Wheat Diseases and Their Management

1Wheat Production.- 1.1Natural limitations for wheat cultivation.- 1.2The wheat plant.- 1.3Types of diseases.- 1.3.1Diseases caused by bacteria.- 1.3.2Diseases caused by fungi.- 1.3.3Diseases caused by mycoplasma.- 1.3.4Diseases caused by nematodes.- 1.3.5Diseases caused by virus.- 1.3.6Nonparasitic disease.- 1.4Factors that affect the development of diseases.- 1.5Economic importance of diseases.- 2Pillars of Integrated Disease Management.- 2.1Genetic resistance.- 2.1.1Cultivars with specific resistance.- 2.1.2Gene-for-gene theory.- 2.1.3Phytoalexins and specific resistance.- 2.1.4Use of multilines.- 2.1.5Cultivar mixture.- 2.1.6Advantages and disadvantages of specific resistance.- 2.1.7Cultivars with partial resistance.- 2.1.8Controversies about genes that govern partial resistance.- 2.1.9Cultivars with generalized resistance.- 2.1.10Production of dihaploid wheat x maize hybrids.- 2.1.11General considerations.- 2.2Fungicides and their application in the field.- 2.2.1Selection of fungicides.- 2.2.2Fungicide spraying schedule.- 2.2.3Management of systemic fungicides.- 2.2.4Fungicide application technique.- 2.3Disease forecast modeling.- 2.4Seed transmitted pathogens.- 2.4.1Seed health testing.- 2.4.2Level of seed infection.- 2.4.3Epidemiological aspects of the disease.- 2.4.4Time of seed treatment.- 2.4.5General considerations.- 2.5Cultural practices.- 2.5.1Fertilizers.- 2.5.2Soil conservation and tillage.- 2.5.3Crop rotations and their role in disease management.- 2.5.4Crop residue.- 2.5.5Diversification of sowing dates and cultivars.- 2.5.6Alternative methods for disease control.- 2.5.7Precision agriculture and General considerations.- 3Spike Diseases.- 3.1Bunts.- 3.1.1Common bunt and dwarf bunt.- 3.1.2Karnal bunt.- 3.2Ergot.- 3.2Pyricularia blast.- 3.4Scab - The Fusarium head blight.- 3.5Smuts.- 3.5.1Flag smut.- 3.5.2Loose smut.- 4Bacterial Diseases.- 4.1Bacterial streak and chaff.- 4.2Pink seed.- 4.3Pseudomonas leaf blight.- 5Viral Diseases.-5.1Barley stripe

Dr. Yeshwant Ramchandra Mehta, at present, is a Plant Pathologist hired by FAPEAGRO, working at IAPAR, Londrina, Brazil, in the research project Petrobras. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in agriculture and M.Sc degree in Plant Pathology from Vikram University, India, in 1962. He earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Poona, India, in 1966. In 1969, he completed his pos-doctoral research on wheat leaf rust epidemiology at the Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Later, in 1972, Dr. Mehta was invited to work in Brazil, and since then he has continued his research activities on aspects of integrated management of major diseases of some crops with special reference to wheat, soybean and cotton. He published two books on integrated management of wheat diseases, the first in Portuguese in 1978 and the second in Spanish in 1993. He has published one book on soybean diseases in Spanish, in 1994. Dr. Mehta has published several research articles related to Plant Pathology and Genetics and coedited three books. He has had several short and long term consultancy jobs offered by the World Bank, IICA and Govt. of Paraguay, on integrated management of wheat and soybean diseases in different Latin-American countries. He has worked in India, Thailand, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Paraguay and Bolivia. Because of his contribution of over 40 years, Dr. Mehta has received honors from different national and international organizations. He has obtained several patents with Petrobras.