Plant Diseases and Their Management: A Sustainable Approach

This new book, Plant Diseases and Their Management: A Sustainable Approach, studies the most modern methods in control and management of plant diseases. It covers a wide range of themes on the biological, cultural, chemical, and genome engineering controls for plant diseases brought on by viruses, bacteria, phytoplasma, and fungi.

This book details how natural materials, organic disease control, and new-generation fungicides can all be utilized to thwart or stop plant pathogen activity in an effective manner. The book also delves into methods for increasing the shelf life of produce, presents approaches to plant disease management in organic as well as conventional farming, and considers molecular approaches to disease detection and identification in plants.

The book looks at viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases in different plants and their management. It also discusses several pathogens and how diseases caused by these can be managed effectively. It also covers diseases in specific crops, such as rice, pulses, fruits, and vegetables, including apples, berries, and capsicum. A novel approach of genome engineering to develop resilience in plants against various diseases and future challenges is considered as well.

Key features:

• Presents management approaches to fungal, phytoplasmal, viral, and bacterial plant diseases
• Discusses the protection of fruits, vegetables, and crops from various diseases for prolonged shelf-life
• Looks at genome engineering as a novel approach for fungal, bacterial, and viral disease management
• Considers both traditional and modern methods in the management of viruses infecting plants

Covering new methods for the sustainable control of plant diseases, this volume will be valuable to plant and crop specialists, agriculture-based industries, and faculty and students in the agricultural sciences.

Deepa Srivastava, PhD, is currently working as Assistant Professor in Department of Botany, D. D. U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, where she was formerly a postdoctoral fellow. With excellent academic achievements and many awards, she possesses extensive knowledge in botany, especially in plant viruses and medicinal plants. Dr. Srivastava has published over 20 papers in national and international journals and has presented over 50 research papers at international and national conferences. She has written more than five books and six book chapters with publications of international repute. She is a fellow of the International Science Congress Association and Indian Botanical Society. She is also a member of the Botanical Society of America and a life member of eight other academic bodies. She did her PhD in Botany (Plant Virology) at the Department of Botany, DDU Gorakhpur University on the topic "Studies on viral diseases on some medicinal plants with special reference to Catharanthus roseus" under the supervision of Prof. (Mrs.) K. Shukla in plant virology.

Rajarshi Kumar Gaur, PhD, is currently working as Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is handling many national and international grants and collaborative projects on plant viruses and disease management. He received a MASHAV fellowship of the Israeli government for his postdoctoral studies and joined The Volcani Centre, Israel, and Ben-Gurion University, Negev, Israel. In 2007, he received a visiting scientist fellowship from the Swedish Institute Fellowship to work at Umeå University, Sweden. He also received a postdoctoral fellowship from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Italy, in 2008. He has made significant contributions on sugarcane viruses and published 130 national and international papers, authored 20 edited books, and presented about 50 papers in national and international conferences. He is a fellow of many associations, including Linnean Society, Royal Society of Biology, Society of Plant Research, Society of Applied Biology, and International Society of Biotechnology. He has received many other awards, including the Prof. B.M. Johri Memorial Award; Society of Plant Research (SPR); Excellent Teaching Award from Astha Foundation, Meerut; UGC-Research Teacher Award, Young Scientist Award-2012 in Biotechnology from the Society of Plant Research (SPR), Meerut; and a Scientific & Applied Research Centre Gold Medal Award-2011 for outstanding contribution in the field of biotechnology. He has visited several laboratories of USA, Canada, New Zealand, UK, Thailand, Sweden, and Italy. His PhD was on molecular characterization of sugarcane viruses, viz., mosaic, streak mosaic and yellow luteovirus.

Ajay K. Tiwari, PhD, is a Scientific Officer (Seed) at the Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur, India. He has published 95 research and review articles in national and international journals. He has also published 15 book chapters in edited books and has authored ten edited books. He has submitted more than 250 nucleotide sequences of plant pathogens to the The GenBank sequence database. He is Managing Editor of Sugar Tech Journal (Springer) and Chief Editor of Agrica Journal. Dr. Tiwari is a regular reviewer and member of the editorial boards for many international journals. He is a member of the British Society of Plant Pathology, Indian Phytopathological Society, Sugarcane Technologists Association of India, International Society of Sugarcane Technologists, Society of Sugarcane Research and Promotion, Prof H. S. Srivastava Foundation, and Society of Plant Research. He has been awarded a young researcher award in Italy 2011 and a young scientist award by DST-SERB and was nominated for the Narshiman Award by the Indian Phytopathological Society. He was also awarded a young scientist award by the Chief Minister of the State Government of UP for his outstanding contribution in plant pathology. Dr. Tiwari is also the recipient of many international travel awards given by DST, DBT, and CSIR from India; PATHOLUX from Luxembourg; and International Organization of Migration (IOM) from Brazil. He has visited many countries, including China, Italy, Germany, Vietnam, and Thailand for conferences and workshops. He has been involved in research on molecular characterization and management of agricultural plant pathogens for the last 13 years.