‘PLANT DOCTOR’ AN INVALUABLE BOOK, Book Review by Dr.T. M Manjunath, Renowned Agricultural Expert

PLANT DOCTOR BOOK REVIEW
An invaluable ready-reckoner and a visual delight

‘PLANT DOCTOR’ authored by Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura is a monumental book. Beauty and brain is a formidable combination. This book is a beautiful confluence of both. Enormous information on the symptoms of a number of major plant diseases and pests as well as nutritional deficiencies along with suggestions for their remedial measures are embodied in this book.. A unique feature is that in its 305 pages, the book is embellished with over 920 colour photographs plus numerous charts and graphs. The photographs, mostly captured by the author himself, are outstanding and aesthetically displayed. A mere look at them along with crisp descriptions will enable the readers to recognize the diseases/pests. ‘Plant Doctor’ stimulates the mind and is a visual delight. As aptly mentioned by Dr. S. Ayyappan in his insightful ‘Foreword,’ “…the increasing number of farm stakeholders along with the farming community are the extension agencies, input dealers, farmer organizations, research institutes and universities, teachers and students, credit and bank agencies and so on, each attempting to address the stress agriculture from different angles. Scientific literature, relevant and helpful for health management, is being sought by these stakeholders for effective monitoring and control measures. There has emerged a dire need for comprehensible as also comprehensive field guides for plant disease identification and remediation, bereft of complex descriptions and narrow approaches towards health management. As if an answer to all the above contexts and concerns, here comes ‘Plant Doctor,’ presented by Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura….” I recommend that this book should be kept in every science library of the universities and research institutions to serve as a ready-reckoner for those engaged in teaching and practicing crop production and protection.

The book is divided into several major sections such as soil, manures and fertilizers, nutritional deficiencies (diagnosis and management), crop diseases (general symptoms caused by viruses, bacteria, oomycetes, fungi and seed borne diseases), crop pests (general classification based on taxonomy and mouth parts, symptoms of damage, diseases transmitted by insects, mites and nematodes), integrated insect and disease management (cultural, mechanical, biological, botanical, genetic resistance, chemical methods, specific notes on insecticides, acaricides, fungicides and antibiotics). The book broadly covers almost all disciplines like agronomy, plant breeding, physiology, entomology, pathology, etc. and touches upon all management practices from traditional to biological control and chemical methods to the modern biotechnology without any bias, laying emphasis on an all-inclusive integrated crop management approach. It also includes his own concepts, protocols and products for effective management of ring spot virus of papaya (RSVP)) and soil-borne root rots and wilts. In other words, it covers all aspects of plant protection in general and disease and nutritional management in particular. The book is written in simple format and language, but without compromising the scientific tenor.

Dr. Vasanth Kumar is a Ph.D. in Applied Botany from Mysore University. He has worked extensively in the fileds and laboratories on plant diseases for about four decades. He has always maintained close contact with academia, industry and, moreover, farmers. He has first-hand knowledge of farming and farmers. He has wrapped up his life-time experiences and knowledge in this invaluable book which serves as a practical manual for diagnosis and management of deficiencies, diseases and pests. I have been a close witness to his passionate pursuit.

The ‘Plant Doctor’ is published by Springson Publications, Mysuru (Karnataka, India). The book is aesthetically designed and printed and looks very elegant. Those interested in the book may please contact: “Vasanth Kumar” [email protected] or [email protected].

T. M. Manjunath, Ph.D.
Consultant in Agri-biotechnology & Integrated Pest Management
Bengaluru 560 092

26th August 2020