Only 14 years have passed since the first publication appeared which implicated mycoplasmas as agents of plant disease. The diseases them- selves have been known for much longer; indeed clover phyllody, a typical example, was described in the seventeenth century, well before any animal mycoplasma diseases had been documented. The early history of plant mycoplasmas is described in Chapter 2 and one obvious conclusion to be drawn from the frustrating experiences of the earlier workers is that the experimental methods at their disposal were simply inadequate for the task. Progress in science...
Only 14 years have passed since the first publication appeared which implicated mycoplasmas as agents of plant disease. The diseases them- selves have...