A newly found fungal disease has been linked to a steady decline of landscape and avocado trees in suburban Southern California neighborhoods, says a newly released University of California-Riverside study. Besides a decline of avocado trees in the Los Angeles area, researchers from the Plant Pathology department at University of California-Riverside also have linked this new fungus to the branch dieback of trees.

California orange and lemon growers are bracing for a deadly bacterial disease that could ravage the state's $2 billion citrus industry after the first infected tree in the state was identified in a suburban Los Angeles yard.

The tree ailment, called Huanglongbing, citrus greening or yellow dragon disease, is usually spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny, aphid-like winged insect that feeds on the leaves of citrus trees.

Dutch elm disease is a terrible affliction that destroyed elm trees throughout North America and Europe. It is a fungal infection that is spread by the elm bark beetle. It is believed to originate from feline feces in Asia. Unequipped to handle the invading pathogen, the disease devastated massive populations of elms, nearly wiping them out. However, there are a few that survived which are now the foundation for the elm's future. Scientists from the University of Guelph in Canada are working to make genetic copies of the survivors.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) recently launched a plant protection project to carry out a research on diseases and insect pests that cause huge crop loss.

Diseases and insect pests cause a crop loss of over $8.48 billion annually and this loss is likely to grow at least four-fold under the climate change scenario, an Icrisat official said.

Two dangerous diseases, named sugarcane white leaf (SCWL) and sugarcane grassy shoot (SCGS), were posing a threat to cane cultivation, according to the Sugar Cane Research Institute (SCRI).

SCRI Chairman, S. K. C. Suduwella said that incidents of Grassy shoot disease had been found on some sugarcane cultivations in Sri Lanka. The prevalence however was less severe than it could potentially be.

The Cardamom Research Station at Pampadumpara is taking measures to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in cardamom plantations and promote eco-friendly methods with a view to protecting the soil. Scientists have noticed that unscientific spraying of pesticides had resulted in low production and high level of plants decay, said Kuriakose K.P., head of the cardamom station.