Modern approach to pathology and plant protection

The student renews fundamental epidemiological knowledge of plant diseases and pests, familiarizes themselves with the basics of microbe-plant interactions, the diversity of pathogens, and the importance of the microbiome, and learns about the applicability of new pathogen detection methods and novel plant protection approaches.

Basic knowledge of viticulture, plant pathology, plant protection, plant physiology.

Overview of plant pest and disease epidemiology with focus on plant pathogenic microbes. Definitions and terminology.

The relationship between disease development, pests/pathogens, and environmental conditions.

Interactions between plants and pathogens.

Microbiomes and their role in plant health.

Monitoring and detection of disease-causing agents: * Advanced methods for detecting and monitoring plant health in the field; * Molecular diagnostics of plant diseases with an emphasis on high-throughput sequencing - a method for identifying new and emerging pathogens.

Biotechnological approaches in plant protection: e.g., use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), CRISPR/Cas9 technology to enhance plant resistance to diseases.

Biological control in plant protection: introduction of natural enemies, bacteriophages, cross-protection of plants, itd.

Other modern approaches in a comprehensive strategy for plant protection (within the concept of integrated plant disease management).

Knowledge and understanding:
Students will learn how to plan and perform experiments for studies of association between plants, environment and disease/pest. They will learn how to interpret the results and use the data for successful plant protection management.

Transferable skills:
The students can use knowledge obtained during the course of this subject, in combination with gained professional skills in viticulture, analyze, investigate and successfully resolve individual cases in practice

Basic:

• Oliver, R. (Ed.). (2024). Agrios' Plant Pathology (6th ed.). eBook ISBN: 9780323851350 Catalogue, 5th ed.
• Lucas, J. A. (2020). Plant Pathology and Plant Pathogens (4th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1-118-89385-2 E-version

Additional:

• Ul Haq, I., & Ijaz, S. (Eds.). (2020). Plant Disease Management Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture through Traditional and Modern Approaches. Springer. E-version
• additional study material will be available from specialized literature

Active participation in the course (10%), Evaluation of homework (20%), Seminar paper (written part and oral presentation) (20%), Exam covering the lecture material (50%)

Nosilka predmeta je kot izredna profesorica dopolnilno zaposlena na Univerzi v Novi Gorici, redno pa je zaposlena na Nacionalnem inštitutu za biologijo kot strokovno-raziskovalna svetnica kjer vodi laboratorj za določanje virusov, viroidov in fitoplazem (laboratorij je del nacionalnega in EU referenčnega laboratorija). Ima dolgoletne praktične in teoretične izkušnje s področja patologije in varstva rastlin.
Njene reference in strokovno raziskovalna dejavnost so razvidne na tej povezavi (povezava: https://bib.cobiss.net/biblioweb/biblio/si/slv/conor/6545251 )