INTRODUCTION TO PLANT PATHOLOGY

When one examines the past, plant pathology becomes exciting and easier to

understand. If one knew that the widespread plant disease known as the late blight

of potato or Irish famine was to blame for Germany's defeat in World War II, one

might surprise. The domestication and thriving of wild grains were made possible

by the development of plant crops some 10,000 years ago, which also signaled a

substantial change in human nutrition. These grain crops' cultivation enabled the development of culture and the construction of human settlements. As people began to settle down and become farmers, they started growing a variety of food plants in tiny plots of land and grew reliant on these plants for survival all year long.