Why Plant Pathology Is Newsworthy
 

No one doubts the significant impact that modern medicine (particularly antibiotics) has had in fighting disease and prolonging our life span. Yet few are aware of the vital role that plant pathology has played, and continues to play, in feeding our growing population and maintaining the health of the plants that sustain us.

Like human diseases, plant diseases have often shaped the course of history. Consider the fact that had plant pathology been at its current stage of sophistication, thousands of people would have been saved from starvation when, in the 1840s, potato late blight disease devastated the potato harvests and led to the Irish potato famine.
 

Even today, we often stand at the precipice of disaster. Plant diseases such as soybean rust, citrus canker and citrus greening, and stem rust of wheat, pose a definite threat to the agriculture industry. Read our fact sheets for more on recent hot topics in plant pathology.

Plant health scientists are also on the front line of the battle to find methods of food production that don't jeopardize human health or the environment. Because of the important role plant pathologists play in modern science and agriculture, the APS Office of Public Relations and Outreach (OPRO) was developed in order to educate the public on matters related to plant health, plant diseases, and associated microorganisms, and to strengthen advocacy for science-based public policy. One of the principle activities of the OPRO is to keep the media informed of important issues and ongoing activities in the plant health field.

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