About the Book

Plantation crops are perennial and are always on a constant threat of biotic and abiotic stresses. Though the total area occupied by plantation crops is very meager at the macro level, they are very important crops for certain regions providing livelihood and employment to millions of people. They also contribute significantly to the national economy. Among plantation crops, coconut and oil palm are the important oil yielding crops,arecanut, rubber, and cashew are the commercial cash crops while coffee, cocoa and tea are popular as major beverage crops. Diseases are one of the major production constraints in these crops causing annually on an average up to 10 to 15 % loss. Since most of these crops are being grown in humid tropics, the diseases like bud rot and fruit rot in coconut, arecanut, cocoa, and oil palm caused by Phytophthora are major problems. Though significant work has been done on the disease of these crops over the years, information on the diseases of these crops are scattered in books of individual crops. Very few books are available compiling the information on the diseases of all these crops together. Though the pathogens causing diseases in each crop are different, the difficulties faced in the diagnosis and management of diseases in these crops are more or less similar. The purpose of this compendium is to compile in brief the information available on the major disease of these crops which will be used as a ready reckoner to know the diseases affecting these crops, their distribution, diagnostic symptoms, causal organism and management strategies. The compendium consists of eight chapters, each one pertaining to a particular plantation crop. The sequence of the chapters is based on the three main categories namely oil yielding crops (coconut and oil palm), cash crops (arecanut, rubber and cashew), and beverage crops (cocoa, coffee and tea). The symptoms are explained with photographs for major diseases and for certain minor diseases only brief information is provided. The diseases which are important in the Indian subcontinent are explained in detail where as other diseases are given in brief. The information is compiled from all the available literature, however, only selected references are cited in the chapters. The chapters are contributed by the plant pathology scientists who are presently working or had worked on diseases of these crops. We are grateful to all the contributors for providing valuable informations and good photographs on diseases of plantation crops caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes which will be useful for scientists working on these crops as ready reference. Some of the diseases listed are well known for many years and certain minor diseases are emerging as major diseases. The management practices recommended are also refined over the years based on changing disease scenarios, climatic and socio-economic systems, and advancements in technologies. Hence the publication of this type needs a necessary revision from time to time to update with the latest technologies and research findings.

Contents

I. Oil yielding Plantation Crops

1. Coconut Diseases - Vinayaka Hegde, Prathibha VH, Merin Babu, Daliyamol and Rajkumar (3-22)
2. Oil Palm diseases - Amrutha Lakshmi, M. (23-39)

II. Commercial Crops/cash crops

1. Arecanut Diseases - R. Thava Prakasa Pandian, Chaithra, M. and Vinayaka Hegde (41-53)
2. Rubber Diseases - C. Bindu Roy and Limiya Joseph (54-68)
3. Cashew diseases - H. Rajashekara., K. Vanitha., S. Siddanna., T.N.R. Raviprasad (69-77)

III. Beverage Crops

1. Coffee Disease - Sudha M., Madhu S. Giri, Santoshreddy Machenahalli, Ranjini A.P., Daivasikamani S. and Surya Prakash Rao N. (79-98)
2. Cocoa Diseases - Chaithra M., Pandian, R.T.P., Vinayaka Hegde and Thube, S.H. (99-115)
3. Tea Diseases - B.N. Chakraborty and Usha Chakraborty (116-139)