Education in Plant Pathology Present Status and Future Challenges

Authors

James MacDonald, University of CaliforniaFollow
Caitilyn Allen, University of Wisconsin
David Gadoury, Cornell University
William Jacobi, Colorado State University
Segenet Kelemu, International Livestock Research Institute
James Moyer, North Carolina State University
Tim Murray, Washington State University
Kevin Ong, Texas A&M University
Charles Pearson, Syngenta Crop Protection
John Sherwood, University of Georgia
Ann Vidaver, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

12-2009

Citation

Plant Disease, Vol. 93, No. 12, Dec 2009, pp. 1238-1251. doi:10.1094/PDIS-93-12-1238

Comments

Copyright © 2009 The American Phytopathological Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

Plant pathology is largely a mission driven discipline that seeks to increase the fundamental understanding of host–pathogen interactions and the etiology of plant diseases for the purpose of preventing or mitigating crop loss. This is an important mission because all nations face serious challenges in their efforts to prevent disease on plants cultivated for food, fiber, ornamental use, timber, and fuel, as well as those growing in native ecosystems. In 1994, it was estimated that global losses due to plant diseases ranged from 9.7 to 14.2% of potential yield (12).