Objective 1.

To study about the collection and preservation of plant

diseased specimens.
Collection of botanical material involves two activities-gathering the specimens and
recording the information. Even if you have a relatively good knowledge of the local flora,
you may not be able to accurately identify all plants in the field. During vegetation sampling,
collect representative specimens of all species that are important to meet your collection
needs (except for known rare and endangered specimens, which can be photographically
recorded). These specimens will later be used to confirm identification and provide a
permanent record for future reference. Your collection may also represent a range extension
or contribute to the knowledge of a plant’s taxonomic or natural history. It may also show the
‘‘plasticity’’ or variations possible under different habitat conditions. Be sure to record
accurate and consistent habitat information when collecting the specimens-it is generally
difficult to remember and accurately record it later. A good-quality plant collection requires
considerable advance preparation and a lot of effort. Since you may have only one chance to
collect in a particular area, ensure that all details are followed carefully.

COLLECTING YOUR PLANT DISEASE SPECIMENS

In this project you will make a collection of plant disease specimens. Remember that
you are really collecting the symptom of the plant disease. You will also learn the common
names of the plant diseases you collect.
A. Identifying the plant disease specimens you collect.
You will not be able to find the entire plant diseases described in any one book. Therefore,
you and your 4-H leader will have to get books and pamphlets from your county extension
office and from libraries. Your 4-H leader has a list of many of these books and pamphlets.
B. Field trips to collect specimens.
The members of your 4-H Club and your leader will want to plan and go on several field trips
to look for and collect plant disease specimens. If you make some of the trips in the spring,
some in summer, and some in the fall, your collection will be larger and have more variety.
You will want to 'take the following things with you to protect and carry the specimens you
collect:
(1) A catalog or a discarded telephone book for the leaf specimens.
(2) A small box for other specimens.

Be sure to carry your things carefully so you won't damage your specimens.

You may also want to help your parents to become interested in this project. They could then
help you with your collection when you go on a drive or trip.

C. Preserving your specimens.

Plant disease specimens can be preserved in several ways, the particular method varies with
the type of specimen at hand. Use dry methods when possible. Some specimens require a
liquid preservative; the specimen is stored in the liquid in a sealed jar.
Flat material such as leaves and thin stems may be dried and fastened to sheets of heavy
paper. Cellulose tape makes a good fastener.

Dry specimens before mounting by placing between blotters, several sheets of newspaper, or
pieces of corrugated paper board alternated with several sheets of newspaper. Press leaves or
stems between the layers and keep in a warm place to dry. Dry in 1 or 2 days to prevent
molding of the specimens.

Thick specimens that can be dried by exposure to air or with some heat may be placed in
small boxes. Sometimes these specimens may be glued to the bottom of the box or· glued to a
card which is placed in a box. Both flat and thick dry specimens can be mounted behind
transparent film or glass. For thick specimens cotton or other soft material may be used in a
box with the transparent material for a cover. Similar ready made mounts are available
commercially, in the NASCO Catalog in your county agent's office, under the trade name,
"Riker Mounts". These ready made mounts could get expensive if you use a number of them.
Therefore you might prefer to make your own.

Soft, gelatenous, or fleshy plant materials such as fruits, roots, or cedar- apple rust galls with
gelatenous tendrils, must generally be preserved in a solution in a sealed jar.

The formula for a good preservative solution is:

1. Water 8 cups
2. Formaldehyde (40 percent)
3. Ethyl alcohol (95 percent)

For smaller amounts of the solution, cut this formula by one-half. All mounted or preserved
specimens must be labelled with as much of the following information as possible:

Host (name of the diseased plant)

 Name of the disease
 Parasite (the name of the organism causing the disease)
 Place where collected (nearest town and state is usually sufficient)
 Date collected
 Name of the collector
Insects or rodents sometimes damage an important plant collection during storage. This can
usually be prevented by placing some moth crystals with the collection.

You can use a great deal of individual ingenuity in preserving and mounting specimens. Flat
boxes made of cardboard or thin wood with plastic windows make good containers similar to
"Riker Mounts." If made uniformly, they can give a distinctive style to a collection.
Uniformity of size of mounting materials helps when collections are to be packed for moving.
Also keep in mind that preserved plant materials often become brittle and may be damaged
during handling or transporting. Select mounting materials and methods that will protect
specimens from damage.

DESCRIPTIONS OF COMMON PLANT DISEASE SYMPTOMS

Here is a list and short description of some fairly common and easy to see plant disease
symptoms that make good specimens for your collection. Study these before you go on your
field trips and you will have a start on what to look for.

