Chapters authored
Management of Plant Disease Epidemics with Irrigation Practices
Adequate water provision to roots is essential to warrant sustainable harvests of agricultural crops globally. However, water applied in excess or in deficit may result in the development of many fungal and bacterial plant diseases, which compromise produce yield and quality. Leaf wetness duration, soil water tension and related water variables impact several aspects of different plant disease cycles, such as the sporulation, survival of pathogen propagules, their dispersal to new hosts, germination and infection. Irrigation is thus arguably the most important cultural practice in the management of plant diseases, especially in the context of the quest of a more sustainable, less chemically dependent agriculture. The technology of water application and method of irrigation have been profusely studied as to their direct relation to plant diseases. Irrigation management has a strong impact on the disease severity and epidemic progress rates of many plant pathosystems, ranging from leaf blights to vascular wilts. In addition, plant virus vector population levels and vector dispersal are also affected by the method of irrigation. This chapter reviews experimental data on the effect of different irrigation configurations and management systems on some representative plant diseases.
Part of the book: Irrigation in Agroecosystems