Plant pathology in the context of "Injury in plants"

Viticulture (Latin: vitis cultura, "vine-growing"), viniculture (vinis cultura, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of Vitis vinifera, the common grape vine, ranges from Western Europe to the Persian shores of the Caspian Sea, the vine has demonstrated high levels of adaptability to new environments, hence viticulture can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

The duties of a viticulturist include monitoring and controlling pests and diseases, fertilizing, irrigation, canopy management, monitoring fruit development and characteristics, deciding when to harvest, and vine pruning during the winter months. Viticulturists are often intimately involved with winemakers, because vineyard management and the resulting grape characteristics provide the basis from which winemaking can begin. A great number of varieties are now approved in the European Union as true grapes for winegrowing and viticulture.

Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 1831 – 19 January 1888) was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist (fungal systematics and physiology).He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the founder of modern mycology. His extensive and careful studies of the life history of fungi and contribution to the understanding of algae and higher plants established landmarks in biology.

Antagonism (in phytopathology) occurs when one organism inhibits or slows down the growth of a plant disease-causing organism, such as harmful bacteria or fungi. Most plants can host a variety of pathogens and are often infected by multiple species simultaneously. In ecology, species competing for the same resource can influence each other in two ways: antagonism, where one pathogen harms another, and synergism, where one pathogen supports the growth of another.

Antagonism is often employed as a natural method to protect plants from diseases. This can occur through mechanism such as competition for space and nutrients, the production of toxins or siderophores by one pathogen to suppress another, induction of host resistance, or other processes that inhibit the growth or reproduction of pathogens, as demonstrated in the Ascochyta blight complex on peas.

There are numerous effects of climate change on agriculture, many of which are making it harder for agricultural activities to provide global food security. Recent research has found that climate change is likely to exacerbate the existing environmental impacts of agriculture by lowering crop productivity, reducing the effectiveness of agrochemicals, increasing soil erosion and pest pressures, and thereby driving greater use of land, water and inputs.Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns often result in lower crop yields due to water scarcity caused by drought, heat waves and flooding. These effects of climate change can also increase the risk of several regions suffering simultaneous crop failures. Currently this risk is rare but if these simultaneous crop failures occur, they could have significant consequences for the global food supply. With a growing population and rapid urbanization, it is suggested that food production may increase by nearly 60% in the upcoming years. Verma, Krishnan (13 August 2024). "Climate change adaptation: Challenges for agricultural sustainability". Wiley. Wiley. Retrieved 30 October 2025.. Many pests and plant diseases are expected to become more prevalent or to spread to new regions. The world's livestock are expected to be affected by many of the same issues. These issues range from greater heat stress to animal feed shortfalls and the spread of parasites and vector-borne diseases.

The increased atmospheric CO₂ level from human activities (mainly burning of fossil fuels) causes a CO₂ fertilization effect. This effect offsets a small portion of the detrimental effects of climate change on agriculture. However, it comes at the expense of lower levels of essential micronutrients in the crops. Furthermore, CO₂ fertilization has little effect on C4 crops like maize. On the coasts, some agricultural land is expected to be lost to sea level rise, while melting glaciers could result in less irrigation water being available. On the other hand, more arable land may become available as frozen land thaws. Other effects include erosion and changes in soil fertility and the length of growing seasons. Bacteria like Salmonella and fungi that produce mycotoxins grow faster as the climate warms. Their growth has negative effects on food safety, food loss and prices.

Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants. Not included are ectoparasites like insects, mites, vertebrates, or other pests that affect plant health by eating plant tissues and causing injury that may admit plant pathogens. The study of plant disease is called plant pathology.

Pruning is the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots.It is practiced in horticulture (especially fruit tree pruning), arboriculture, and silviculture.

The practice entails the targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted plant material from crop and landscape plants. In general, the smaller the branch that is cut, the easier it is for a woody plant to compartmentalize the wound and thus limit the potential for pathogen intrusion and decay. It is therefore preferable to make any necessary formative structural pruning cuts to young plants, rather than removing large, poorly placed branches from mature plants.