Vietnam National University of Agriculture

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INTERNSHIP REPORT
PLANT PATHOLOGY

Instructor: Assoc.Prof.PhD. Ha Viet Cuong

Student: Bùi Thị Hồng Anh

Student ID: 602098
Class: K60KHCTT

Hanoi, 2018
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I. Introduction
Plant pathology is a science that studies plant diseases and attempts to improve the
chances for survival of plants when they are faced with unfavorable environmental
conditions and parasitic microorganisms that cause disease. Plant diseases may result
in less food and higher food prices or in food of poor quality. Diseased plant produce
may sometimes be poisonous and unfit for consumption. Some plant diseases may
wipe out entire plant species and many affect the beauty and landscape of our
environment.
Moreover, the need for measures to control plant diseases limits the amount of land
available for cultivation each year, limits the kinds of crops that can be grown in fields
already contaminated with certain microorganisms, and annually necessitates the use
of millions of kilograms of pesticides for treating seeds, fumigating soils, spraying
plants, or the postharvest treatment of fruits.
For these harmful of plant disease, we must study and research in order to increase the
knowledge about plant disease then we can develop methods, equipment, and material
through which plant diseases can be avoided or controlled. Controlling plant disease
results in more food of better quality and a more aesthetically pleasing environment.
When study about plant pathology, we must uses and combines the basic knowledge
of botany, mycology, bacteriology, virology, nematology, plant anatomy, plant
physiology, genetics, molecular biology and genetic engineering, biochemistry,
horticulture, agronomy, tissue culture, soil science, forestry, chemistry, physics,
meteorology, and many other branches of science. Plant pathology profits from
advances in any one of these sciences, and many advances in other sciences have been
made in attempts to solve plant pathological problems.

II. Materials and Method

2.1 Location and time
 Location: Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province and Pho Yen town, Thai
Nguyen province.
 Time: From 25/11/2018 to 2/12/2018
2.2 Crops:
 Pumpkin
 Corn
 Cabbage turnip
2.3 Methodology
 Disease intensity is a general term used to describe the amount of disease
present in a population
 Disease prevalence is the proportion (or percent) of fields, states, etc. where
the disease is detected, and reveals disease at a grander scale than incidence

𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑒−𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒

𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑
Disease prevalence = × 100
𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑

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  Disease incidence is the proportion (or percent) of plants(or plant units, leaves,
branches, etc.) that are visibly : prevalence, Precise
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
Disease incidence (I) = x100
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑤𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠

 Disease severity is the proportion area of plant tissues that are diseases :
+ Level of damage
+ Relatively estimated
𝑁1𝑥1 + 𝑁2𝑥3 + 𝑁3𝑥5 + 𝑁4𝑥7 + 𝑁5𝑥9
Disease severity(S) = x100
𝑁𝑥𝑛

N1, N2, N3, N4, N5: Disease leaves, trees

1,3,5,7,9: Disease levels
N: Total investigate leaves

Rating scale
Rating %
scale infection
1 0 -10%
3 10 -30%
5 30–50%
7 50- 75%
9 >75%
 Percentage of number of fields in which a disease is present per total of
surveyed fields. The data, in percentage, should be assigned in 4 levels: ++++
(>75%), +++ (≥50-75%), ++ (≥25-50%) and + (≥1-25%).
 Interview farmers
+ Plant’s variety?
+ When were plants grew, harvest?
+ What’s disease they know, method they use to control/ management?
+ What’s chemical control? Why they choose it? How often
 Statistics used to analysis the collected data (mainly descriptive statistics such
as average, standard deviation, coefficient of variation)
III. Research results

3.1 Description of observed diseases

 Disease of Pumpkin
No Disease Pathogen Prevalence
1 oPPowdery mildew of Erysiphe sp. +++
pumpkin
2 Downy mildew Pseudoperonospora cubensis ++++

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 1. Powdery mildew of pumpkin

 Symptom: On the leaf the disease appears cover with a grayish white, powdery fungus
growth; the leaf become curled and distorted. Large white patches of fungus growth
appear that eventually become necrotic.

