Plant Pathology

Study plant pathology at home. Understanding all types of plant diseases. and the science that underpins their management and mitigation.

Course Code: BHT206

Fee Code: S2

Duration (approx) Duration (approx) 100 hours

Qualification Statement of Attainment

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Where are you located?

Within Australia
AUD $822.80inc GST

Outside Australia
AUD $848.00

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Delivery Method
   Online
   E-Learning (USB stick via post)
   Correspondence (Paper notes via post)

All prices in Australian Dollars.

Plant production is reduced significantly every year, due to pathological problems. To control these problems is to increase productivity, and for the horticultural business that means increased profit margins.

PLANT PATHOLOGY IS NOT simply a study of pests and diseases. Some pests are in fact not pathological problems, and there are pathological problems which are not pests or diseases.

PLANT PATHOLOGY is about problems in plants caused by physiological damage or irritation at a cellular level. It is concerned with problems which affect parts of the plant cell, leading to malfunctions in the normal processes which occur within the plant.

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

Introduction
- Overview of plant disease
- Diagnosis of problems: nutritional, environmental, pathological
- Symptoms
- Common terminology
Types of Diseases
- Morphological changes
- Necrosis
- Hypoplasia's
- Hyperplasia
- Types of pathogens: viruses, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, nematodes
- Techniques for diagnosing plant diseases: optical equipment, preparing pathogens for observation, culture methods, inoculation, etc
- Plant viruses; detection and diagnosis
- Plant nematodes
- Case study: Australian plant nematodes
- Main types of diseases
- Spots
- Rots
- Cankers
- Galls
- Mildews
- Rusts
- Moulds
- Wilts
- Scabs
- Others
- Using a key to diagnose diseases in plants
The Lifecycle of a Disease
- Inoculation
- Penetration
- Infection
- Growth and reproduction
- Dissemination
- Methods of penetration by bacteria and nematodes
- Lifecycle of nematodes
- Fungal biology
- Role of insect spreading fungal and bacterial pathogens
Control Techniques
- Sanitation
- Resistant Plant Varieties
- Biological Controls
- Soil Drenches/dips
- Chemical Controls
- Nematicides
- Soil fumigants
- Contact poisons
- Fungicides and the environment
- Systemic fungicides
- Misters, dusters, blowers, sprayers
- Spray maintenance and cleaning
- Natural controls: cultural, physical, biological, etc
- Terminology
Selected Pathogen Diseases Ornamentals
- Fungi affecting turf
- Phytophthora cinnamomi
- The process of tree decay: Shigo
- Case study: how phytophthora cinnamomi kills a susceptible Eucalyptus
- Peach powdery mildew
- Rose powdery mildew
- Honey fungus on rhododendrons and azaleas
- Petal blight on rhododendrons and azaleas
Selected Pathogen Diseases Crops
- Sclerotinia rot in vegetables
- Nematodes and citrus production
- Citrus diseases: scaly butt, lemon crinkle, citrus canker
- Brown rot
- Fire blight
- Apple fruit rot caused by trichoderma harzianum
- Prunus necrotic ringspot virus in cut flower roses
- Potato and tomato blight
- Club root
Non-Infectious Diseases
- Nutritional disorders
- Lack of water
- Excess water
- Other environmental problems
- Disorders caused by man: mechanical damage, pollution
- Case Study: Air pollution
- Other disorders: genetic, disturbed growth
- Non parasitic turf problems
Special Project

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

Describe a range of pathological problems that affect plants.
Describe symptoms of a range of diseases that affect plants.
Describe disease life cycles and explain how this knowledge can be applied in disease control
Explain the methods used to control diseases
Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of a particular plant pathogen.
Identify and describe a range of non-infectious diseases and problems that affect plants
Identify and describe a range of common pathogens that affect ornamental plants.
Identify and describe a range of common pathogens that affect crop plants

