Integrated Disease Management (IDM) is a concept derived from the successful Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems developed by entomologists for insect and mite control. In most cases, IDM consists of scouting with the timely application of a combination of strategies and tactics.
These may include site selection and preparation, utilizing resistant cultivars, altering planting practices, modifying the environment by drainage, irrigation, pruning, thinning, shading, etc., and applying pesticides, if necessary.
But in addition to these traditional measures, monitoring environmental factors (temperature, moisture, soil pH, nutrients, etc.), disease forecasting, and establishing economic thresholds are important to the management scheme.
These measures should be applied in a coordinated integrated and harmonized manner to maximize the benefits of each component. For example, balancing fertilizer applications with irrigation practices helps promote healthy vigorous plants.
However, this is not always easy to accomplish, and “disease management” may be reduced to single measures exactly the same as the ones previously called “disease control.” Whatever the measures used, they must be compatible with the cultural practices essential for the crop being managed.
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Plant Disease Terms in Integrated Disease Management
Anthracnose – Black or brown dead areas on leaves, stems, or fruits (anthracnose of sycamore, maple).
Blackleg – Darkening at the base of a stem (blackleg of potato).
Blight – Rapid death of leaves and other plant parts (fire blight of apple, early blight of tomato).
Brown rot – Soft rot of fruit covered by gray to brown mold (brown rot of cherries, peaches, nectarines).
Canker – Sunken, discolored, dead areas on twigs and branches, usually starting from an injury or wound (Cytospora canker of trees, common canker of rose, fire blight cankers).
Chlorosis – Yellowing or whitening of normally green tissue (iron chlorosis of trees).
Crown gall – Excessive, undifferentiated growth that may girdle roots, stems, or branches (crown gall of grapes, rose, apple, cherry).
Curly top/leaf curl/leaf roll – Rolling and curling of leaves and growing point (curly top of sugarbeet, tomato, bean, etc.; peach leaf curl; potato leaf roll).
Damping-off – Stem rot near the soil surface leading to either failed seed emergence or falling over after emergence.
Epidemic – A widespread and severe outbreak of a disease.
Etiolation – Long internodes and pale green color of plants growing under insufficient light or in complete darkness.
Fumigation – The application of toxic gas or volatile substance to disinfect soil or a container such as a grain bin.
Fungicide – A compound toxic to fungi.
Host plant – A plant that is invaded by a parasite.
Host range – The various plants that may be attacked by a parasite.
Inoculum—The pathogen or its parts that can cause infection.
Integrated control – An approach that attempts to use all available methods for the control of a pest or disease.
Isolation – The separation of a pathogen from its host by culturing on a nutrient medium or on an indicator plant.
Lesion – A localized area of discolored or dead tissue (early blight lesions on potato leaf).
Life cycle – The successive stages of growth and development of an organism.
Microscopic – Organisms so small that they can be seen only with the aid of a microscope.
Mosaic – Intermittent yellowish and green mottling of leaves (bean common mosaic, rose mosaic).
Necrosis – Death of tissue (necrotic area in a black spot of rose).
Organism – A living being.
Parasite – An organism that lives in or on another organism (host) and derives its food from the latter.
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Pathogen – A disease-causing agent.
Plant disease – Any lasting change in a plant’s normal structure or function that deviates from its healthy state.
Plant pathology – The study of diseases in plants, what causes them, what factors influence their development and spread, and how to prevent or control them.
Powdery mildew – Fine, white to gray, powdery coating on leaves, stems, and flowers (powdery mildew of rose, grapes, lilac, and apple).
Resistance – The ability of a host plant to prevent or reduce disease development by retarding the multiplication of the pathogen within the host.
Root and stem rots – Soft and disintegrated roots and lower portions of the stem, sometimes resulting in the death of the plant (root rot of pea, damping-off of seedlings, collar rot of apple).
Root knots – Swelling and deformation of roots (tomato root-knot).
Rust – Raised pustules on leaves, stems, and fruits; contain yellow-orange or rust-colored spore masses (snapdragon rust, geranium rust).
Sanitation – The removal and disposal of infected plant parts; decontamination of tools, equipment, hands, etc.
Saprophyte – An organism that can subsist on the non-living matter.
Scab – Slightly raised, rough areas on fruits, tubers, leaves, or stems (common scab of potato, apple scab).
Shot-hole – Roughly circular holes in leaves resulting from the dropping out of the central dead areas of spots (Coryneum leaf spot of peach).
Sign – The part of a pathogen seen on a host plant (moldy growth, spores, etc.).
Smut – Black masses of spores in galls that may form on stems, ears, etc. (common smut of corn).
Spore – The reproductive unit of a fungus, similar to the seed of a plant.
Susceptibility – The condition of a plant in which it is prone to the damaging effects of a pathogen or other factor.
Symptom – The altered external or internal appearance of a diseased plant (spot, gall, soft rot, etc.).
Systemic – Spreading internally throughout the plant.
Vascular pathogen – A disease-causing organism that invades mainly the conductive tissues (xylem or phloem) of the plant.
Vector – A living organism that is able to transmit or spread a pathogen.
Virulent – Capable of causing severe disease.
Wilt – Drooping and drying plant parts due to interference with the plant’s ability to take up water and nutrients (Verticillium wilts, Fusarium wilts).
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