"For those of you who have been fretting over how to keep your plants disease free, Dr. MP Srivastava comes with an online answer to all your queries" -  Delhi Times, TOI coverage. XSGrowth Plant Health Clinic has taken this initiative further one level up, by providing answers to all the questions received since it's inception on the general FAQ section of the website. Though this may take some time, but we are in a process to filter, sort, and put all those questions and answers for community benefit. 

XSGrowth is equally cocerned with environmental pollution and global warming, hence the lead taken by the Chairman of XSGrowth Plant Health Clinic, Dr M P Srivastava is a humble initiative in this direction, which has been coverd by Metro Now- "Dr. MP Srivastava is on a mission - a green mission to be precise. Dismayed at the growing concrete jungle in Gurgaon and mindful of horrors of global warming, Dr. Srivastava has since started a movement of sorts by planting saplings of Peepal and Neem in the Millenium City. His group is called APPAN (Awareness Promotion for Peepal and Neem."

Quinone outside inhibitor fungicides are synthetic derivatives of naturally occurring strobillurin compounds introduced in the late 1990s and represent a novel group of fungicides, highly active against a broad range of fungi belonging to Oomycetes, Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes and Deuteromycetes. They are mitochondrial respiration inhibitors (MRI) which inhibit fungal respiration at the Quinone “Outside” (Qo) binding site of the cytochrome bc 1 complex. Being site-specific, they are at risk from the development of resistance in the target plant pathogens.

Ever growing population and unprecedented losses due to plant pests pose serious threat to our food security. Managing population is an uphill task but devastating losses can be prevented by providing stringent security to plants through phytomedicines and plant health clinic and thereby assuring food security. Phytomedicines/pesticides not only control plant diseases/pests, but also improve productivity, which is otherwise lost to pests.

The group may meet from time to time associating CABI to chalk out strategies to strengthen ‘Mission Plant Health Clinic’. 

Grape is attacked by a number of diseases. However, anthracnose, downy mildew, powdery mildew, and bunch rot/ berry rot caused by certain fungi or group of fungi are most important. Their control lies in modifying vine microclimate; timely annual pruning of dead arms/vines, and also removal of abnormal un-harvested bunches from the vines immediately after harvest is over, and timely and judicious application of fungicides, after annual pruning and during the season.

Evening Session on Plant Health Clinic - ICPP 2008, Turin (Italy)

Professor MP Srivastava organized the plant health clinic session which was aimed at bringing awareness on the role and need of plant clinics in keeping diseases and pests at bay. Out of 11 listed speakers, 9 of them presented their papers. The session began with the presentation by Prof. Srivastava, who gave an overview of plant health clinics across the globe. In his introductory remarks, he emphasized that although plant clinics are operating in India, the USA, Canada, the UK and Afro-Asian countries, we don’t yet have organized plant clinics like the ones for humans and animals.

Strobilurins are a group of chemical compounds used in agriculture as fungicides. They are part of the larger group of QoI inhibitors, which act to inhibit the respiratory chain at the level of Complex III.

Some common Strobilurins are azoxystrobin, kresoxim-methyl, picoxystrobin, fluoxastrobin, oryzastrobin, dimoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin and trifloxystrobin.

Strobilurins represented a major development in fungus-based fungicides. They were extracted from the fungus Strobilurus tenacellus. They have a suppressive effect on other fungi, reducing competition for nutrients; they inhibit electron transfer in mitochondria, disrupting energy metabolism and preventing growth of the target fungi.

Food is the prime requirement of man for which he depends on agriculture. Ever-growing population, more so in developing nations, fast urbanization and industrialization and alarming losses due to plant diseases pose a serious threat to food security. While rising population can be managed or not, plant diseases can be managed to a larger extent. One of the important aspects in the management of plant diseases lies in its correct diagnosis for which well-organized plant clinics are must. Plant clinic’s role does not remain confined to diagnosis but making suitable recommendations. Since plant clinic may not render suitable services particularly in the event of outbreak of epiphytotics hence mobile plant clinics can render better services in reaching diverse areas. May the dawn of this millennium witness plant clinic as global phenomenon. Read more on Plant Health Clinic