DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN PROCEDURE FOR DISEASE ASSESSMENT TO MEASURE THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF PATHOGENS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65463/RJPS.26Keywords:
Pathogens, growth parameters, disease assessment, tomato crops, petri-plates, viability of seedsAbstract
Pathogens inclusion in tomato plants have been reported earlier; however, many farmers remain ignorant to modern techniques
for disease evaluation and its impact on plant health due to limited awareness to updated knowledge and instrumentation. This
study aims to elaborate on modern methods as compared to traditional procedure used by farmers for disease evaluation and its
progression. Observations marked negative effects on key growth parameters, including shoot length, number of leaves, shoot
fresh weight, and shoot dry weight, in infected plants in comparison with healthy plants. Disease incidence (DI) and disease
severity (DS) were evaluated by reported scales. The results indicated the gradual increase 35% to 75% in DI and 0.4 to 3.9 in DS
scores between 40 and 75 days in tomato plants. The findings highlight the significance of disease evaluation technique and
suggest the need for improved training and modern tools for disease assessment. This research provides a foundation for
development of modern procedure for disease assessment to measure the harmful effects of pathogens on tomato crop
productivity.
