History of Plant Pathology

Pl. Path. 111 (Cr. Hrs. 3+1)

P.N. Sharma
Department of Plant Pathology,
CSK HPKV, Palampur (H.P.)
Amos (about 750B.C.) was so Ancient times
steeped in mysticism while
writing the Bible.
Romans created two Gods for
dreaded Rust – “Robigo and
Robigus”.
On 25th April – Robigalia - a special
holiday
Theophrastus (200 B.C.) observed
that plant disease were worse in
low spots than on high grounds

Albertus Magnus (1200 A.D.) conceived the idea that

mistletoe is a parasite, the breakthrough should have opened
whole new world to be conquered
 From 1600 - 1800
 Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (1675) –
Microscope

 John Needham (1749) observed the

appearance of organisms– concluded
that microorganisms originated from
meat.

 Spallanzani boiled beef broth and

sealed the flasks- no microbes appeared.

 In 1725, Connecticut farmers-

eradicated barberry and protected wheat
from rust
Micheli (1729) Father of Mycology
 Nova Plantarum Genera – described many new
genera of fungi, their reproductive structures
 Observed a second generation of spores when
sown on sterile slices of melon
 M. Tillet (1755) – inoculated wheat seeds with
dust of smut, crop grew smutty. Beautiful
experiment didn't convince the botanists
 Prevost (1807) – Repeated the Tillet’s experiment
and proved that bunt of wheat is caused by
fungus, studied the germination of smut spores
and their inhibition by adding CuSo4
 Golden era (1800 – 1900)
Devastating epidemic,
the Late blight (1845) in
Ireland dramatized the
effect of plant diseases
on human suffering
besides stimulated
interest in their cause
and control
(1 million people died)
 Plant Pathogens
 Anton de Bary (1831 – 1888) In 1853
established that rust and smuts are causes
not the results of disease, studied
development of many smut and rust fungus.
 1874, Woronin - discovered a new type of
parasite on Crucifer & called Molds Later
named- Plasmodiophora brassicae
 Thomas T.J. Burill (1880) – Fire blight of
apple and pear is caused by bacterium.
 Adolf Mayer (1886) – infectious nature of sap
from tobacco mosaic infected plants, gave
term Mosaikrankheit means mosaic
 M. W. Beijerinck (1898) – finally gave the term
virus named them as Contagium vivum fluidum
(Father of Virology)
 Lafont in 1909; protozoa associated with
Euphorbia plants , later Stahel found flagellate
protozoa infecting the phloem of coffee trees
 Plant Pathogens
 Needham (1743) in England found
association of nematodes with wheat galls
(Anguina tritici)
 Doi et. al. (1967) – MLO (Phytoplasma) with
potato witches broom
 T. O. Diener (1971) –Viroid associated with
PSTVd
 Windsor and Black, 1972: Rickettsiae
 Hoseloff and Symons (1982) – discovered
virusoids associated tobacco velvet mosaic
disease
 Prions were proposed for the first time in
Anton de bary (1831 – 1888) – the father of
plant pathology,
In 1853 he established that rust and smuts
are causes not the results of disease,
studied development of many smut and
rust
1861 Finally proved the cause of blight as Phytophthora
infestans by inoculating potato with sporangia
In 1865, reported Heteroecism in Uradinales
In 1866, He published his Text book – Morphology and
Physiology of fungi, Lichens and Myxomycetes
In 1886 published Physiology of Parasitism - sclerotina;
rotting of vegetables
Debary’s students: Woronin, Brefeld, Millardet, Ward &
Farlow, Julius Gotthelf Kuhn.
 J. G. Kuhn (1858)
published the book –
Diseases of Cultivated
Crops, their Causes and
Control – first book in
which fungi were
regarded as the causal
factors

Pasture (April 7th 1864) – irritated with

spontaneous theory performed experiments
that ended the arguments for all time
 Robert Koch (1875) in 1887:
 Koch’s postulates: Proof of
pathogenicity
 Oscar Brefeld (1875,1883)
 Pure culture Technique of Micro-org.
 Also studied cereal smuts in detail
 Downy mildew of grapes (1878 –
1885)
 P. M.A. Millardet (1885) –
Bordeaux mixture
 E.C. Stakman (1913) –
phenomenon of Physiological
specialization in rusts
 HOST - PARASITE RELATIONSHIP

