NB: This is a BIOLOGY (SEPARATES) ONLY lesson

More about plant diseases lesson created in accordance to the NEW AQA Specification (9-1). Includes: slide animations, embedded videos, differentiated questions, answers have also been included within the slides. This resource is NOT suitable for combined science students.

AQA spec link: 4.3.3.1
Relevant chapter: B5-Communicable diseases . AQA Biology third edition textbook-Page 92-93.

Plant diseases can be detected by:
• stunted growth
• spots on leaves
• areas of decay (rot)
• growths
• malformed stems or leaves
• discolouration
• the presence of pests.
Identification can be made by: • reference to a gardening manual • taking infected plants to a laboratory to identify the pathogen • using testing kits that contain monoclonal antibodies.
Plants can be infected by a range of viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens as well as by insects. Knowledge of plant diseases is restricted to tobacco mosaic virus as a viral disease, black spot as a fungal disease, and aphids as insects.
Plants can be damaged by a range of ion deficiency conditions:
• stunted growth caused by nitrate deficiency
• chlorosis caused by magnesium deficiency.
Knowledge of ions is limited to nitrate ions needed for protein synthesis and therefore growth and magnesium ions needed to make chlorophyll.