Host Eradication

HOST ERADICATION
When a plant pathogen enters into new area despite

quarantine, a plant disease epidemic may occur. All the
host plants infected by pathogen may have to be
removed and burnt to prevent such epidemics. This
eliminates the pathogen and prevents greater losses
from the spread of pathogen to additional plants.
Eradication of the crop/main host
 This type of eradication of pathogen was done in
Florida and other southern states for control of bacterial
canker of citrus in 1915, where more than three million
trees had to be destroyed.  Another outbreak of citrus
canker occurred in Florida in 1984, and by 1992; and the
disease was apparently brought under control through
painful destruction of nursery and orchard trees in the
United States.
 Host eradication is also carried out routinely in many
nurseries, greenhouses, and fields to prevent spread of
numerous diseases by eliminating infected plants that
provide a ready source of inoculum within this crop.
 However, attempts to eradicate certain diseases like
fire blight of apple and pear caused by the bacterium
Erwinia amylovora and plum pox virus of stone fruits in
the United States, and coffee rust in several South
American countries to eradicate them have not been
successful.
ERADICATION OF THE
WILD/VOLUNTEER HOST PLANTS
 Certain pathogens of annual crops, e.g.,
Cucumber mosaic virus overwinters only or
mainly in perennial wild plants.
 Some pathogens require alternate hosts to
complete their life cycle, e.g., Puccinia
graminis tritici requires wheat and barberry,
and Cronartium ribicola requires pine and
currants.
 Eradication of wild or economically less
important alternate host interrupts the life
cycle of pathogen and leads to the control of
the disease.
CROP ROTATION
Soil borne pathogens that infect plants
of one or a few species or even families
of plants can sometimes be reduced in
the soil by planting non-host crops for 3
or 4 years.  Crop rotation can reduce
population of pathogens (e.g.,
Verticillium).
FALLOWING
 The field is tilled and left fallow for a year or part of
year in some cases.
 During fallowing, pathogen debris and inoculum are
destroyed by microorganism with little or no
replacement.
 In areas with hot summer, fallowing allows greater
heating and drying of the soil, which leads to a marked
reduction of nematodes and some other pathogens.
 Other cropping systems utilize herbicides, reduced
tillage and fallowing.
 In such systems, certain diseases, e.g. stalk rot of
grain sorghum and corn, caused by Fusarium
moniliforme have been reduced dramatically.
SANITATION
Sanitation consists of all activities aimed at eliminating or
reducing the amount of inoculum present in a plant, field
or a warehouse and at preventing the spread of the
pathogen to other healthy plants and plant products.
 Ploughing under infected plants after harvest, such as
leftover infected fruit, tubers or leaves, helps cover the
inoculum with soil and speed up its disintegration and
concurrent destruction of most pathogens carried in or on
them.
 Removing the infected leaves of house or garden plants
helps remove or reduce the inoculum.
 Infected crop debris of grasses and rice crops is
destroyed by burning in some parts of world, which
reduces or eliminates the surface inoculum of several
pathogens.
 By washing their hands before handling certain kinds of
plants, such as tomatoes, workers who smoke may reduce
the spread of Tobacco mosaic virus.
 Disinfecting the knives used to cut propagative stock,
such as potato tuber and disinfecting pruning shears
between trees reduce the spread of pathogen through such
tools.
 Washing the soil of farm equipment before moving it
from one field to another may also help in preventing the
spread of pathogens present in the soil.
POLYETHYLENE TRAPS
AND MULCHES
 Many plant viruses, such as cucumber
mosaic virus are brought into crops such
as peppers, by airborne aphid vectors.
 When vertical, sticky, yellow
polyethylene sheets are erected along
edges of susceptible crop fields, a
considerable number of aphids are
attracted to and stick to them.
 If reflectant aluminum or black,
whitish-grey or coloured polyethylene
sheets are used as mulches between the
plants or rows in the field, incoming
aphids, thrips and possibly other insect
vectors are repelled and misled away
from the field.  Reflectant mulches,
however, cease to function as soon as
the crop canopy covers them.
PRACTICES FOR EVADING OR
AVOIDANCE OF THE PATHOGEN
 Bean anthracnose, caused by the fungus
Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, and the
bacterial blight of bean caused by bacteria
Xanthomonas phaseoli and Pseudomonas
phaseolicola are transmitted through the
seed. Therefore, they can be successfully
controlled by using disease free seed and
seed treatments.
Various activities which evade the
pathogens include:
i) Using vigorous seed
ii) Selecting proper dates and proper
sites
iii) Maintaining proper distances
between fields and between rows and
plants
iv) Planting windbreaks or trap crops
v) Planting in well drained soil
vi) Using proper insect and weed
control
USE OF PATHOGEN FREE SEED
AND PROPAGATIVE MATERIAL
 Seed may carry internally one or a few fungi such
as those causing anthracnose and smuts, certain
bacteria causing bacterial wilts, spots and blights
and certain viruses (Tobacco ring spot virus in
soybean, Bean common mosaic virus, Lettuce
mosaic virus, Barley stripe mosaic virus, Squash
mosaic virus and Prunus nectroic ring virus). Such
diseases cn be controlled effectively by
producing and using disease free seed.
 True seed, however, is invaded by relatively few
pathogens, although several may contaminate its
surface.
PRODUCTION OF PATHOGEN FREE
VEGETATIVE PROPAGATING
MATERIAL
 Vegetative propagating material free
of pathogens that are distributed
systemically throughout the plant is
obtained from mother plant that had
been tested and shown to be free of
particular pathogen or pathogens.
 To ensure continuous production of
pathogen free buds, grafts, cuttings,
rootstocks and runners of trees, vines,
and other perennials; the mother plant
is indexed for the particular pathogen
at regular intervals.
PRACTICES FOR THE EXCLUSION OF PATHOGENS
FROM PLANT SURFACES BY EPIDERMAL
COATINGS
 The plants are sprayed with compounds that form a
continuous film or membrane on the plant surface for
controlling diseases of aboveground parts of plant and
inhibit contact of pathogen with the host and penetration
of host.
 Water emulsion of dodecyl alcohol forms a high quality of
lipid membrane. The membrane allows diffusion of oxygen
and carbon dioxide but not of water. The membrane is not
easily washed by rain and remains intact for about 15 days.
 Kaolin based films have also proved effective in protecting
apple shoot from becoming infected by the bacterial
disease fire blight, and apple fruit from powdery mildew. It
also protects grapevine from Pierce disease caused by
Xylella fastidiosa by interfering with its transmission by the
vector.

Host Eradication

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HOST ERADICATION

When a plant pathogen enters into new area despite

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