 William Brown(1912) – Role of enzymes to disintegrate

plant tissue
 Tanaka (1933) – First toxin to be recognized from A.
kikuchiana
 Muller and Borger (1940) – coined term
“Phytoalexin”and the theory in 1941
 Meeham and Murphy (1947) - victorin from H. victoriae
 J. C. Walker(1931)– Biochemical basis of disease
resistance
 Waggoner (1953) – Coined the terms “phytotoxin” and
“pathotoxin”
Van Loon (1985) – Isolated first pathogenesis related proteins
(PR protein)
Ross (1961) – Coined the term SAR, resistance that
developed in the untreated portion of TMV
inoculated plants
 Robert Hartig (1839-1901) : worked on
diseases of forest trees and crowned with
title of “Father of Forest Pathology”
 In 1874: book Important Diseases of Forest
trees
 In 1882: Text Book of Tree Diseases
 Bacteriology
•Thomas T. Burill (1880) – Fire blight of
apple and pear is caused by bacterium,
Erwin F. Smith (father of bacteriology)
• published bulletins – “ Wilt diseases of cotton,
Watermelon and cowpea” ( 1889)
• Panama disease, banana(1910)
• E. tracheiphilus and its transmission
• P. malvacearum
• Crown gall – relationship with human cancer
(1907)
• Beergey’s Manual of determinative bacteriology
Viruses

 Seventeenth century – “tulipomania”

 Adolf Mayer (1886) – for the first time reported
the infectious nature of the sap from tobacco
mosaic infected plants and he gave the term
Mosaikrankheit means mosaic
 Ivanoviski (1892) – Sap retained infectivity even
after filtration through chamberland, doubted
toxin produced by bacterium
 M. W. Beijerinck (1898) – finally gave the term
virus named them as Contagium vivum
fluidum (Father of Virology)
 H. Purdy (1929) – Virus infected plants contained antigenic material,
opened new door in plant virology
W. M. Stanley (1935) – “Isolation of crystalline protein
possessing the properties of TMV” Shared Nobel prize 1946
Bawden and Pirie (1937) – reported the nucleoprotein
nature of TMV,
Kausche et. al., (1939) – First electron microscope
picture of TMV
 Fukushi (1940) – Transovarial transmission of rice dwarf virus
 Kassanis (1962) – coined the term Satellite virus, associated with
TNV
 Harrison et.al.,(1970)
 Classified the plant viruses into 16 groups (1971)

 Coined the term Geminiviruses (1976)

Taylor and Robertson (1970)- Nematode
transmission
Kohler and Milstein (1975) – “ Hybridoma
technology” used in monoclonal antibody
production– Nobel prize in 1984
Clark and Adams (1977) ELISA in plant virus
detection; developed DAS-ELISA
Symons & Keese (1982) – discovered
virusoids
Powell-Abel et al (1986) – C.P. mediated
resistance in TMV.
 Disease Resistance
 Biffen (1905) – reported that resistance in two wheat
varieties to yellow rust was inherited in Mendelian
fashion to its progeny.
 Barrus (1911) showed genetic variability with in
pathogen species i.e. different pathogen races are
restricted to certain varieties of a host species.
 Later in 1914 Stakman: established this phenomenon in
wheat rust and showed that these races can be
distinguished by their ability to infect different varieties
with in a set of host differential varieties.
 Flor (1946) – working with flax rust came with gene-for-
gene hypothesis
 Gauman (1946) gave the concept of hypersensitivity
 Vanderplank (1963) – “vertical and horizontal
resistance” ; book in 1963 “Plant Disease: Epidemics
and Control”
 Genetics of the Host and the Pathogen
 Albersheim and Anderson (1975) – the first
comprehensive model for gene for gene
interaction “Surface carbohydrate elicitor
receptor model”
 Keen (1975) coined the term Elicitor
 Keen and Bruegger (1971) “ Elicitor
Receptor Model”
 Dixon et al (1996) – first cloned the Avr2
gene from tomato (Cladosporium fulvum)
more than 20 Avr genes have been
cloned since
 Johal and Brigg (1992) – First cloned the
resistance Hm1 gene from maize,
 Plant disease control
 Millardet (1885) – Bordeaux mixture
 Reihm (1913) – Uspulum for control of bunt. In 1913,
organic mercury compounds; later banned because of
their toxicity.
 Tisdale and Williams (1934) – Dithiocarbamic acid
derivatives fungicides ( ferbam, zineb etc.)

 Von-Schmeling and Marshal Kulka (1966) – 1st systemic

fungicide- carboxin
 New & Kerr (1972): 1st biological control of bacterial
disease: Crown gall using avirulent strain of
Agrobacterium radiobacter.

 (Schuster et. al.1990,: Ruess et. al., 1995) Recently

developed the Novel fungicides known as “plant
activators”.
 Rachel Carson (1962) – Silent Spring,
 described the dangers of polluting
 the environment
 History of plant pathology in
 India
Indian (Imperial) Agricultural institute at Pusa, Bihar (1905)
 E. J. Butler- First Mycologist (Father of Indian Plant Pathology)
Book- Fungi and Diseases in Plants
Monograph on potato disease, wilt of cotton, rice,
sugarcane diseases & cereal rusts
 K.C. Mehta (1929) – monographic on annual recurrence of
black stem rust of wheat
 K.R.Kirtikar- 1st Indian to study fungi
 Mitra (1931) - Karnal bunt on wheat
 Luthra and Sattar (1934) – Solar heat treatment for loose smut
 Bengal famine 1942 caused by Brown spot disease of rice
 B.B. Mundkar (1948) - Indian Phytopathological society in
1947- Started Journal Indian Phytopathology in 1949; wrote a
book -Fungi and Plant diseases
 Dastur (1948) – described two new diseases of
potato; leaf rot and tuber rot
- Phytophthora parasitica
 M. K. Patel (1948) – Established school of plant
bacteriology Poona
 M. K. Patel, V. P. Bhide and G. Rangaswamy-
bacterial diseases
 Thirumalachar- Smuts and rust- Aerofungin.
 S. N. Dasgupta (1956) – Role of enzymes in
pathogenicity
 T.S. Sadasivan and his school developed
concept of vivotoxins; mechanism of cotton wilt.
 S.P. Raychaudhury Virologist
Phytopathological classics