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 2. Downy mildew

 Symptom:
At first, small, pale yellow, irregular spots appear on the upper surface of the leaves, and a
white downy growth. Later, the infected leaf areas are killed and turn brown. This growth is most
commonly seen on the lower leaves of the plant.

 Disease of Corn
No Disease Pathogen Prevalence
1 Polysora rust Puccinia sorghi ++++
2 Sương mai Peronosclerospora sorghi +

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  Rust

 Symptom: Circular to elongate golden brown,

powdery, erumpent pustules appear on both leaf
surface. As the crop matures, brownish black
pustules containing dark thick wall. In severe
cases infection spreads to sheaths and other plant
parts

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  Sương mai

 Symptom: Appear many light color line across upper leaves.

 Disease of Cabbage turnip

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 No Disease Pathogen Prevalence
1 Black trot Xanthomonas campestris ++

 Symptom: Small, round spots appear on the angular leaf. In later stage, the spots on the
leaf appear brown to black lesions of varying sizes.

3.2 Status of observed disease

 Statute of Powdery mildew of pumpkin at Ha Tu precinct, Ha Long city

Field Growth stage Incidence (%) Severity2
Symptom development,
1 77 9
Dissemination
Symptom development,
2 21 3
Dissemination
3 Don’t have 0 0

 Statute of Downy mildew of Pumpkin at Ha Tu precinct, Ha Long city

Field Growth stage Incidence (%) Severity2
Symptom development,
1 78 9
Dissemination
Symptom development,
2 45 5
Dissemination
Symptom development,
3 23 3
Dissemination

 Comments for Disease of Pumpkin:

In the first field, because farmer didn’t have any treatment for the disease, because they
had already harvest and going to plant new crop. For that reason the disease grow widely
and fast.
In the second field, farmer had use chemical treatment for 2 weeks. For that reason the
incidence much lower than first one. The disease going to be reduced for a month
In the third field, farmer take care of the field very careful. They had used chemical
treatment for more than a month. For that reason, Powdery mildew is nearly not exist and
Downy mildew much more reduce than the others.

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  Statute of Polysora rust of Corn at Ha Tu precinct, Ha Long city and Pho Yen town,
Thai Nguyen province.

Field Growth stage Incidence (%) Severity2

1 Symptom development 81 9
Symptom development,
2 21 3
Dissemination
Symptom development,
3 27 3
Dissemination

 Statute of Sương mai disease of Corn at Ha Tu precinct, Ha Long city and Pho Yen
town, Thai Nguyen province.
Field Growth stage Incidence (%) Severity2
1 Don’t have 0 0
2 Don’t have 0 0
3 Symptom development 9 1

 Comment for disease of Corn:

- With Rust disease:
In the first field, Farmer is going to harvest and they think this disease is not effective so much,
that why they didn’t have any treatment for diseases. The disease grow very widely and fast,
spreads to sheaths and other plant parts
In the second and third field, The crops are in the development stage. The farmer had used
chemical treatment for months so that the disease incidence much more lower than the first one,
and it going to reduce in next month
- With Sương mai disease
Because it have already appear on the third field, its incidence is very low. But if the famer don’t
have any controlling method, it will grow fast and be effectively.

 Statute of Black trot disease of Cabbage turnip at Ha Tu precinct, Ha Long city

Field1 Growth stage Incidence (%) Severity2
1 Symptom development, 63 7
Dissemination
2 Symptom development, 46 5
Dissemination
3 Symptom development, 18 3
Dissemination

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 Comment for disease of Cabbage turnip
In the first field, farmer had already used chemical treatment for, the effective of chemical
method had not expression. Expect that the disease will reduce within a month
In the second field, farmer had used chemical treatment for 2 weeks. The disease is going
to reduce
In the third, farmer had use chemical treatment for month, the disease are much more
reduce and not effective

3.3 Control method

 Major disease
Crop Major disease
Pumpkin Downy mildew
Corn Polysora rust
Cabbage turnip Black trot

 Farmer interview data

 All of farmer don’t know crop variety. They buy it from the market.

