AGR514

CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Chapter 5: Crop Disease Management
 CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Common methods of plant disease control
1. Cultural methods (crop rotation, sanitation, mixed cropping
and etc.).
2. Physical methods (dry heat treatment, hot water treatment,
firing and etc.).
3. Regulatory methods (i.e. plant quarantine).
4. Biological methods (introduction or activation of less harmful
or saprophytic microorganisms to kill harmful or pathogenic
organisms).
5. Chemical methods (i.e. fungicides).
6. Integrated disease management (IPM) - based on ecological
principles and integrates multidisciplinary methodologies in
agro-ecosystem management strategies that are practical,
effective, economical and protective of both public health and
environment.
7. Host resistance or use of resistant varieties - the variety of crop
possessing this sort of character is known as a resistant variety.
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Control methods of disease in oil palm plantation (basal stem rot [BSR])
employ:
1. Cultural practices
i. Soil mounding
a. This method in which soil is heaped around the trunk to a
height of 75 cm and 1 m radius wide at the ground may
prolongs the life of the tree but is not effective in controlling
BSR.
ii. Surgery
a. Cutting out the dead tissue/basidiocarps by hand with a chisel
or with a mechanical back-hoe (tractor) has been tried with
generally mediocre results, with exception of some moderate
success in small plantations.
iii. Isolation trenching
a. Isolating a diseased tree or stump with a 2 x 2 meter, 0.5 m
wide and 1 m deep trench has been found to be a useful method
of delaying BSR by up to 14 years because it stops contacts
between roots.
b. The digging depends on type of the soil and therefore cost of
digging and maintenance of trenches is high.
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iv. Sanitation or removal of diseased material
a. The removal of diseased materials is usually carried out
in two situation – in existing plantings with BSR palms
(dead palms) and at the replanting stage.
b. For many years, burning the materials has been
common but this creating environmental issues in the
region.
c. Quarantining, shredding and isolating are other ways in
which the roots of healthy palms can be prevented from
coming in contact with those diseased palms, stumps or
roots.
v. Ploughing and harrowing
a. Large plantations often use 2 rounds of ploughing to 60
cm depth and one round of harrowing to chop up the
remaining roots in disease prone areas before planting
new seedlings.
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vi. Fallowing
a. Situations in which the soil has been left fallow in
replanting systems have shown significant effect on later
disease incidence.
b. Further studies are continuing to assess the optimum
length of fallow and the potential planting of other crops
to balance the economic effect.
vii. Planting legume cover crops (LCC)
a. Mandatory in some plantations, the practice of planting
ground covers, while controlling weeds and erosion, may
in fact be introducing legume species such as Pueraria
javanica, Mucuna bracteata, Calopogonium mucunoides,
Calopogonium caeruleum, Centrosema pubescens and
Mucuna cochinchinensis, which are themselves susceptible
to G. boninense. So must be undertaken with caution.
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viii. Fertilizer
a. It is to soon to ascertain how effective fertilizers are against
BSR.
b. Experimentation with macro-and micro-elements such as
potassium (K), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have
resulted in some positive change to disease levels and plant
productivity.

Soil mounding Shredding Quaratine and

isolation
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ix. Mulching
a. The application of empty fruit bunches (EFB) in young
immature palms increase vigor growth whilst maintain
foliage nutrient levels and reducing the impacts of moisture
stress and give superior yields.

