• Apple scab

  General Venturia inaequalis is an ascomycete fungus that causes apple scab disease Damage symptoms Venturia inaequalis causes apple scab disease, which [...] fruits and leaves may fall off prematurely. The plants’ defence mechanism is to produce corky rings around the lesions to prevent further invasion of tissue [...] ascospores are wind-dispersed to the fruit trees and will germinate if free water is available. They infect the plant by direct penetration of the cuticula and

• Cottony soft rot

  General Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, also known as cottony soft root, is a plant pathogenic fungus. It has a very wide range of host plants. Damage symptoms [...] infect the above-ground plant parts. In greenhouses, usually only mycelium is produced by the germinating sclerotia. The fungus grows quite rapidly inside [...] source of infection for the next crop. The dispersal to neighbouring plants is by mycelial growth. How to prevent Cottony soft rot Practice dry cultivation/be

• Black leg of seedlings

  General Pythium is considered a ‘weak pathogen’, meaning that it can usually only affect plants that are in a sub-optimal condition or suffer from stress [...] substrate the plant turns brown. A typical symptom of a Pythium infection is the easy stripping of the skin from the root cortex with a finger nail. Life [...] seedlings Pythium belongs to the Oomycetes, a separate group of microorganisms and is therefore not a real fungus. It survives as oospores, resting spores which

• Grape downy mildew

  Grape downy mildew or grapevine downy mildew, caused by Plasmopara viticola , is one of the most important diseases in wine and table grape production worldwide [...] 7–10 days post-infection (depending on temperature and humidity), the disease is often well-established before it can be visually detected in the field. Leaf [...] Management (IPM) programs. The free-living amoeba Willaertia magna C2c Maky is known for its ability to produce a wide range of bio-active compounds involved

• Brown root rot, corky root rot

  General Pyrenochaeta lycopersici is a fungal plant pathogen, infecting tomatoes and aubergine. It causes brown root rot and corky root rot. Damage symptoms [...] as horizontal bands on the roots with lengthwise cracks. No discoloration is present in the xylem tissues which distinguishes it from wilts caused by [...] particles by farm equipment and cultivation practices. However, this fungus is a poor competitor against a balanced microbial population in soil. How to

• Early blight

  General The only known stage in all Alternaria species is the asexual stage. Conidia and mycelium overwinter in the soil and on crop residues and cause [...] temperature occur between species, but in general the risk of Alternaria infection is larger under quite warm and humid conditions. Infection may take place within [...] rapidly as two to three days later and sporulation within five days. Infection is both direct and through wounds and stomata. Spores are dispersed by wind and

• Loose smut of barley

  hordei affects barley and can destroy a large proportion of the crop. It is also known as barley smut, or loose smut of barley. Damage symptoms Infection [...] hordei r emains invisible until head emergence. The first sign of infection is the appearance of a smutted ear. Instead of normal tissue, the ear contains

• Black sigatoka disease

  General Mycosphaerella fijiensis also known as black sigatoka, is an ascomycete fungus that causes leaf-spot of banana. Damage symptoms Black sigatoka [...] die within a few weeks. Because of the lack of leaf tissues, fruit maturity is hampered. Life cycle and appearance of Black sigatoka disease Black sigatoka

• Grapevine powdery mildew

  (Erysiphe necator) is closely synchronized with the vine growth stages and environmental conditions. Understanding its lifecycle is essential to implementing [...] Grapevine powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) is a widespread fungal disease that poses a serious threat to commercial viticulture worldwide. The pathogen

• Verticillium wilt

  the microsclerotia are formed. The spread of the fungus by mycelium growth is limited. Dispersal from plant to plant takes place via water, soil particles [...] seed-borne and tuber-borne. The optimum temperature for Verticillium albo-atrum is 21 °C and growth stops above 30 °C, whereas Verticillium dahliae has an optimum