Farmers Interview
st
At the 1 field They don’t know exactly name of disease.
of When they want to control the disease, they go to the shop, describe about
pumpkin the symptom and follow direction of seller
and the 2st
field of
cabbage
turnip
At the 2nd field They know Powdery mildew disease and use appropriate controlling
of method
pumpkin But they don’t know exact name of Downy mildew and Black trot, they
and the 3rd call it is leaf yellowing and do treatment for yellowing disease.
field of
cabbage
turnip

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At the 3rd field The 3rd field of pumpkin is the largest one and the farmer care a lot of their
of field. They do controlling method immediately they saw the disease.
pumpkin They use chemical method under the direction of seller
At the 3rd field
The farmer think it is
yellowing disease
and do treatment
following
direction of seller

At 3 fields of They plant the same varies of corn. The think Polysora Rust is Leaf
corn Yellowing and spay chemical treatment for Leaf Yellowing. The
chemical treatment is following direction of seller.

 Disease cycle
Disease Disease cycle
Downy
mildew

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Polysora
rust

Black trot

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  Methods to manage these disease
a. Downy mildew
Make sure that plants do not get it in the first place. Because downy mildew needs water
to survive, the very best thing you can do to prevent downy mildew is to water your plants
from below. Water that sits on the leaves of the plant gives the downy mildew a way to
infect and spread on the plant. The spore of downy mildews spreads by literally
swimming through water until they come across live plant material to infect. If there is no
water on your plant leaves, the downy mildew cannot travel to or infect your plants.
This disease overwinters on dead plant material, so removing dead plant material in the
fall will help prevent the disease in the following spring.
When the plant infected, the organic control of downy mildew is best bet. The reason is
that once a plant is infected with downy mildew, there are no effective chemical controls,
just some preventative chemicals you be use.
b. Polysora rust
Resistant corn products are the most cost-effective means to manage rust in field corn.
Chemical control may be warranted if the weather forecast is not hot, wet and humid
conditions, pustules are present, and black layer is four or more weeks away.
Fungicide control is preventative rather than curative. Fungicide cannot restore the health
of infected leaf tissue, but they can prevent new tissues from becoming infected. Thus,
application must be made before rust develops to severe levels.
c. Black rot
Sources of infestation are contaminated seeds and infected weeds. So:
• Treat seeds. Hot water seed treatment kills internal and external bacteria, whereas
disinfestants such as bleach and trisodium phosphate only kill surface bacteria. Seed
company service preferred to do-it-yourself.
• Control cruciferous weeds in and around field.
If disease is found:
• Copper and/or Actigard sprays may suppress the severity of the disease, but often do not
suppress incidence, i.e. the number of diseased leaves.
• Incorporation of post-harvest crop debris into soil will hasten decline of bacterial
populations.
• Long crop rotations are not necessary, but cole crops should be limited to one crop per
year. Longer rotations may be needed if other diseases are a problem or if cruciferous
weeds persist.

IV. Conclusion
Result for the internship are:
- Plant disease are diverse from field to field, from this place to other place. It affect a
lot to crop yield and quality of product. If we don’t have appropriate treatment, plant
disease will grow dramatically and cause significant damage.
- Thanks to farmer, the disease always be under controlled. But their treatment usually
depend on experiment or follow direction of plant protection product seller.

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In summary, during and after internship, I have a lot of knowledge and experiment. I have
learnt knowledge about disease and management from reality and have more experiment
to contact with farmer.
V. References
 Plant pathology 5th edition, George N. Agrios
 Disease control in Leafy Brassica Green
 Quản lý bệnh hại nhóm bầu bí
 Maize Disease: A guide for Field Identification
 https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/squash/powdery-mildew-
in-squash.htm
 https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/downy-mildew.htm
 http://www.aganytime.com/Documents/ArticlePDFs/Identifying%20and%20Mana
ging%20Southern%20Rust%20of%20Corn%20-%20DEKALB.pdf
And some other document and picture from Google

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