Isolation trenching
Mulching of oil palm basins
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2. Chemical control
i. Logistical difficulties, high cost of application and
conflicting outcomes (not good for the environment
since they inhibit the growth of good microbes)
severely limit the use of chemical control.
ii. Methylisothiocyanate – reduce the viability of
Ganoderma inoculum in infected stumps.
iii. Trunk injection with systemic triazole fungicides
under high pressure has been shown to prolong the
economic life of infected oil palms. But some other
studies found this method has not shown to provide
effective control.
iv. Soil drenching with systemic fungicides has no
curative effect.
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3. Biological control
i. In Malaysia, certain strains of Trichoderma harzianum
and Trichoderma virens (Arx) have given good bio-
control of G. boninensis in nurseries.
ii. In Indonesia, a bio-fungicide containing Trichoderma
koningii Oudem was reported to reduce BSR in
decomposing oil palm residue in the field.
iii. Chitinolytic strains of Enterobacter and Bacillus
reduced Ganoderma disease incidence in oil palm
seedings in Indonesia.
iv. In Malaysia, strains of the endophytic bacteria
Burkholderia cepacia, Pseudomonas aeroginosa,
Serratia marcescens and Streptomyces have potential to
inhibit the spread of Ganoderma disease; included
endophytic fungal isolates of Phlebia, Amphinema,
Hendersonia.
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v. Application of a commercial formulation of a

vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza, prolonged the
productivity of 25-year-old infected oil palms
with BSR and increased their oil yield about 42-
68%.
vi. Mycorrhizae also could induce phenolics that
enable the plant to be more resistant to
Ganoderma.
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4. Resistant planting materials
i. AVROS, a Deli Dura (D) x African Pisifera (P) Elais
guineensis variety, is the most commonly planted in
Sabah, Malaysia and is claimed to be more resistant to
Ganoderma boninense than other commercial varieties.
ii. The Malaysian Oil Palm Board (MPOB) was reported to
have found host resistant to Ganoderma in a Zaire x
Cameroon hybrid crosses of E. guineensis.
iii. Current interest on establishment of transgenic oil palm
resistant to G. boninense.
a. Potentially promising but unlikely to provide an
immediately commercially acceptable solution.
 CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
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b. The fungus attacks the lignin component of
woody tissue, therefore the feasibility of
producing transgenic oil palm with altered
lignin content (reduce it amount or modified
it molecular structure) to control Ganoderma
disease.
c. Production of transgenic oil palm, which
could express or enhance expression level of
chitinase and glucanase in response to
colonization of G. boninense.
iv. Screening for resistant oil palm cultivars in
breeding programs:
a. Cultivars could produce phenolic acid,
especially syringic acid, which be a
useful trait in screening the resistance
cultivars to G. boninense.
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5. Remote sensing (BSR mapping)
a. This technology can exploited to spatially map
diseased trees.
b. Airborne and portable hyperspectral imaging used to
identify spectral differences between leaves with and
without Ganoderma infection demonstrate the
potential of such technology to monitor BSR in oil
palm plantations.
c. In Malaysia, geostatistical techniques have been used
to quantitatively characterize and understand the
spatial patterns of BSR in oil palm. Census data are
plotted into a geographical information system and
analyses carried out to predict the pattern of disease
spread, and to estimate future revenue losses, disease
treatment costs and expected yield after treatment.
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d. Examples of remotely sensed data.
CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
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 CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
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1. Integrated pest management (IPM)
a. Defined as a pest management system that, in the context of associated
environment and population dynamics of the pest species, utilizes all
suitable techniques and methods in as compatible a manner as possible
and maintains pests populations as levels below those causing economy
injury.
b. Chemical control using fungicide is not practiced due to its inability to
cure the disease and troublesome logistical requirements.
c. Trichoderma spp. are good for bio-control agents for Ganoderma but
only protect the plants at the early stages of the disease and not able to
cure highly infected palms.
d. Currently the most effective solution in
managing this disease is via sanitation
practices i.e. chipping the palms, removal of
bole and soil root masses (1.5 m x 1.5 m x 1.0
m) to reduce/prevent Ganoderma root
disease. This is now widely adopted as the
standard replanting practice in most large
plantations.
 CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Control methods of disease in rubber plantation (White
root disease [WRD]) employ:
1. Cultural practices
− Form a major component of control, especially that targeted to
reduce the inoculum level. When a rubber area is to be
replanted, the methods used to clear old trees from the land
determine the residual level of inoculum.
i. Full mechanical clearing - uprooting the trees, ploughing and
raking the land to collect and dispose of the rubber roots - offers
the least incidence of root disease in a replanting. This procedure
is expensive and cannot be adopted by smallholders, who may
clear the land by cut down the trees with chainsaws and
applying aboricides (herbicides) to promote faster decay.
Painting the cut surfaces of the stumps with creosote (a mixture
of hundreds of chemicals) was once suggested, to prevent
colonization of the stumps via basidiospores.
ii. The prevention of contact between healthy and diseased roots by
trenching (one meter between infected and healthy trees).
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iii. Workers should avoid injuring the roots of the plants in order to
prevent infection by the spores.

