Host
Mangoes are a commercial fruit crop of the cashew family (Anacardiaceae) which are an important crop in many countries including India, China, Pakistan, Mexico and Thailand. There are many species of mango, but the only one raised for commercial fruit production is Mangifera indica, as the fruit it bears is the most appealing and edible. Originally cultivated in India beginning more than 5,000 years ago, mangoes currently represent up to 50% of international fruit production. Mangoes are susceptible to a large variety of pathogens, including root rot, anthracnose, die back, and leaf spot, among others. However, one of the most prevalent and damaging diseases of this crop is powdery mildew of mango, caused by Oidium mangiferae; crop losses between 20 and 90 percent have been reported from various regions due to powdery mildew infections. Most mango cultivars in use today were released from 1949–1967, with continuous cultivation since that time. Long term cultivation may affect disease resistance, and very little breeding for resistant varieties has been undertaken; due to this, almost all cultivars show susceptibility to O. mangiferae and it is extremely widespread. The most popular variety of mango, the Tommy Atkins, was developed in the 1920s in Florida and is favored because of its long shelf life and anthracnose resistance, though it is still somewhat susceptible to powdery mildew and control strategies must still be enacted. Diseases of perennial crops such as mango are devastating due to the long time period to maturity for the plants, as a tree grown from seed will not produce fruit until it has reached three to six years of age. In contrast, the mango tree may live and produce fruit for several hundred years if it remains healthy and is well cared for. In addition, perennial crops can allow for build up of inoculum and widespread dispersal of pathogens such as powdery mildew because the host is present in all seasons and through multiple years.
Read more about this topic: Oidium Mangiferae
Famous quotes containing the word host:
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host...But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 14:8,10.
“Nothing is quite so wretchedly corrupt as an aristocracy which has lost its power but kept its wealth and which still has endless leisure to devote to nothing but banal enjoyments. All its great thoughts and passionate energy are things of the past, and nothing but a host of petty, gnawing vices now cling to it like worms to a corpse.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“Carlyle’s works, it is true, have not the stereotyped success which we call classic. They are a rich but inexpensive entertainment, at which we are not concerned lest the host has strained or impoverished himself to feed his guests. It is not the most lasting word, nor the loftiest wisdom, but rather the word which comes last.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)