General Phytopathology Laboratory

The aim of this course is the students via teaching methodologies applied and knowledge provided to recognize easily the pathogen and its caused damages to crop plants and afterwards to implement the appropriate control methods in relation with conventional and integrated management of crop production.

Objectives

After successful attendance of the current course, the students have to: i) obtain the basic knowledge of the Phytopathology course. ii) be familiar with basic microbiological methods and to recognize via microscope the fungi and bacteria, as well as to discriminate the various microbial species and their structures into the frame of plant disease diagnosis.

Prerequisites

No other course knoledge is necessary.

Syllabus

Safety rules and basic equipment of a Laboratory of phytopathology. Media, inoculation methods and microbial cultures in vitro. Microscope and microbes observations. Microbe population culture measures in vitro. Most important plant pathogens: fungi (chromista, ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, fungi imperfect), bacteria, viruses-viroids (morphological characteristics and their structures, reproduction, taxinomisis) through microscopic observations. Most important plant diseases (fungal diseases, bacterial diseases, viral diseases) and their characteristics symptoms through stereoscope and microscope. Diagnosis methods of plant diseases at the field and laboratory. Deficiency diseases (focus on Citrus trees), post-harvest plant pathogens and mycotoxins.