This comprehensive book examines how mineral nutrition affects plant disease. Minerals improve the overall quality and health of plants. Knowing how each individual mineral affects a plant is beneficial for efficiency in production and sustaining the ecosystem. From a plant pathology perspective, Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease brings the discussion of plant disease diagnosis and management to a new level. Mineral nutrients are important in production agriculture and horticulture because they can often be the first line of defense against plant diseases. It is an area of knowledge that can be misunderstood or overlooked in the study of diseases and their diagnosis. This reference succeeds in organizing what we know and explaining the interactions at work. Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease is the first book to successfully combine two important plant science disciplines, nutrition and pathology, to provide current information on theoretical aspects of nutrition in disease physiology while contributing a wealth of basic practical information for obtaining immediate disease suppression with specific fertilizers. Special Features:
Provides a holistic overview of how minerals are made available in soil and their basic function in plants Helps you understand the interacting affects of minerals on all types of diseases Abiotic as well as biotic Identifies mineral nutrient forms, physiological functions, and interactions with numerous diseases Provides valuable tables showing nutrient-disease interactions that facilitate the use of nutrients to manage diseases Tabulates extensive literature reviews with tables to help you perform quick searches for any host/disease system
The book is peer-reviewed and multi-authored by scientists with expertise relating to each specific mineral element. A user-friendly benefit of this book is that each chapter focuses on one specific mineral element and explains the relationship between the nutrient and its affect on plant diseases. Each chapter describes the critical levels of each element involved in plant disease interactions, the effects of these elements on pathogens and plants, and the known mechanisms of how these elements suppress plant diseases. Benefits of specific mineral nutrients in each chapter recognize their interdependent interaction with each other and all aspects of the plant physiology, genetics, and the environment. These mineral nutrient chapters are preceded by two helpful chapters on the Chemistry of Plant Nutrients in Soil and The Physiological Role of Minerals in the Plant.
The purpose of this important treatise is to outline the current knowledge of mineral nutrition and plant diseases. Readers will gain practical information for immediate disease management and understand the physiological role of each element in the plant and how it contributes to disease. Editors Datnoff, Elmer, and Huber, have done a commendable job in collaboration with their expert contributors. This book is pertinent to plant scientists worldwide including agronomists, plant physiologists, horticulturists, extension scientists, soil scientists, plant pathologists, and librarians who serve them. It will also be useful as a fundamental text to use for introductory courses in these disciplines.