Diseases affecting grain legumes and their management

Description

Legume plants are peculiarly susceptible to diseases due to their association with Rhizobium bacteria, their large seeds and stress intolerance. Specific and generalist disease species are well documented, but pathogen virulence evolves rapidly making management a continual challenge. This challenge can no longer rely on pesticide applications as many chemicals become unavailable through regulatory changes. Instead, integrated disease management (IDM) is now promoted as a more suitable and sustainable approach. Integration of disease control has many elements, a number of which are traditional and well developed such as field and crop management. In addition, advanced monitoring methods, modelling and molecular methods of detection are becoming essential features to assist precision in prediction and control. Rapid responses to new disease varieties require development of ever more sophisticated techniques which can, ideally, be applied on site. Local management is likely to incorporate all these elements and be increasingly integrated to global coordination.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Grain legume diseases 3 Traditional vs. integrated disease management 4 Components of IDM 5 Practical developments: modelling, sampling and identification 6 Advanced and rapid analysis techniques 7 Conclusion 8 Where to look for further information 9 References