Great strides were made in mathematics, astronomy, biology and other sciences in Ancient India. As a component of biology, plant pathology enjoyed a prestigious position and its applied aspect, plant disease management was an integral part of agroecosystem management. In due course, a long dark era following Mahabharat buried all the advancements. Subsequently, the modern plant pathology was borne in the land of Swastika, Germany. It was nurtured by doyens like Kuhn, de Bary, Brown, Gaumann, Malhus, Jones, Walker, Stakman and others.

The discipline flourished and achieved the desired amalgam (an expression by the great Indian plant pathologist. Dr. D. N. Srivastava) in the west but trailed behind in the developing world. The developing countries including ours are now passing through a rapid transition. To meet the challenges posed by modern agriculture as well as to fill the gap in our knowledge of modern plant pathology, curricular changes have been introduced in many agricultural universities. These changes have not rendered the desired results mainly for want of proper textbooks. The plant pathological texts produced in the west are too advanced to meet requirements of our undergraduates. These are either more specialized or more detailed than seems necessary for a grounding in the subject. Our book is an attempt to fill the gap.

We have aimed to provide a simple covers of the basics and relevant probe into the physiological, cellular and molecular plant pathology. Besides, we have attempted to briefly describe the most relevant plant diseases. To make the book more useful for the students, a glossary of terms has been provided.