Introduction to Plant

Pathology: CPP 304

General symptoms of Plant Diseases

Prof. Abiodun Olusola Salami
General symptoms of Plant Diseases
• Symptoms of diseases is the result of
interaction between the host and the pathogen.

• This is usually observed on the plant, which is

the host dur to the character or appearance or
even the structure of the visible pathogens on
it.

• It could also be noted or observed due to some

changes found in the host plant.

• Thus, symptoms are defined as signs or

evidence of disease shown by plants.
Effects of pathogens on their hosts
• The symptoms observed in a diseased plant depend on the effect of
the pathogen on the physiology of the plant.

• Photosynthesis is the essential function of plants and any pathogen

that interferes with it will cause disease that may appear as chlorosis
(yellowing) and necrosis (browning and death) of the leaves and
stems.

• Even mild impairment of photosynthesis weakens the plant and

increases susceptibility to other pests and pathogens.
• Pathogens can affect translocation of water and nutrients through the
vascular system of the host plant.

• This might be an effect on transpiration through the aerial parts of the

plant or poor uptake of nutrients and water through diseased roots.

• Consequentially sluggish translocation through the vascular system

will itself lead to wilting and chlorosis, and possibly necrosis,
‘upstream’ of the disease focus.
• Most, if not all, infectious diseases increase respiration, this being a
general reaction of the plant to most types of stress.

• The majority of the increase in respiration occurs in the infected host

tissue and appears to be a basic response to injury.

• Consequences of increased oxygen uptake and enhanced activity of

respiratory enzymes include: a slight increase in temperature,
accumulation of metabolites around points of infection, and even an
increase in dry weight of the host tissue.
• Changes in plasma membrane and organelle membrane permeability
are often the first detectable responses of plant cells to infection by
pathogens, and this often leads to loss of electrolytes (calcium and
potassium ions in particular).

• The permeability change is a response to toxins produced by the

invading fungus. For example, victorin, a cyclic peptide, is produced
by Cochliobolus (which used to be called Helminthosporium) victoriae
in oat leaves.

• Victorin binds to a membrane protein and changes membrane

permeability, eventually causing chlorosis and necrotic stripes (‘leaf
spots’) on the leaves.
Classification of symptoms

• Symptoms can be broadly grouped into two:

• Symptoms due to character or appearance or structure of the visible

pathogen;

• Symptoms due to some changes found in the host plants.

Symptoms due to character or appearance or structure of the
visible pathogen
• Mildew: this is a kind of symptoms in which
the pathogen is seen as a growth on the
surface of the host. They appear as white,
grey brown, or purple patches of varying sizes
on the leaves, stem, or fruits. E.g., Downy
mildew or Powdery mildew of grapes or vines. Mildew

• Rust: this is usually brown like iron, red,

yellow or even black in colour and so it is a
kind of symptom with rusty appearance on
the host. This appears as small pustules of
spores that penetrate through the epidermis
of the host.
Rust
• Smut: this means a soothy or charcoal-like
powered. The affected part of the plant is
usually black or purplish black dusty mass.
It can be seen on leaves, stems or root. Smut of maize

• Scab: this is the term used to describe a

roughened or crust-like appearance of the
diseased plant organ.
Apple scab
• Sclerotium: this is a compact, often hard
mass of dormant fungus mycelium with
characteristic shape on the affected host. It
Sclerotia rolfsii
is commonly found on leaves with different
colours like brown, black or purple.
Symptoms due to some changes found in the host plants.
• Discolouration: this is the change of colours from the
normal green colour especially the foliar parts of the
plants, where the symptom is commonly observed. This
symptom can be caused by biotic and abiotic agents. They
are of two types:

• Etiolation: yellowing of plant parts especially leaves

due to lack of light or prolong exposure to darkness. It
is usually caused by abiotic agents.

• Chlorosis: this is caused by abiotic and biotic agents. It

denotes the influence of low temperature, excess
alkali, lime, lack of iron, presence of virus or fungal or
even bacterial diseases.
• Overgrowth: this type of symptom is usually abnormal increase
in size of one or more organs of the plants. It is as a result of
stimulation of the host tissues to excessive growth. It could be
Hyperplasia or Hypertrophy.

• Hyperplasia is the abnormal increase in the size of the plant

organ due to increase in the number of cells of the
particular plant organ.

• Hypertrophy is the increase in the size of the plant organ

due to increase in the size of the cells. This is of different
types like:

• Galls: malformations of more or less globose, elongated, or

irregular shape, with localized swelling. They could be small
when referred to as Worts, or big when referred to as Knots.
• Curls are symptoms shown by diseased
plant when their leaves are twisted,
arched, puckered, or distorted due to
growth in tissues in a localized area of the
leaf.

