Increasingly, diseases are being identified as major constraints to the productivity and persistence of improved tropical pastures. This book provides a comprehensive review of diseases of tropical pasture legumes and grasses. After an introductory chapter, nine chapters review the main fungal, bacterial and mycoplasma diseases and a further two consider viral and nematode diseases of legumes and grasses such as Stylosanthes, Centrosema, Desmodium, Leucaena and Andropogon. Five chapters then describe regional experience in Australia, the Southern USA and Caribbean, Central and South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and Africa. The final part of the book covers general management of diseases, mlecular techniques for characterization and diagnosis of pathogens, and international cooperation and future research. The book represents a comprehensive, fully referenced sourcebook for plant pathologists and pasture agronomists.
