Unit PRINCIPLES OF CROP PROTECTION
- Course
- Economics and culture of human nutrition
- Study-unit Code
- 80021504
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Mara Quaglia
- Teachers
-
- Mara Quaglia
- Hours
- 54 ore - Mara Quaglia
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2020
- Offered
- 2022/23
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Discipline della sicurezza e della valutazione degli alimenti
- Academic discipline
- AGR/12
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Concept of disease and diseases classification. Symptoms. General aspects and infectious process of phytopatogens. Diagnostic. Defense means and strategy in pre- and post-harvest. The diseases of major food crops and major alterations in post-harvest. Risk associated with the presence of mycotoxins and pesticide residues in food.
- Reference texts
- 1. Teacher material provided through the UNISTUDIUM platform.
2. Bianco P.A., Bonanomi G., Brunelli A. et al., 2021. Patologia vegetale. EdiSES Universitaria, 496 pp.
3. Matta A., Buonaurio R., Scala A., 2017. Fondamentì di Patologia vegetale. Patron Editore, Bologna, 490 pp.
2. Belli Giuseppe, 2007. Elementi di Patologia vegetale. Piccin Nuova Libraria, Padova, 407 pp.
5. Agrios G.N., 2005. Plant Pathology (Fifth Edition). Elsevier Academic Press, 922 pp. - Educational objectives
- At the end of the course, the student must have a complete view of the problems concerning yield losses and the reduction of the quality and safety of the vegetable products caused, in pre- and/or post-harvest, by phytopathogenic agents. Furthermore, the student must be capable of implementing measures to guarantee food safety, quality and healthiness in the production chains.
With this aims, the course will provide the student with the following theoretical and practical notions:
1. plant diseases caused by fungi, oomycetes, bacteria and viruses and post-harvest alterations of foodstuffs, with particular attention to problems relating to the contamination by mycotoxins and residues of pesticides and to the economic and social impact of plant diseases;
2. phytopathological diagnostics;
3. defense of food crops and foodstaff by phytopathogens;
4. strategies to improve and guarantee the safety and security of food products.
At the end of the course, the main knowledge gained will be:
1. Economic and social consequences of plant diseases.
2. Preparatory concepts: disease, pathogenicity, virulence, susceptibility, resistance, parasite, pathogen, biotrophic pathogens, necrotrophic pathogens, symptoms.
3. Main phytopathogenic entities (fungi, oomycetes, bacteria and viruses) of food crops and foodstaff in pre- and post-harvest.
4. Principles of plant disease diagnostics.
5. Constitutive- and Induced- Resistance to plant pathogens.
6. Mycotoxins in food: main mycotoxigenic fungi and related mycotoxins in food crops and foodstaff and related decontamination and detoxification methods.
7. Means and defense strategies of plants and plant products from plant pathogens and related problems of pesticide residues in plant products and their derivatives. Elements of health legislation.
8. Main diseases of important food crops, in pre- and/or post-harvest, caused by fungi, oomycets, bacteria and viruses: symptomatology, epidemiology, biological cycle, economic losses and defense.
The main skills will be:
- Being able to recognize and describe signs and symptoms caused by plant pathogens on plants or plant products
- Being able to estimate disease incidence and severity
- Being able to recognize the main genera of phytopathogenic oomycetes and fungi by the use of stereo- and optical- microscope.
- Being able to formulate and test a diagnostics hypothesis through the application of Koch's postulates (isolation of plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria from infected plant material, inoculation of fungi, oomycetes, bacteria and viruses on plants and / or plant products ), serological (ELISA test and lateral-flow) and molecular (PCR) methods.
- Being able to perform a refrigerated blotter to check contamination by mycotoxigenic fungi on seeds and kernels.
