Plant Diseases Update

My Plant Diseases class at Merritt College is in full swing. I’m steeped in bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and viruses. We’ve seen cankers, and blights, and molds under the microscope (grisly and beautiful all wrapped up together). We’ve learned about the fungi, molds, smuts, and bacteria that give some of our favorite foods their distinctive flavors. And we’re learning how pathogens disrupt plants – some block the vascular system, some destroy tissue (living, dead, or both), some form parasitic relationships with roots, stems, or leaves. With this knowledge we can analyze the plant’s environment and resulting stresses before trying to identify the specific pest or pathogen. To learn more about plant diseases and careers visit the AmericanPhytopathological Society web site.

The class brings plenty of challenges. I am dredging up my chemistry and life sciences course work from decades ago (back when fungi were still thought to be a plant without chlorophyll, and organisms and ideas were just crawling out of the primordial ooze). I look up every term I read, and typically have to look up every word of the definition! But I look forward to each class and the class project. And I’m pretty sure I need a microscope.