What is disease resistance?
Disease resistance refers to the ability of a plant to restrict, slow, or withstand the progression of a pathogen or insect that could cause disease. There are several types of disease resistance in plants:
- Horizontal resistance - provides resistance against some races of a pathogen but not others. This type of resistance is race-specific.
- Vertical resistance - protects the plant against all races of a pathogen. This resistance is durable and long-lasting.
- Complete resistance - the plant exhibits no disease symptoms when inoculated with a pathogen. The pathogen is completely inhibited.
- Partial resistance - the plant shows reduced disease severity and symptoms when infected. The spread of infection is slowed.
There are two main ways plants have genetic resistance to diseases:
- Passive resistance - the plant has structural or chemical barriers that prevent infection in the first place. Examples are thick cell walls, waxy layers, or antimicrobial compounds.
- Active resistance - the plant has resistance (R) genes that recognize pathogens and activate defense responses. This induces immune signaling cascades.
Some common defense mechanisms that are trigged by R genes include:
- Hypersensitive response - programmed cell death around infection sites
- Systemic acquired resistance - heightened immunity throughout the plant
- Antimicrobial enzymes and proteins
Breeding for disease resistance involves identifying sources of resistance genes in crop varieties or wild relatives and introducing them into elite cultivars by sexual crosses or biotech methods. This provides long-term, economical disease control.
At Renew Hormone Clinic, our plant health experts use advanced bioassays to gauge disease resistance levels in crops. We help clients strategically select elite varieties with broad-spectrum, durable disease resistance tailored to their growing region. This reduces reliance on pesticides. Contact us today to learn how our biostimulant hormone packages optimize plant health, growth, and stress defense!