- Being able to draw up a plan of defense. - Prerequisites
- In order to understand the mechanisms by which phytopathogens alter plants and plants products (fruits, seeds), causing yield reduction and quality decline, it is strongly recommended to have passed the examinations of "Plant Biology and Applied Botany "and" Supply and quality of plant products”. Moreover, to have a facilitated approach towards molecular methods for the diagnosis of plant diseases and identification of the phytopathogesn, it is strongly recommended to have passed the exam of “Biotechnology and alimentation.” A good knowledge of English is very helpful to deepen, with the reading of texts and articles of the international scientific literature, the topics covered in class.
- Teaching methods
- The course includes lectures (46 h) and exercises (8 h)
The lectures will cover all the topics of the course, described in the program.
The exercises, designed to complete and make tangible the main topics of the lectures, will be held in the classroom, appropriately equipped, and will include the following activities:
- Observation and description of symptoms and signs on infected plant samples
- Estimate the incidence and severity of a disease through the development of arbitrary scales of reference or by the use of specific software
- Use the stereo-and the optical- microscope for observing structures of plant pathogenic fungi and oomycets
- Isolation of plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria from infected plant material
- Pathogenicity tests by inoculation of fruits / plants with plant pathogenic fungi or bacteria
- Refrigerated blotter for detection of contamination by mycotoxigenic fungi in seeds and kernels
- Double colture assay for in vitro test of biocontrol agent activity against phytopathogens
- Reading and discussion of papers taken from international phytopathological bibliography - Other information
- For the classroom and the hour of lessons consult the web site http://dsa3.unipg.it/it/orario-delle-lezioni.
It is strongly reccommended to attend the lessons. - Learning verification modality
- Final oral test of about 30 minutes, which consists of an open stimulus- conversation for ascertain the level of knowledge of the all the topics of the course. To understand the level of acquisition of specific terminology, the oral examination begins with the description of: - symptoms on a sample (real or photograph) of a plant or plant products infected with a phytopathogen and / or - structures of phytopathogens.
Only in the pre-appeal of December, the oral test can be replaced by a written test of about 1 hours, composed of open questions and multiple choice questions, which overall follows the scheme proposed for the oral exam. - Extended program
- 1. Introduction to teaching.
2. Economic and social consequences of diseases and disorders of plant and stored plant product.
3. Definition of disease, pathogenicity, virulence, susceptibility, resistance, parasite, pathogen.
4. Ecological relationships between organisms and symbiosis. Antagonistic symbiosis. Trophic relationships between plant and parasite. Biotrophs and necrotrophs. Major biotic and abiotic agents of disease and disorder.
5. Description and observation of the main symptoms and signs observed on diseased plants. Estimation of disease incidence and severity thorough the development of arbitrary scales or the use of specific software.
6. Principles of plant disease diagnostics. Isolation of pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Techniques for inoculation of viruses, bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi. ELISA and lateral flow tests for the detection of contamination by micotoxins in plant material. Refrigerated blotter for the analysis of seed.
7. General concepts, classification, infectious process and modes of transmission of the main phytopathogenic agents: fungi, oomycetes, phytopathogenic bacteria and phytoviruses. Use of stereo- and light- microscope for observation of fungal structures.
8. Pathogenicity and virulence of phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria.
9. Plant resistance to pathogenes: morphological- and chemical-, pre- and post-infectional mechanisms of plant resistance to pathogens; hypersensitivity reaction; race-specific and race non-specific resistance and tolerance; gene for gene hypothesis of Flor.
10. Issues relating to mycotoxins in food: main mycotoxigenic fungakl genera (Alternaria, Aspergillus, Claviceps, Cladopsorium, Fusarium, Penicillium) and related principali mycotoxins (Aflatoxin, Alcalods, Altertoxins, Fumonisin, Ochratoxins, Patulin, Trichotechenes, Zearalenone, Emerging mycotoxins).
11. Means and strategies of plant defense against phytopathogens.
12. Risks associated with residues of pesticide in food.
13. Principle of plant health legislation: plant defence in integarted and organic farming.
14. Diseases of major crops and major alterations of post-harvest food caused by fungi, oomycetes and bacteria: symptoms, epidemiology, life cycle, economic consequence and defense.