This fully-revised and enlarged fourth edition introduces the students to the basic and applied aspects of plant pathology and to the major diseases of crops and fruit trees in India. Latest developments in the molecular biology of diseased plants and control measures are incorporated in the book.

The fungus Sclerotinia has always been a fancy and interesting subject of research both for the mycologists and pathologists. More than 250 species of the fungus have been reported in different host plants all over the world that cause heavy economic losses. It was a challenge to discover weak links in the disease cycle to manage Sclerotinia diseases of large number of crops. For researchers and s- dents, it has been a matter of concern, how to access voluminous literature on Sclerotinia scattered in different journals, reviews, proceedings of symposia, workshops, books, abstracts etc. to get a comprehensive picture. With the pub- cation of book on ‘Sclerotinia’, it has now become quite clear that now only three species of Sclerotinia viz. , S. sclerotiorum, S. minor and S. trifoliorum are valid. The authors have made an excellent attempt to compile all the available infor- tion on various aspects of the fungus Sclerotinia. The information generated so far has been presented in different chapters. After introducing the subject various aspects viz. , the diseases, symptomatology, disease assessment, its distribution, economic importance, the pathogen, its taxonomy, nomenclature, reproduction, reproductive structures with fine details, variability, perpetuation, infection and pathogenesis, biochemical, molecular and physiological aspects of host-pathogen interaction, seed infection, disease cycle, epidemiology and forecasting, host resistance with sources of resistance, mechanism of resistance and other mana- ment strategies have been covered.

Human population is escalating at an enormous pace and is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. As a result, there will be an increase in demand for agricultural production by 60–110% between the years 2005 and 2050 at the global level; the number will be even more drastic in the developing world. Pathogens, animals, and weeds are altogether responsible for between 20 to 40 % of global agricultural productivity decrease. As such, managing disease development in plants continues to be a major strategy to ensure adequate food supply for the world. Accordingly, both the public and private sectors are moving to harness the tools and paradigms that promise resistance against pests and diseases. While the next generation of disease resistance research is progressing, maximum disease resistance traits are expected to be polygenic in nature and controlled by selective genes positioned at putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs). It has also been realized that sources of resistance are generally found in wild relatives or cultivars of lesser agronomic significance. However, introgression of disease resistance traits into commercial crop varieties typically involves many generations of backcrossing to transmit a promising genotype. Molecular marker-assisted breeding (MAB) has been found to facilitate the pre-selection of traits even prior to their expression. To date, researchers have utilized disease resistance genes (R-genes) in different crops including cereals, pulses, and oilseeds and other economically important plants, to improve productivity. Interestingly, comparison of different R genes that empower plants to resist an array of pathogens has led to the realization that the proteins encoded by these genes have numerous features in common. The above observation therefore suggests that plants may have co-evolved signal transduction pathways to adopt resistance against a wide range of divergent pathogens. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms necessary for pathogen identification and a thorough dissection of the cellular responses to biotic stresses will certainly open new vistas for sustainable crop disease management. This book summarizes the recent advances in molecular and genetic techniques that have been successfully applied to impart disease resistance for plants and crops. It integrates the contributions from plant scientists targeting disease resistance mechanisms using molecular, genetic, and genomic approaches. This collection therefore serves as a reference source for scientists, academicians and post graduate students interested in or are actively engaged in dissecting disease resistance in plants using advanced genetic tools.

This important and comprehensive book is designed to provide information on crop diseases and how to manage those diseases. Covering a multitude of crops and diseases, the book presents integrated approaches on managing diseases that affect such crops as:Cereal and crop plants, such as maize, pigeon pea, chickpeas, and urd/mung beansOil seed crops,

Food and agriculture is an important component in the development and survival of civilizations. Around half of the world's population and their economies are influenced by agricultural farm production. Plant diseases take as much as a 30 percent toll of the crop harvest if not managed properly and efficiently. Bacterial diseases of crop plants are important in plant disease scenarios worldwide and are observed on all kinds of cultivated and commercial value plants including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, cash crops, plantation crops, spices, ornamentals and flowering plant, forage crop, forest trees, and lawn grasses. Bacterial diseases are widespread and are difficult to identify and to control. Few pesticides are available for use in control, and many plant pathologists are not well trained in the management of bacterial diseases. Bacterial Diseases of Crop Plants offers concise information on bacterial diseases of crops, proving a valuable asset to students, scientists in industry and academia, farmers, extension workers, and those who deal with crops that are vulnerable to bacterial diseases. The book contains 13 chapters featuring bacterial diseases of individual crops and is illustrated with full color photographs throughout providing amazing characterization of the diseases. It also includes information on bacterial diseases that appear on different crops across the continents, thereby making the content of interest to plant pathologists around the world. Bacterial diseases are of great economic concern, and their importance in overall losses caused by various other pathogens, such as fungi and viruses, is often undermined in developing countries.

Biological disease management tactics have emerged as potential alternative to chemical application for containing crop diseases. Biotic and abiotic biological control agents (BCAs) have been demonstrated to be effective against diseases caused by microbial plant pathogens. Combination of biotic and abiotic agents leads to synergism and consequent improvement in the effectiveness of disease control. It is essential to assay the biocontrol potential of all isolates/species of fungal, bacterial and viral biocontrol agents by different techniques in vitro and under greenhouse and field conditions and to precisely identify and differentiate the most effective isolates from less effective ones by employing biological, immunological and nucleic acid-based assays.