The fungus produces powerful alkaloids that can cause hallucinogens, so if it goes unnoticed when the grain is harvested it can contaminate the food products made from the grain. While the destruction of crops by disease had been noted throughout history, the Irish potato famine was the beginning of the science of plant pathology. That microorganisms existed and caused infectious disease was finally accepted as a result of studies to determine what caused this disease of potato. This was before the work of Pasteur on bacteria. These few examples show how plant diseases influenced our past.
Plant pathology is the study of the cause, nature and control of diseases of plants.
The same types of organisms, fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, that cause diseases in people and animals also cause diseases in plants. When a plant and pathogen are present together under the right environmental conditions a disease may result. If you have an interest in the biological sciences and wish to do something useful and practical in the future, then the field of plant pathology may be for you. Students in the undergraduate program in the Department of Plant Pathology work toward the BSA in Plant Protection and Pest Management, a program that provides you the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to break the disease triangle. The Department of Plant Pathology offers two scholarships a year.