Making a trench around the rubber tree

Basidiocarps of Rigidoporus microporus
on dead Hevea tree
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2. Chemical control
i. Traditional post-planting control measures for Rigidoporus microporus
- first exposed the root system of the diseased and neighboring trees
followed by surgical removal of the infected areas and application of a
collar protectant containing an effective fungicide such as Fomac 2
(20% penta-chloronitrobenzene [PCNB]) and penta-chlorophenol
(PCP) (effective up to 2 years when painted on to the collar, the upper
end of the tap root and 20-30 cm basal portion of the main laterals of
the tree, before replacing the soil). However, both fungicides were
banned due to high mammalian toxicity.
ii. A recent approach to white root disease control is to drench the soil
around the tree with a fungicide such as furfuraldehyde (2.4%
aqueous solution), cyproconazole, bromuconazole, diniconazole,
hexaconazole, myclobutanil, propiconazole, terbuconazole,
triadiamefon (at 1.25 g a.i in two litres of water), triadimenol,
tridemorph (at 2.5 g a.i in two litres of water) and etc.
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Rhizomorph strands on the

collars of root of Hevea tree
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Drenching of fungicides: Dig furrow of

Painting with fungicides: Not being about 10 cm around the infected and
carried out due to high cost and lack neighbouring trees; and pour fungicides
of labour (1 or 2 l/tree)
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 CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
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iii. The standing old trees or stumps, which both be infected by spores,
can be poisoned prior to or post-felling. Trees are injected or stumps
brushed with an arboricide (herbicide) as early as possible after
felling. In Malaysia, a synthetic auxin, 5% 2, 4, 5-trichlorophenoxy
acetic acid was used, but this is toxic to mammals. Instead Garlon
(5% triclopyr), a pyridine herbicide, is currently recommended.
iv. Sulphur is the best applied as a fungicide at the time of planting
rubber. About 150-200 g sulphur powder is mixed with the soil to fill
the planting hole; alternatively the sulphur can be sprinkled around
the plant and forked into the soil. Soil pH is reduced by the sulphur
and this encourages the growth of fungi antagonistics, especially
species of Trichoderma and Penicillium, to the pathogen.
v. By various soil treatments and their combinatons; mycelial R.
microporus growth was 45% inhibited by the furfuraldehyde
treatment but 100% inhibition achieved by the furfuraldehyde
treatment in combination with spores of T. harzianum under
controlled conditions.
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3. Biological Control
i. Planting of creeping or leguminous covers assists in reducing
incidence of white root disease by promoting faster decay of
inoculum, become alternative host to R. microporus, inhibition
of root pathogens by production of toxic root exedutes (such as
saps, gums, latex, resin and etc.) or stimulation of the growth of
antagonistic microorganisms particularly bacteria and
actinomycetes.
ii. Fungal bio-control agents - Aspergillus niger SN72, Chaetomium
bostrychodes BN08, Ch. cupreum RY202, Trichoderma hamatum
STN07, T. harzianum STN01 and Penicillium sp. could
significantly inhibit the pathogen to infect the root of the rubber
trees.
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4. Resistant planting materials

