Plant diseases are something that stops or prevents plants from growing naturally or achieving their maximum growth potential. It is a type of impairment of the normal state of the plant which modifies its vital functions or interrupts it. All of the plants, irrespective of their species, habitat, etc can be affected by various plant diseases. These diseases vary from season to season and depend on the presence of the type of pathogen, the variety of plants, and the environmental conditions. Plant diseases can be biotic or abiotic. Biotic diseases are caused by living organisms known as pathogens whereas Abiotic diseases are caused by external factors and not living organisms.
Control of Plant Diseases
For the prevention of plant diseases, the use of chemical control plays a critical role. There are numerous specific action fungicides that have been developed since the 1960s and a variety of chemicals are available nowadays which are developed and designed to control plant diseases by inhibiting the increment of or by killing the disease-causing pathogens. There are various types of chemicals used for this purpose such as chemicals that control bacteria (bactericides), that control fungi (fungicides), and chemicals that control nematodes (nematicides). These chemicals should be used in a proper and judicious manner for plant disease control.
How to Control Plant Diseases?
To control plant diseases, we should have a thorough knowledge of the disease cycle and the causal agent, host-pathogen interactions in relation to the environmental factors and the cost. We can control plant diseases by choosing the best variety and seeds. For the harvested crops, disease control can be extended through transport, storage, and marketing. The other approaches for controlling plant diseases are biological, cultural, and chemical methods. Of all plant disease control methods, we will learn about the chemical control of plant diseases in this article.
Chemical Control of Plant Diseases
In the prevention of plant diseases, chemical control plays a critical role. Numerous specific action fungicides have been developed since the 1960s. A variety of chemicals are available nowadays that are developed and designed to control plant diseases by inhibiting the growth of or by killing the disease-causing pathogens. There are various types of chemicals – chemicals that control bacteria (bactericides), that control fungi (fungicides), and chemicals that control nematodes (nematicides). These chemicals should be used properly for plant disease control.
Control of Crop and Forest Disease
The chemicals used for plant disease control are applied to seeds, flowers, fruits, foliage, and soil to reduce or prevent infections. The protectants act as a chemical barrier between the plants and the pathogens. The eradicants are designed to kill the pathogens present in the seeds or vegetative propagative organs such as tubers, bulbs, or corms and in the soil. The therapeutic chemicals are used to combat in-progress infection.
Chemical Control Methods
The soil treatments kill the nematodes, bacteria, and fungi inhabiting the soil. The eradication of these biotic pathogens can be done using steam and chemical fumigants. The nematodes that are born in the soil can be killed by liquid nematicides or granular nematicides. Generally, the soil is treated before plantation, but a few fungicides are mixed with the soil at the time of plantation or after it.
The seeds, bulbs, tubers, and corms are frequently treated with chemicals to get rid of pathogens – fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. This helps in protecting the seeds, bulbs, corms, and tubers from the pathogen present in the soil – mainly the fungi, which is the cause of the decay and the damping off. The seeds are also treated with fungicides which they absorb and get protection for the growing seedling.
The protective dust and sprays are used to prevent infection in foliage and the fruit of crops. There is a wide range of chemical dust and sprays. They are not absorbed by the plant or translocated through the plant, and hence they protect only those parts of the plant treated before invasion by the pathogen. A second spray is always recommended and required as the first layer may be washed away by the wind, rain, or irrigation. There is a possibility of breaking down by the sunlight also.