What You Will Do

The first part of the course develops an understanding of the different types of problems which can occur and how to identify them.
Terminology is covered in some depth, so as to enable the student to be able to read & understand books & articles written about plant diseases. Other major topics of study include "symptoms" (ie: Necroses, Hypoplasia, etc), "types of pathogens" (ie: Viruses, bacteria, fungi, Nematodes, etc), and the lifecycle of a disease.
The second part of the course looks at how to control pathology problems. The major methods of controlling pathogens (ie: Sanitation, resistant varieties, biological controls, soil drenches & chemical sprays, etc) are all studied, along with types of equipment & safety.
The third part of the course looks at some of the most common plant pathology problems in commercial horticulture, how to identify them and how they are controlled.
Some of the problems studied include cinnamon fungus, tree decay, powdery mildew, nematodes, brown rot, blights, turf fungi, damping off and non infectious problems such as temperature burns, air pollution, wind burn and excessive light.
The course is a highly practical one involving as much time in practical/field work as it does theory.
No prior formal training is required, though anyone undertaking this course is expected to have some experience in horticulture (either having worked in the industry or having studied in some related discipline.

TYPES OF DISEASES

MORPHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS

Necroses refers to death of parts of, or whole plants. Normally protoplasts degenerate, followed by the death of cells.

Plesionecrotic ‑term to describe cells which are almost dead.
Holonecrotic ‑term used to describe cells which are completely dead.
Plesionecroses ‑yellowing, wilting or hydrosis (ie: very wet tissue), are common plesionecrotic conditions.

Yellowing is seen when chlorophyll breaks down. (This is different to chlorosis ‑ chlorosis is when chlorophyll does not develop in the first place). Though yellowing and chlorosis are often used as interchangeable terms, they are in fact distinctly different.

Wilting involves drooping of plant parts, caused by a loss of turgor (ie: pressure) within the cells. Wilting can be due to either:

Water deficiency in the soil.
Water uptake being stopped by some other disease problem.

Hydrosis ‑tissue becomes water soaked, cell membranes have been broken and liquid released...this often preceedes fungal rots, spots or blight.

Holonecroses

Browning or blackening of part of a diseased plant....sections of tissue die completely....can occur in any part of a diseased plant.

There are three main types of holonecroses....

a/ Necroses of Storage Organs

Occurring in fruit, seed, bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers and roots
Frequently (but not always) hydrosis, followed by a blackening of tissue and eventually rot.

b/ Necroses of Green Plant Tissue

Typical examples include damping off, spot diseases (where spots of tissue die), streak diseases where streaks of tissue die, etc.

c/ Necrosis of Woody Parts

Canker where part of the bark, stem/trunk or roots die.
Die back and gummosis are other examples.

Hypoplases

Failure of plant parts to develop fully (eg: Dwarfing, rosetting, etiolation, mosaic, etc.).

Hyperplases

This refers to abnormal development of plant parts, or overdevelopment of the entire plant.

Includes:

Gigantism.....eg: Curl of leaves or shoots, club root, fasciation.

Hyperchromes....Development of abnormal colour eg: Bronzing, virescence (chlorophyll where it doesn't normally occur).

Metaplasia....Where a plant part changes to another type of plant part, which it should not be (eg: part of a flower developing a leaf like structure).

Prolepsis....Premature development of plant parts. eg: a shoot starting to grow from a bud prematurely, then dying back.

How this Course Might Benefit You

Plant diseases affect all sorts of plants from crops through to cultivated ornamental species and native plants. Sometimes we can live with those diseases but at other times they may destroy our livelihoods, or our prized plants. Anyone who works with plants will have witnessed just how devastating diseases can be. This course goes into significant depth into the major recognised groups of diseases. It also examines the life cycles and course of some particular diseases of economic concern. Students of this course will have a great understanding of plant diseases that should set them in good stead for recognition of symptoms and diagnosis.

This course is ideally suited to people working in, or aspiring to work in:

Horticultural science
Horticulture research
Agronomy
Horticultural consultation
Teaching
Crop growing
Fruit & vegetables
Botanic gardens
Parks & gardens
Garden maintenance

What Next?

