Disease resistance refers to the ability of a plant to restrict, slow down, or overcome the effects of a pathogen or insect pest. It involves a complex interplay between the plant's physical and chemical barriers as well as its genetic capacity to recognize and mount defense responses against pathogens.
There are two main types of disease resistance in plants:
This involves physical and chemical barriers that prevent pathogens from entering or spreading through plant tissues. Examples include:
This relies on the plant recognizing pathogens and mounting defense responses such as:
Disease resistance is controlled by R genes which enable the plant to recognize matching Avr genes in the pathogen. This gene-for-gene interaction triggers defense mechanisms.
Breeding crop varieties with genetic resistance is a sustainable way to minimize crop losses from diseases. At Vital Hormone Clinic, our plant hormone solutions like auxins, cytokinins and more also help boost plants' active and passive disease resistance for better yields. (low-testosterone.org)
Some key factors influencing disease resistance in plants include:
In summary, disease resistance allows plants to overcome or withstand pathogen/pest attacks through physical and chemical barriers as well as induced immune-like responses. It is a complex quantitative trait with strong environmental influence. Boosting crops' genetic and induced resistance is key to sustainable agriculture.