier books. Besides, the numerous advances made in the etiology of phytoplasmas, viroids and bacterial diseases during the last decade have been thoroughly discussed. The book also includes the role of quarantine and biotechnology in the management of fruit diseases. Recent biotechnological approaches have made it possible to transfer any disease-resistance gene into the fruit crops. The present volume Diseases of Horticultural Crops: Fruits will enhance the prosperity of horticulture worldwide and fulfill the expectations of orchardists, scientists, students, teachers, extension workers and quarantine officials.