ENROL or Use our FREE Course Advice Service to Connect with a Tutor

Principal of ACS Distance Education, John Mason, is fellow of the CIH.

Member of Study Gold Coast Education Network.

ACS Global Partner - Affiliated with colleges in seven countries around the world.

Member Nursery and Garden Industry Association.

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You can enrol at anytime and start the course when you are ready. Enrolments are accepted all year - students can commence study at any time. All study is self paced and ACS does not set assignment deadlines.

Please note that if a student is being assisted by someone else (e.g. an employer or government subsidy), the body offering the assistance may set deadlines. Students in such situations are advised to check with their sponsor prior to enrolling. The nominal duration of a course is approximately how long a course takes to complete. A course with a nominal duration of 100 hours is expected to take roughly 100 hours of study time to complete. However, this will vary from student to student. Short courses (eg. 100 hrs duration) should be completed within 12 months of enrolment. Certificates, Advanced Certificates and Awards (eg. over 500 hours duration) would normally be completed within 3 -5 years of enrolment. Additional fees may apply if a student requires an extended period to complete.
If a student cannot submit their assignments for 6 months to ACS, they should advise the school to avoid cancellation of their student
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There are no entry requirements that you need to meet to enrol in our courses, our courses are for everyone.
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You sure can. We are here to help you learn whatever your abilities.

Yes, if you are enrolling in a Certificate or Advanced Certificate, you might be eligible for credits if you have evidence of your previous studies or relevant experience. More information is here.

We recommend that you are able to browse websites, send emails and conduct online research. You will need to be able to type and submit your assignments.
If you have limited computer skills, we can make special arrangements for you.

This is possible, it depends on the institution. We recommend that if you would like to use our courses that you contact the institution first. Our Course Handbook is a good resource for this.

Our courses are written in English and we only have English speaking academic staff. If you can read and complete your assignments in English, our courses are ideal for you.

Our courses are designed to build knowledge, hands on skills and industry connections to help prepare you to work in the area, running your own business, professional development or as a base for further study.

This course has been designed to cover the fundamentals of the topic. It will take around 100 hours to complete, which includes your course reading, assignment work, research, practical tasks, watching videos and anything else that is contained in the course. Our short courses are a great way to do some professional development or to learn a new skill.

It’s up to you. The study hours listed in the course are a rough guide, however if you were to study a short course (100 hours) at 10 hours per week, you could finish the course in 10 weeks (just an example). Our courses are self-paced, so you can work through the courses in your own time. We recommend that you wait for your tutor to mark and return your assignment before your start your next one, so you get the benefits of their feedback.

The course consists of course notes, videos, set tasks for your practical work, online quizzes, an assignment for each lesson (that you receive feedback from your tutor from) and ends in an exam (which is optional, if would like to receive the formal award at the end), using our custom built Learning Management System - Login.Training.

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Each module (short course) is completed with one exam.

Exams are optional, however you must sit an exam if you would like to receive a formal award. You will need to find someone who can supervise that you are sitting the exams under exams conditions. There is an additional cost of $60 incl. GST for each exam.
More information is here

There are practical components built into the course that have been designed to be achieved by anyone, anywhere. If you are unable to complete a task for any reason, you can ask your tutor for an alternative.

When you complete the course work and the exam and you will be able receive your course certificate- a Statement of Attainment. Otherwise, you can receive a Letter of Completion.

You can bundle the short courses to create your own customised learning bundle, Certificates or Advanced Certificates. More information is on this page.

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Course Contributors

The following academics were involved in the development and/or updating of this course.

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In my role within a large Aged Care Facility a great deal of my employment is spent in the area of Turf management and garden care/refurbishment. With ACS I was able to study at my own pace allowing me to put into practise and thoroughly research the subject matter broadening my knowledge and study experience further. I enjoyed the way in which the subject matter was presented as it allowed you to study each subject further, allowing for greater depth, clarity and knowledge.
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