1. Cedar-apple rust: - Brown, hard galls up to 2 inches in diameter on twigs of eastern

red cedar. Present in fall and spring. Also leaf and fruit spots on apple during middle
and late summer. See Plant Pathology Fact Sheet No. 4, "Cedar-Apple Rust. "
2. Corn smut: - Galls on leaves, stems, tassels, or ears of corn plants. Silvery white at
first, and later becoming dark brown inside. Vary in size up to several inches in
diameter. Small specimens may be preserved by drying.
3. Stalk rot of corn: - You can find specimens by inspecting corn stalks during the fall.
Lodged stalks are more likely to be rotted. Cut stalks open by splitting lengthwise.
Select specimens that show severe rotting and discoloration; those showing pink or
red discoloration are especially de sir able.
4. Apple scab: - First evident in late spring and early summer as a black, sooty growth
on apple leaves. Usually shows up first on the bottom side of leaves. Spots often
become more distinct later in the summer and areas may become yellow around the
spots. Infected apple fruit has large brown spots that usually crack open.
5. Black leaf spot of rose’s distinct black spots on leaves of rose bushes.
6. Rose rust: - Spots on rose leaves, buds, and [Link] green stems which put out yellow
spores in the late spring and early summer. During the fall the rust goes into the
winter stage in the form of a thick, black crust on the infected part of the plant with
leaf spotting fungi or bacteria. Many infected leaves make good specimens. Select
distinct specimens so that they can be identified.
7. Powdery mildew: - This type of leaf spot affects many plants. The disease occurs as
a silvery white area on leaves and may cover the entire leaf. It is especially common
during the last half of the summer and can usually be found on leaves of lilac bushes.
Grass on the north side of buildings or other shaded places are also commonly
infected.
8. Smuts of cereal grains: - These diseases affect the heads of wheat, oats, barley, and
many other plants of the grass family including some grass weeds such as foxtail.
9. Downy mildew of grapes: - This fungus disease on leaves and fruit of grapes causes
yellowish spots up to Yz inch in diameter on the leaves. Grapes themselves are
sometimes covered with a white fuzzy material which is the mycelium and spores of
the downy mildew fungus.

BASIS FOR JUDGING YOUR COLLECTION

You will want to exhibit your collection of plant disease specimens at the county fair. The
minimum number of specimens for your exhibit is 9. Your exhibit will be judged on the
following factors.
1. Variation in types of specimens.
2. Use of several different methods of preserving.
3. Quality of specimens. (Do the specimens show distinct symptoms? Are the host plant
and disease symptom well preserved as to color and shape?)
 4. Accuracy and completeness of identification and other information.
(Avoid specimens that have vague symptoms or for other reasons are difficult to identify.)
5. General neatness.
6. Answers to questions on the project record.

Objective 2. To study about the Karnal Bunt and Ear Cockle disease of
Wheat.
Karnal bunt

Causal organism Neovossia indica

Symptoms
Symptoms of Karnal bunt are often difficult to distinguish in the field due to the fact that
incidence of infected kernels on a given head is low. There may be some spreading of the
glumesdue to sorus production but it is not as extensive as that observed with common bunt.
Symptoms are most readily detected on seed after harvest. The black sorus, containing dusty
spores is evident on part of the seed, commonly occurring along the groove. Heavily infected
seed is fragile and the pericarp ruptures easily. The foul, fishy odor associated with common
bunt is also found with karnal bunt. The odor is caused by the production of trimethylamine
by the fungus. Seed that is not extensively infected may germinate and produce healthy
plants.

Management

1. Use resistant varieties such as N-75-3 and N-75-5.

2. Use crop rotation.
3. Summer ploughing in the months of May-June.
4. Seed treatment through Carbendazim @0.2% or Carboxin @0.25%.
5. Foliar spray by fungicide, propiconazole (Tilt 25EC20.1%) should be given at the
time of anthesis as the disease is air borne.

Ear Cockle

Causal organism Clavibacter (Corynebacterium) tritici.

Symptoms
Symptoms appear on leaves, stems, and heads (floral organs). The affected plants look
dwarfed with twisted and crinkled leaves. Infected heads are shorter, broader, remain green
for longer period, and contain hard, dark-brown or black cockles (also called galls) replacing
grains in the ear partially or completely. The cockles remain filled with nematode larvae.
When they are soaked in water and then macerated, one can see larvae coming out from
them.

Management
1. Affected plants should be uprooted and burnt.
2. Healthy seeds should be selected and sown. Selection of healthy seeds from a cockle
contaminated lot can be made with the help of sieve. The latter retains normal seeds
and allows small cockles to pass through. Healthy seeds and cockles (galls) can be
better separated by immersing in water or normal salt solution (brine). The cockles
come up on the surface and can be collected and destroyed.
3. In nematode-infested fields, wheat cultivation should be replaced by barley and oats
to reduce soil inoculum. It happens so as the barley and oats are not infected by this
disease.
4. Early sown crops usually escape infection hence early sowing should be preferred.
5. Nematicides such as D-D Mixture (20-40 gallons/acre), Nemagon (1-2 gallons/acre),
Hexanema (10-20 kg/acre), and Nemaphos (10% granular; applied at the rate of 5-10
gallons/acre) have been tested to control disease. Nemaphos proved to be most
effective.
6. Varieties like Sonara 63, NP 908, and 227 are preferable against this disease as they
show certain degree of resistance.