− There are no known species of Hevea or clones that are
resistant to white root disease.
− But some clonal resistance to R. microporus have been
developed in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nigeria.
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5. Disease modelling and forecasting
i. A model of root-disease dynamics model
a. A mathematical modelling of spread of disease (levels of
damage) in order to estimate the theoretical efficiency of
various treatments according to their nature, efficiency,
and mode of application by simulation.
b. This method is more particularly adapted to industrial
perennial crop plantations.
c. It was pointed out that the infection risk of rubber tree
root diseases for a tree within a given line did not depend
on the adjacent lines: the pathogen spread along the
planting line, not laterally (no interline spread).
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6. Integrated pest management (IPM)

− Involving the various strategies available such as
mechanical removal of all diseased materials,
planting of legume crops and antagonistic plants, the
application of sulphur, fungicides and bio-fungicides
to limit the risks associated with WRD.
− However, IPM in rubber is not always carried out in
an effective and environmentally sensitive manner.
− Efforts must be focus on developing a IPM program,
which is not only effective but acceptable and easy to
adopt by growers.
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Control methods of disease in rice plantation (rice blast)
employ:
1. Cultural practices
i. Nutrient management
a. Previous studies have shown that high N supply (nitrogen
fertilizer) always induces heavy incidence of rice blast.
Plant receiving large amount of N are found to have fewer
silicated epidermal cells and thus have lower resistance.
The correlation between silica content and disease
incidence was also studied on different cultivars of rice
and it was observed that plants with high silica content or
large number of silicated epidermal cells had slight
damage from blast disease.
CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
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Silica bodies
(phytoliths)
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b. Application of water hyacinth compost to soil reduces the
rice blast disease.
ii. Water management
a. Rice grown under upland conditions is more susceptible
than rice grown in flooded soil.
b. Under upland conditions, susceptibility is increased further
with increasing drought stress. Hence, flooding the field in
upland rice can reduce the severity of blast (the soil is
covered with water about 2-4 inches).
iii. Planting time
a. In tropical upland rice, crops sown early during the rainy
season generally have a higher probability of escaping blast
infection than late-sown crops, which are often blasted
severely.
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iv. Planting conditions and plant spacing

a. Not planting in sandy soils or in tree-lined fields.
b. Silicon fertilizers (i.e. calcium silicate) can be applied to
soils that are silicon deficient to reduce blast.
c. Seed to a stand of 15 to 20 plants per square foot.

Rice paddy with vegetables

Coconut trees lining a paddy field
and banana trees on the right
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2. Chemical control
i. For rice blast, most aggressive and successful chemical
control program in world has been shown by Japan.
ii. The copper fungicides were first effectively used in Japan
but they are highly phytotoxic to rice plant.
iii. Subsequently, copper fungicides were used in mixture with
phenylemercuric acetate (PMA) which was more effective
than copper alone in rice blast control and were less toxic.
iv. Later, a mixture of PMA and slaked lime (calcium
hydroxide) provides much more effective control of rice blast
and was less toxic and cheap, but these fungicides are toxic to
mammals and are severe environmental pollutants.
v. Organophosphorus fungicides have been introduced to
control blast in Japan, but by then resistance in Magnaporthe
oryzae to this compounds started emerging.
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vi. The phosphorothiolate fungicides, including iprobenfos and

