
Full Answer
What is the disease triangle and why does it matter?
For those of you who may have never heard of the disease triangle, it’s a pretty simple concept that shows how the potential relationship between a host (plant), a pathogen (disease) and an environment (your garden) can come together to negatively affect the wellbeing of your plants and wildlife. There are three components to the disease triangle.
What is the epidemiologic triangle?
The Epidemiologic Triangle The Epidemiologic Triangle is a model that scientists have developed for studying health problems. It can help your students understand infectious diseases and how they spread. and facts. The Triangle has three corners (called vertices): Agent, or microbe that causes the disease (the “what” of the Triangle)
What is a variant of the plant disease triangle?
A variant representation of the plant disease triangle showing an unequal relationship among the environment, pathogen and host determinants, which are associated with line segments. Some plant pathologists have elaborated on the disease triangle by adding one or more parameters (1).
How can I use the disease triangle in my backyard?
To employ the disease triangle in your own backyard, plant disease-resistant plants, remove pathogen-containing materials and minimize environmental conditions that promote the spread of disease. Want to get a refresh on best pruning practices so you’re ready for spring?

What is disease triangle explain?
The disease triangle is a conceptual model that shows the interactions between the environment, the host and an infectious (or abiotic) agent. This model can be used to predict epidemiological outcomes in plant health and public health, both in local and global communities.
What are the three parts of the disease triangle?
Plant diseases– their occurrence and severity– result from the impact of three factors: the host plant, the pathogen, and the environmental conditions. This is represented with the disease triangle. If any one of the three factors is missing, the triangle is not complete, no disease will occur.
What is disease triangle and disease pyramid?
A disease pyramid or tetrahedron, which allows for the addition of a fourth causal factor of disease. Humans factor into the disease triangle because the influence of human activity on disease is pervasive in agriculture and, perhaps to a lesser degree, in lower input systems such as forestry and range management.
What is host in disease triangle?
The first component of the disease triangle is the host, the specific plant that can be affected by a pathogen. The second component of the disease triangle is the pathogen, the living organism that causes the disease.
Who proposed disease triangle?
The disease triangle concept was formalized in the 1960s by George McNew, a scientist at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research.
How can you prevent the disease triangle?
Avoid the virulent pathogen, for example through the use of disease-free seed. Eliminate the susceptible host, by using a resistant cultivar or a smart rotation. Make the environment unfavorable, say with well-drained raised beds or plant spacing that improves air circulation.
Why is the triangle important in understanding the spread of disease and how do you stop them?
The triad consists of an external agent, a susceptible host, and an environment that brings the host and agent together. In this model, disease results from the interaction between the agent and the susceptible host in an environment that supports transmission of the agent from a source to that host.
What is the 4th components added on disease triangle?
Traditionally speaking the disease triangle is most often comprised of three factors: host, organism, environment. However, in some less traditional settings a fourth factor (time) is included in a four-dimensional figure to show the impact of time in addition to the host, organism, and environment.
How many components are in disease pyramid?
The international team presents the concept of a disease pyramid with the four cornerstones of environment, pathogen, host and host microbiome.
What is disease circle?
Abstract. Plant disease cycles represent pathogen biology as a series of interconnected stages of development including dormancy, reproduction, dispersal, and pathogenesis. The progression through these stages is determined by a continuous sequence of interactions among host, pathogen, and environment.
What is host in plant pathology?
A host is an organism (eg.: a plant) that is harboring a parasite or pathogen from which it obtains its nutrients. The host range refers to the various kinds of host plants that a given pathogen may parasitize.
What is the disease triangle?
Used in this sense, the disease triangle illustrates the continuum of host reaction from complete susceptibility to immunity.
Why do humans factor into the disease triangle?
Humans factor into the disease triangle because the influence of human activity on disease is pervasive in agriculture and , perhaps to a lesser degree, in lower input systems such as forestry and range management .
What happens to the pyramid if the pathogen is incapable of infecting its host without a vector?
However, if the pathogen is incapable of infecting its host without a vector, the pyramid fails to show adequately the intermediary nature of the vector in the pathogen-plant relationship by drawing a direct connection and circumventing the vector.
Is the disease triangle an educational paradigm?
The disease triangle will almost certainly be an educational paradigm in the discipline of plant pathology for many years to come. One hopes the discussion here will enhance the educational value of the triangle and its variants.
What is the disease triangle?
For those of you who may have never heard of the disease triangle, it’s a pretty simple concept that shows how the potential relationship between a host (plant), a pathogen (disease) and an environment (your garden) can come together to negatively affect the wellbeing of your plants and wildlife. There are three components to the disease triangle.
What is the first component of the disease triangle?
The first component of the disease triangle is the host, the specific plant that can be affected by a pathogen. The second component of the disease triangle is the pathogen, the living organism that causes the disease.
What is the disease triangle?
The Disease Triangle: Fundamental Concept for Disease Management. Plant diseases– their occurrence and severity– result from the impact of three factors: the host plant, the pathogen, and the environmental conditions. This is represented with the disease triangle. If any one of the three factors is missing, the triangle is not complete, ...
What happens if one of the three factors is missing?
If any one of the three factors is missing, the triangle is not complete, no disease will occur. Simply, plant disease will not occur if there is no viable pathogen, or no susceptible host plant, or the environmental conditions are not favorable. The severity of disease depends on the favorable level of each factor.
1. The Host
Let’s try to choose turf grass varieties that are less susceptible to disease. This is an important first step. We have to remember that some fungi affect some species of grasses more than others. For example, Rye grass is very susceptible to Pythium Blight which we have seen a lot this summer.
2. The Pathogen
Here, we do not have a lot of control. Unfortunately, pathogens are present. What we can control is environments that ‘protect’ pathogen spores.
3. Environment
This can include both the weather and our property. When it comes to the weather, obviously that’s completely out of our control. When it comes to our property, we are talking about the grade of our lawn, the type of soil we have, the amount of water our lawn receives and the drainage we have.
What is the triangle of time?
In the center of the Triangle is time. Most infectious diseases have an incubation period—the time between when the host is infected and when disease symptoms occur. Or, time may describe the duration of the illness or the amount of time a person can be sick before death or recovery occurs. Time also describes the period from an infection to the threshold of an epidemic for a population. These lessons do not specifically cover the time because it is a complex concept for middle school students; however, it can be covered as an extension for advanced students. Warm-up
What is the agent of infectious disease?
The agent is the cause of the disease. When studying the epidemiology of most infectious diseases, the agent is a microbe —an organism too small to be seen with the naked eye. Disease-causing microbes are bacteria, virus, fungi, and protozoa (a type of parasite). They are what most people call “germs.” Bacteria: Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria have the tools to reproduce themselves, by themselves. They are larger than viruses (but still much too small to be seen with the naked eye). They are filled with fluid and may have threadlike structures to move themselves, like a tail.
