Mechanism of Prevention and Control of Medicinal Plant-Associated Diseases

Abstract

The medicinal plants play a crucial role in our daily life. Globally, over three quarters of the world population relies mainly on plants and plant extracts for health care. These medicinal plants are considered as rich resources of ingredients which can be used in drug development and synthesis. They have a promising future because there are about half million plants around the world, and most of their medical activities have not been investigated yet and could be decisive in the treatment of present or future studies. There are various diseases including damping-off diseases, root and foot rots, vascular wilts, downy mildews, powdery mildews, leaf spots and blights, rusts, smuts, anthracnose, galls, dieback, and postharvest diseases that affect the medicinal plants. Plant diseases need to be controlled to maintain the quality and abundance of food, feed, and fiber produced by growers around the world. Different approaches may be used to prevent, mitigate, or control plant diseases. The use of pesticides has contributed significantly to the spectacular improvements in crop productivity and quality over the past 100 years. However, the environmental pollution caused by excessive use and misuse of agrochemicals has led to considerable changes in people’s attitudes towards the use of pesticides in agriculture. Keeping in view of the above facts, this chapter includes the mechanism of prevention and controls of medicinal plants related to diseases so that we could save the medicinal plants for future uses.