Basic Research for Crop Disease Management

Physiology of disease resistance is the most fascinating field of plant pathology. Plants have their own built in defence mechanisms against almost all microorganisms, but in a few cases the pathogen overcome the defence barrier with their offensive chemicals and cause diseases. It is a battle between microorganisms and plants, and sometimes the plants lose the battle. If the mystery of disease resistance is unraveled, scientists can engineer plants to win the battle even when the pathogens have an array of offensive chemicals. Several factors contribute to disease resistance and by identifying the links between different mechanisms, we may be able to alter host physiology to ward off the pathogens by connecting or disconnecting some of the vital links. This book critically analyses the various physiological and biochemical processes involved in the defence mechanisms of various crops such as rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, finger millet, tomato, potato, beans, cucumber, chilies, cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, apple, orange, grapevine, mango and banana against fungal, bacterial and viral diseases. It reviews all of the published works critically and suggests future course of research.