Plant pathology

[2] In most plant pathosystems, virulence depends on hydrolases and enzymes that degrade the cell wall.

Abiotic causes include natural processes such as drought, frost, snow and hail; flooding and poor drainage; nutrient deficiency; deposition of mineral salts such as sodium chloride and gypsum; windburn and breakage by storms; and wildfires.

These pathways are influenced and triggered by genes within the host plant and can manipulated by genetic breeding to create resistant varieties.

[13] Ancient methods of leaf examination and breaking open plant material by hand are now augmented by newer technologies.

These include molecular pathology assays such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), RT-PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).