• Witches broom is said to be a symptom

that occur when there are numerous
slender branches arising from a limited
region in a close cluster like a broom.
• Dwarfing: this is the inhibition of growth resulting in stunting of plant
parts or even whole. It could be Atrophy or Hypoplasia.

• Atrophy results when there is decrease in the size of the plant

organ due to decrease in the size of the cells

• Hypoplasia is the abnormal decrease in the size of the plant organ

due to decrease in the number of cells of the plant organ.
• Necrosis: this is used to indicate the situation in
which the death of the cells, tissues and organs
occurred as a result of parasitic infection. There
are different types of necrotic symptoms due to
different types of host as well as different
parasites, they include:

• Leafspot in which the cells and the tissues

are killed in definite areas to give a shade of
different colours like brown, purple, black,
and different shapes like round, angular, or
irregular shape.
• Canker is the situation in which the pathogen
causes the death of the tissues beyond definite
areas and extending to other parts.
• Canker is common in woody plants thus, the
death of the cambium leading to death of the
bark of the plant which finally splits and peels
of leaving the plant naked without bark. It is
usually caused by fungi and some bacteria.

• Blight means a burnt appearance because it is

the sudden death of the conspicuous part of
the plant like the leaves. When this part
becomes dead, it soon turns black or brown and
finally disintegrate. E.g., early and late blight of
potatoes.
• Damping-off (pre-emergence or post-emergence):
it is a situation where the stem of the seedling of
plant is infected by pathogen near the soil and the
affected part becomes weak and incapable of
bearing the load of the upper portion, as a result it
topples over onto the soil and then die.

• Rot (soft or wet or dry rot): it is a situation where

the tissues of a plant die and decompose to turn to
brown colour due to the dissolution of its cell-wall
by pathogen. Depending on the part of the plant
affected, it could be root-rot, stem rot, bud rot, or
fruit rot.
• Wilt is the drying of the entire plant part due to
loss of turgidity leading to flaccidity and finally
drooping of the plant.
• This occurs when the root system is injured or
the xylem vessels i.e., water conducting tissues
are infected by the toxic substance secreted by
the pathogen into them.
• Wilt could occur due to physiological
disturbance, which when the condition is
favorable, the affected plant will recover but
when wilt disease caused by parasites or
pathogens, the affected plant may not recover.
• Die-back is characterized by the dying of the
plant organ, especially stems or branches from
the tip of the plant backward.
Diseases

• Diseases are said to occur when there is deviation from normal healthy
plant.
• Classification of Plant Diseases
• Classification based on plant affected (localized or systemic)

• Classification based on occurrence (animate and inanimate)

• Classification based on causal agents (pathogens).

Classification based on plant affected
(localized or systemic).
• Soil borne or seed borne: when the pathogen perpetuates through seed or soil or
through any propagation material.
• Air borne: when they are disseminated by wind e.g. rusts and powdery mildews.
• Based on the signs and symptoms produced by the pathogens: Diseases are
classified as rusts, smuts, powdery mildews, downy mildews, root rots, wilts,
blights, cankers, fruit rots, leaf spots, etc. In all these examples, the diseases are
named after the most conspicuous symptom of the disease appearing on the host
surface.
• Based on the host plants affected: They can be classified as cereal crop diseases,
forage crop diseases, flax diseases, millet diseases, plantation crop diseases, fruit
crop diseases, vegetable crop diseases, flowering plant diseases, etc.
Classification of animate diseases in relation to their occurrence
• Endemic diseases: which are more or less constantly present from year to
year in a moderate to severe form in a particular geographical region, i.e.
country, district or location.
• Epidemic or epiphytotic diseases: which occur widely but periodically
particularly in a severe form. They might be occurring in the locality every
year but assume severe form only on occasions due to the favourable
environmental conditions occurring in some years.
• Sporadic diseases occur at irregular intervals and locations and in
relatively few instances.
• Pandemic diseases: A disease may be endemic in one region and
epidemic in another. When epiphytotics become prevalent through out a
country, continent or the world, the disease may be termed as pandemic.
• Classification based on based causal agent
• Non-infectious diseases: Non-infectious diseases can not be transmitted
to a healthy plant. Also referred as non-parasitic disorders or simply
physiological disorders, and are incited by abiotic or inanimate causes like
nutrient deficiency or excess or unfavorable weather conditions of soil
and air or injurious mechanical influences.

• Infectious diseases: All the diseases caused by animate causes, viruses

and viroids can be transmitted from infected host plants to the healthy
plants and are called infectious. It includes diseases caused by
phanerogames or parasitic plants (e.g., mistletoe, Striga), nematodes.
Diseases can be caused by various agents either singly or in combination
with another, the study of these agents is known as ETIOLOGY.
Thank you