Introduction to Plant Disease Epidemiology

Plant disease epidemiology is the study of the temporal and spatial changes that occur during epidemics of plant disease. Introduction to Plant Disease Epidemiology describes the principles and methods of monitoring and analyzing epidemics of plant diseases and examines possible applications of epidemiological knowledge. Monitoring epidemics is presented from the perspectives of the host, pathogen, environment, and the resulting disease. Introduction to Plant Disease Epidemiology describes how to analyze disease progress in time and spread in space, and compares the most commonly used approaches to the analysis. It examines applications of epidemiological data and models, focusing in particular on sampling, crops loss assessment, and disease forecasting. Considerable progress has been made in the study of plant epidemiology over the last 30 years. As knowledge has increased, so has the sophistication of analysis and synthesis, and today a wide range of models and analytical techniques are available to the epidemiologist. In fact, the array of methodologies can be overwhelming. With that in mind, the authors of Introduction of Plant Disease-Epidemiology survey the discipline of plant disease epidemiology in a way that is simple, understandable, complete, and dynamic enough to excite and challenge the reader. Much of the practice of modern plant disease management is based on the principles of plant disease epidemiology. Furthermore, epidemiologists as well as population scientists are well situated to study the release of genetically engineered organisms. Therefore, it is imperative for plant pathologists to understand principles and methods used in this quantitative field. This book provides the foundation for those interested in starting a career in plant disease epidemiology or simply trying to understand the work of the epidemiologist.C. Lee Campbell is the author of 'Introduction to Plant Disease Epidemiology', published 1990 under ISBN 9780471832362 and ISBN 0471832367.