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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Essential Plant Pathology

For a great resource for learning about plant diseases, I recommend the text book we used for the Plant Diseases class at Merritt College last fall. Essential Plant Pathology was written by Dr. Gail L Schumann and Dr. Cleora J. D’Arcy, and published by American Phytopathological Society Press in 2010 (Second Edition).



It is not your standard text book, in that the text is very accessible (except for a few deep-dives into genetics), and it is filled with graphics, photos, case histories, high-level summaries, references, web resources, and a CD, all of which are great for visual learners. Case histories, called Disease Classics, appear throughout the text, and describe Host, Pathogen, Symptoms and Signs, Disease Cycle, Management, and Significance. A glossary and index help the reader grapple with new concepts and terminology.

The presentation is organized around plant diseases from the five kingdoms – fungi, bacteria, animals, plants, and protoctista, as well as viruses and environmental factors. The idea is that by understanding the phylogeny of organisms, you can use the information to identify the pest or disease, understand its life cycle, and use the knowledge to mitigate the problem. The book’s emphasis is on learning a system for diagnosing plant diseases, rather than memorizing many plant diseases.
 

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