A Message from the Plant Pathology Team

 

 
            Plant diseases are very important and can be a significant source of frustration and loss if not properly managed due to misdiagnosis. A diseased plant may exhibit a variety of symptoms, hence accurate diagnosis is important to enable effective management and control. Until a disease is properly diagnosed, it will be a waste of time and money trying to correct a problem with an unknown cause. Most often, we rely on the information from the internet when we encounter problems related to plant diseases. Unfortunately, disease descriptions are sometimes incomplete and/or limited to temperate/semi-temperate diseases and you need to make an intensive literature review to come up with a complete information on a particular disease of interest. The compilation of comprehensive and reliable information on important plant diseases in the Philippines that is readily available on-line is an alternative solution to address the need for quick and reliable diagnosis that will help or guide the user in making practical decisions to manage or control the particular disease. Aside from East-West Seed employees, the ultimate beneficiary of the Plant Doctor On-line will be the thousands or millions of farmers that need quick and reliable technical advice/support when it comes to identification, control and management of important diseases affecting their crops.