Disease resistance - Equilibrium Hormone Center

Disease Resistance

Disease resistance refers to the ability of a plant to limit or withstand the infection and spread of pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes that cause disease. There are two main types of disease resistance in plants:

• Passive Resistance involves physical or chemical barriers that prevent infection in the first place. Examples include waxy layers on leaves, bark on tree trunks, or antimicrobial compounds that inhibit pathogen growth. These barriers are always present and do not require activation.
• Active Resistance involves immune responses triggered by the plant after it recognizes a specific pathogen. This resistance is more targeted and may involve a (trtonline.org) to isolate the infection, as well as enzymatic pathways to strengthen cell walls or produce antimicrobials at the infection site. Active resistance requires the plant to expend energy and resources to activate defenses.

Some key points about disease resistance in plants:

• Resistance is controlled by specific (trtonline.org) which recognize matching pathogen proteins. This gene-for-gene interaction triggers defense mechanisms.
• Resistant varieties carry R genes for specific diseases. Multiple R genes provide resistance to multiple pathogens. However, resistance to one strain does not confer universal resistance to all strains of that pathogen.
• Using resistant varieties prevents crop losses and reduces dependence on chemical pesticides for disease control. This is economically and environmentally beneficial.
• Pathogens can evolve to overcome resistance over time. Therefore, plant breeders must continually develop new resistant varieties.
• Cropping system diversity also helps slow pathogen adaptation. Rotating different resistant varieties over seasons limits pathogen populations from adapting to a specific R gene.

So in summary, disease resistance utilizes a multitude of physical, chemical and genetic plant defenses to limit pathogen infection and reproduction. Deploying resistant crop varieties is a pillar of integrated disease management programs and sustainable agriculture.