Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Diseases: Diagnosis and Management

The medicinal and curative properties are due to the presence of complex chemical substances of varied composition in the form of secondary metabolites in one or more parts of medicinal and aromatic plants. The yielded metabolites are grouped as alkaloids, glycosides, corticosteroids, essential oils, etc. Even today, the maximum reliance of drug plants depends upon the raw material on the plant wealth for utilization in the pharmaceuticals, perfumery, cosmetics and other related industries. With progress in the cultivation of these plants on large scale, the outbreak of diseases is obvious and hence there is need to understand the different aspects of the diseases of fungal, bacterial and viral origin for full investigation and successful control. Various diseases have been reported both from nursery and plantations. It is thought worthwhile to compile the work as well as put forth own work on these crops for wide use. The compilation of scattered records on diseases, etiology and control measures of medicinal and aromatic plants need to be grouped in one for mass dissemination of the information pertaining to diseases with suitable control measures for the large benefit of the far