ORIGINAL RESEARCH Role of Plant Clinics in addressing pest and disease management R. Rajkumar 1 • Nancy J. Anabel 1 Received: 21 August 2018 / Accepted: 28 August 2018 Ó CSI Publications 2018 Abstract Agriculture plays a pivotal role in India’s economy. Over 58% of rural households depend on agri- culture as their principal means of livelihood. Pests and diseases cause significant loss to crops directly and indi- rectly at global, national, and regional levels. According to an estimate of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 2015, up to 25% of annual yield was lost due to disease and pests in India. Timely diagnosis of various problems (pest, disease, nutritional deficiencies) that hamper crop growth is necessary to minimize production losses. In order to address these gaps, community-based Plant Clinics were established in Tamil Nadu in 2012 by M. S. Swami- nathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in partnership with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). The Plant Clinic as an intervention addresses the information gap at the farm level by providing value-added information to farmers and consistent follow-ups. The study concludes that timely diagnosis using new tech- nologies has a positive impact on small holding farmers, by reducing input cost per acre and increasing production and net income. Keywords Plant Clinic Á Information Á Pest and disease Á ICT Á Agriculture extension Á Tamil Nadu 1 Introduction Effective plant health management becomes a critical component in agriculture not only for food security but also to raise farm incomes. Currently, most small and marginal farmers are in precarious conditions with respect to incomes and the impact of climate change [1]. According to an estimate of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 2015, up to 25% of annual yield is lost due to diseases and pests in India. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency and magnitude of pest and disease outbreaks, resulting in yield losses, if not controlled in time [2]. Managing plant health is critical for ensuring sustained crop production and food security. Timely diagnoses of various problems that hamper crop production such as pest, disease, and nutritional deficiency and appropriate recom- mendations to address such issues are necessary to mini- mize production losses. It is, however, often seen that small and marginal farmers receive very few plant health advi- sory services and even where available, these are limited in scope and content [3]. Conventional pest management interventions tend to focus on a narrow range of crops, diseases, and technologies, even though smallholding farmers depend on diverse crops for income. Paucity of timely diagnosis of diseases and other pests have often been responsible for devastating losses. The emerging new varieties and unpredictable disease patterns induced by climate change add urgency to the task of providing timely information to the farmers. When faced with unfamiliar problems compounded with an ineffective agricultural extension service, farmers’ are left with no option but to depend on the local input dealers for crop advice. Dealers, who bring with them vested interests, prescribe inappropriate and harmful chemicals, increasing & R. Rajkumar rajkumar@mssrf.res.in 1 Information, Education and Communication, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Taramani, Chennai, India 123 CSIT https://doi.org/10.1007/s40012-018-0210-3