edifenphos, were introduced in Japan as rice blast fungicides in
1963. Iprobenfos and isoprothiolane have systemic action and
are used mainly as granules for application on the surface of
paddy water (soil application).
vii. Dithiocarbamate and Edifenphose – the disadvantage to use for
both were having shorter residual activity.
viii.In a chemical scheduling trial Bavistin 1g/L spray at tillering +
Hinosan 1g/L at heading and after flowering provided the best
yield increase.
ix. Tricyclazole and Pyroquilon fungicides as seed dressers (to
produce fungicide-treated seed) have been found effective to
provide protection to seed up to 8 weeks after sowing.
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x. Some of the recently developed chemicals for blast control are:
a. 1. Carpropamid (1999, melanin biosynthesis inhibitor)
b. 2. Fenoxanil (2002, melanin biosynthesis inhibitor)
c. 3. Tiadinil (2004, plant activator)
xi. In the most recent field evaluation of commercial fungicidal
formulations Rabicide (tetrachlorophthalide), Nativo
(tebuconazole + trifloxystobin) and Score (difenoconazole) are
found most effective.
xii. Other recent fungicides such as Fongoren, Beam, Oryzemate,
Ferimzone (TF-164), Flutolanil 25, Quadris 2.08 FL
(azoxystrobin), GEM (trifloxystrobin), Stratego (trifloxystrobin
+ propiconazole), Quilt Xcel (azoxystrobin + propiconazole), and
systemic fungicides such as triazoles and strobilurins.
xiii. The site specific fungicides are recommended to be used in
mixture or in rotation due to the development of resistance in
the pathogen.
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3. Biological control
i. Bacteria as biocontrol agents
a. Collagenolytic/gelatinolytic bacteria from rice leaves
(identified as Acidovorax, Sphingomonas,
Chryseobacterium and Pseudomonas genera).
b. Serratia marcescens strain B2 through chitinolytic
activity.
c. Pseudomonas fluorescens strain Pf 7–14
d. Bacillus spp. (B. pumilus, B. polymyxa and B. coagulans)
e. Bacillus subtilis strain IK1080, B-332, 1Pe2, 2R37 and
1Re14
f. Enterobacter agglomerans
g. Actinomycetes
− Streptomyces globisporus JK-1 (inhibit the growth of
M. oryzae by producing volatile compounds)
− Streptomyces sindeneusis isolate 263
− Streptomyces flavotricini
CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT
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ii. Fungi as biocontrol agents
a. Exserohilum monoceras
b. Chaetomium cochliodes
c. Chaetomium globosum/N76-1
d. Harpophora oryzae
e. Trichoderma harzianum/CPO-80

iii. Some botanicals (the leaf extracts) as biocontrol agents

a. Atalantia monophylla
b. Plumbago rosea
c. Ocimum sanctum (Tulasi)
d. Aegle marmelos (Bael)
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4. Resistant planting materials
i. Exploitation of host resistance is the most cost-effective and
reliable method of disease management.
ii. Pongsu Seribu 2 is a local rice variety grown in Malaysia, which
possess the partial resistance against the leaf blast.
iii. Developed transgenic rice varieties
a. Indica rice variety IR72 expressing the transformed bar
gene could decrease development of blast symptoms.
b. Transformation of rice with a stilbene synthase gene from
grapevine allowed the expression of the rice phytoalexin
momilactone and showed higher levels of resistance to P.
oryzae.
c. Characterized blast-resistant transgenic rice constitutively
expressing chitinase or the β-glucanase gene in an elite
japonica cultivar.
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d. Transgenic rice of Indica rice cultivars, IR50 and CO39

developed with incorporated with a chimeric gene made up
of rice gene, YK-1 and maize ubiquitin gene, HM-1. The
transgenic plants showed tolerance to blast fungus.
e. Transgenic rice developed resistance to M. oryzae expressing
a plant defensin (usually small peptides of 45–54 amino
acids) gene, Dm-AMP1 from Dalia merckii.
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4. Integrated pest management

i. Integrated use of biocontrol agent with chemical fungicide. For
example, a combined biological and chemical control of rice blast
disease with antagonistic rhizobacteria P. fluorescens and chemical
salicylic acid has been evaluated and could induce of defence
related enzymes enhance resistance against invasion of M. oryzae
in rice.
ii. Fungicides and neem based formulations (botanical extract from
the neem tree [Azadirachta indica A. juss]) showed the neem based
formulations such as Nimbicidine and Neem gold were most
effective for control blast fungus.
iii. Both water management and chemical control were combined to
effectively control the disease.