 These are the reprints of outstanding

research papers published in non English
journals, not available in most of the Libraries
of the world
 Have been translated in English
 15 in Number
Phytopathological classics
1. Fabricius – Attempt at a Dissertation on the Disease of
plants. Ravn (1774)
2. Fontana – Observation on Rust of Grain 1767. Pirone
(1932)
3. Millardet – the discovery of Bordeaux Mixture 1885.
Schneiderhan (1933)
4. Woronin – Plasmodiophora brassicae, the Cause of the
Cabbage Hernia 1878. Charles Chupp (1934)
5. Tillet – Disseretation on the Cause of the Corruption and
Smutting of the Kernels of Wheat in the Head ( and on
the means of preventing these untoward
circumstances) 1755. Humphrey (1937)
6. Prevost – Memoir on the Immediate Cause of Bunt or
Smut of Wheat, and on the Prevention of Bunt 1807.
Keitt (1939)
7. Mayer (1886), Ivanowski (1892), Beijerinck (1898) and
Baurb (1904) – three early papers on tobacco mosaic
and one on infectious variegation. James Johnson
(1942)
 8. Berkeley – Observations, Botinical and Physiological, on
the Potato Murrain 1846. also includes selections from
Berkeley’sv “Vegetable Pathology” made by the Plant
Pathology Committee of Britsh Mycological Society.1948
 9. Targioni Tozzeti – True Nature and Sad Effects of the
Rust and Other Maladies of Wheat and of Oats in the
Field1767. Tehon (1952)
 10. Bassi – Del Mal del Segno 1835. Yarrow (1958)
 11.De Bary – Investigations of the Brangd Fungi and the
Diseases of Plants Caused by Them With Reference to
Grain and Other Useful Plants 1853. Arny and Moore
(1969)
 12. Harting – Important Diseases of Forest Trees 1874.
detailed reporte which established the microbial basis
for wood decay. (Merrill et.al.,(1975)
 13.Fischer/Smith – The Fischer Smith
Controversy: Are Their Bacterial Diseases of
Plants? 1899. Seven articles depict vthe
classic and bitter debate regarding the
existence of bacterial diseases of plants.
Cambell (1981)
 14. Ando/ Fukushi/ Storey – Viruses In Vectors:
Transovarial Passage and Retention.
Classic papers on plant viruses and their
insect vectors 1986.
 15. Dutch Elm Disease – Original 11 Articles.
That laid the foundation for studying the
devastating disease. Research by 7 female
Dutch scientists from 1920 - 1935
Scope & Importance of
plant diseases
 Scopes & Importance of Plant Diseases
 Plant pathology deals with different aspects of plant
diseases and has wide scope than human pathology
which only deal with only one aspect
 In recent years plant pathologists have begun to
specialize in particular aspect. The field in which
notable advances have been made are:
 Interaction between host and pathogen at
chemical, molecular and genetic level
 Plant virology, chemistry of fungitoxicity
 Disease forecasting
 On practical aspects much advances have been
made in plant protection chemicals; breeding
for disease resistance
 Increased population emphasizes the
application of all possible means to meet the
food requirements
 Expansion of crop area
 Improved methods of cultivation
 Increased use of fertilizers
 Improved varieties
 Increased irrigation
 Crop protection
Importance of Plant Diseases

 Late blight of potato-1841-51 (Irish famine)

 Coffee rust 1867-1870 (Srilanka)
 Downy mildew of grapes (1880s) (France)
 Bengal Famine 1942 (India)
 Bacterial Blight of Rice 1963 (Bihar)
 Southern corn leaf blight -1970 (USA)
Estimated annual losses worldwide

Losses are more in developing world

and
less in develop world

Diseases 14.1%
Insects 10.2%
Weeds 12.2%
Total av. looses 36.5%
Losses
caused
by Plant
Diseases
“The 21st century will prove to be a fort of
strength for plant pathology, a fountain
head of knowledge where students will
drink, and the waters of which will wet the
dry lands of the whole world”
 Acknowledgements
 I gratefully acknowledge the use of some very
important photographs given in text book
“Plant Pathology” by G N Agrios.
 I also acknowledge the scientists who spent
valuable time in generating information on
various aspects of plant pathology and
displayed the same on internet for use by
students, teachers and researchers
 Lecture dedicated to respected “G N Agrios”