Plant Pathology: Academic Programs: Courses / Syllabi

PATH 4280/6280 - 4280L/6280L
Diagnosis & Management of Plant Diseases

Development of fundamental and practical knowledge for identification and management of plant diseases.

Instructor -  Ron Walcott
Credit Hours - 4 (Three lectures and one 3-hour lab period)
Course Offered - Fall semester
Prerequisite - PATH 3530-3530L.

Semester & Year Syllabus is for:  Fall 2004

Principle course assignments:

Note: the lecture schedule is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion 

Specific course requirements and grading policy:

A - F based on the following activities:

* The disease specimen collection and diagnostic reports must be completed to receive passing grade in the class.  

Disease collection and diagnostic reports

For this exercise you must collect, diagnose and write control reports for 10 plant specimens. During the semester, we will go on several field trips and you will be allowed to collect diseased specimens. There are no restrictions on the types of plants that you may collect but it should include a variety of economically important crops. Weeds are also acceptable. The disease specimens collected should represent the natural distribution of the different pathogen types i.e. it is acceptable to have more fungal specimens that viruses or bacteria. However, it is unacceptable to have the same disease on many different hosts (e.g. only one powdery mildew would normally be accepted per collection). Additionally, pure isolates of the causal agent are required for two disease specimens. On collection of the disease specimens, diagnosis should be completed as soon as possible and approval should be sought from the instructor. A diagnosis report sheet should be completed for each pathogen This should include a drawing of the symptoms and signs, and other vital information used for diagnosis. Once diagnosis is complete, the specimen and the sheet should be placed on the shelf assigned to each student in Rm 2108. The instructor will confirm the diagnosis or provide advice on how to reach the correct conclusion. Management information is also required for each specimen but this can be completed after confirmation. These sheets, along with copies of all reference materials used to develop them should be place in a binder and submitted at the end of the semester for grading. In order to complete the disease specimen collection it is suggested that students start immediately. After the onset of cooler temperature in late Fall, it will be difficult to find disease specimens. This is not an acceptable excuse for failing to complete this project!!! While students are encouraged to go on disease collecting trips together, diagnosis and management reports must be prepared independently. Discussing disease problems with the instructor and teaching assistant is permissible; however, under no circumstance should you copy information from another student’s report or from old reports.   

Field tours:

Several off-campus tours are scheduled for this class. The inconvenience that this will cause is obvious but the benefits are worth it. For students to be excused from other classes, the instructor will write letters as needed. Students that cannot attend the field trips will be assigned a comparable assignment which will constitute a portion of their total course grade. 

Attendance policy:

Attendance will not be taken in class but it is expected. A student who incurs more that three unexcused absences may be withdrawn from the class at the discretion of the instructor.  

Required course material:

No text is required for this course. Reading material will come from a variety of sources, many of which will be available in the PATH 4280 resource center in Rm 2108 Miller Plant Sciences. Students will have access to the books in this collection; however, these material must not be taken from the room except by permission of the instructor. It is highly recommended to bring Plant Pathology by George Agrios to laboratory sessions and to brush up on basic phytopathology terminology and concepts. These will not be covered specifically in PATH 4280. Additionally, lecture notes and supplemental material will be provided by WebCT. While not required, aspiring diagnosticians often find it necessary to obtain a good 10x hand lens and a sharp, durable pocket knife. In addition, pencils and a notepad are required to record pertinent observations on field trips. Digital cameras are increasingly available and these can be used to record disease symptoms.  

Policy for make-up exams:

If a student misses an exam, a grade of zero will be assigned unless that absence is approved in advance by the instructor or supported by a documented excuse. If necessary, make-up exams will be administered during the last week of classes and will include new questions.