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Fusarium wilt is a common vascular wilt fungal disease, exhibiting symptoms similar to Verticillium wilt. The pathogen that causes Fusarium wilt is "Fusarium oxysporum" ("F. oxysporum"). The species is further divided into forma specialis based on host plant.
Common spot of strawberry is one of the most common and widespread diseases of strawberry. Common spot of strawberry is caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella fragariae (imperfect stage is "Ramularia tulasnei"). Symptoms of this disease first appear as circular, dark purple spots on the leaf surface. "Mycosphaerella fragariae" is very host specific and only infects strawberry.
Mycosphaerella fragariae is a species from family Mycosphaerellaceae.
Strawberry foliar nematode is a disease common in strawberries and ornamental plants that can greatly affect plant yield and appearance, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars of revenue. Symptoms used to diagnose the disease are angular, water soaked lesions and necrotic blotches. "Aphelenchoides fragariae" is the nematode pathogen that causes the disease. Its biological cycle includes four life stages, three of which are juvenile. The nematode can undergo multiple life cycles in one growing season when favorable conditions are present. They can infect the crowns, runners, foliage, and new buds of the plant via stylet penetration or through the stomata. The best management practices for this disease are sanitation, prevention of induction of the pathogen to the environment, and planting clean seed or starter plants.
Grey leaf spot (GLS) is a foliar fungal disease that affects maize, also known as corn. There are two fungal pathogens that cause GLS, which are "Cercospora zeae-maydis" and "Cercospora zeina" . Symptoms seen on corn include leaf lesions, discoloration (chlorosis), and foliar blight. The fungus survives in debris of topsoil and infects healthy crop via asexual spores called conidia. Environmental conditions that best suit infection and growth include moist, humid, and warm climates. Poor airflow, low sunlight, overcrowding, improper soil nutrient and irrigation management, and poor soil drainage can all contribute to the propagation of the disease. Management techniques include crop resistance, crop rotation, residue management, use of fungicides, and weed control. The purpose of disease management is to prevent the amount of secondary disease cycles as well as to protect leaf area from damage prior to grain formation. Corn grey leaf spot is an important disease of corn production in the United States, economically significant throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. However, it is also prevalent in Africa, Central America, China, Europe, India, Mexico, the Philippines, northern South America, and Southeast Asia. The teleomorph (sexual phase) of "Cercospora Zeae-Maydis" is assumed to be "Mycosphaerella sp."
Leucostoma canker is a fungal disease that can kill stone fruit ("Prunus" spp.). The disease is caused by the plant pathogens "Leucostoma persoonii" and "Leucostoma cinctum" (teleomorph) and "Cytospora leucostoma" and "Cytospora cincta" (anamorphs). The disease can have a variety of signs and symptoms depending on the part of the tree infected. One of the most lethal symptoms of the disease are the Leucostoma cankers. The severity of the Leucostoma cankers is dependent on the part of the plant infected. The fungus infects through injured, dying or dead tissues of the trees. Disease management can consist of cultural management practices such as pruning, late season fertilizers or chemical management through measures such as insect control. Leucostoma canker of stone fruit can cause significant economic losses due to reduced fruit production or disease management practices. It is one of the most important diseases of stone fruit tree all over the world.
Initial symptoms include large, angular or blocky, yellow areas visible on the upper surface. As lesions mature, they expand rapidly and turn brown. The under surface of infected leaves appears watersoaked. Upon closer inspection, a purple-brown mold (see arrow) becomes apparent. Small spores shaped like footballs can be observed among the mold with a 10x hand lens. In disease-favorable conditions (cool nights with long dew periods), downy mildew will spread rapidly, destroying leaf tissue without affecting stems or petioles.
Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in Soybean plants quickly spread across the southern United States in the 1970s, eventually reaching most agricultural areas of the US. SDS is caused by a Fusarium fungi, more specifically the soil borne root pathogen "Fusarium virguliforme," formerly known as "Fusarium solani" f. sp. "glycines"."." Losses could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars in US soybean markets alone making it one of the most important diseases found in Soybeans across the US
The fungal pathogen "Fusarium oxysporum" affects a wide variety of hosts of any age. Tomato, tobacco, legumes, cucurbits, sweet potatoes and banana are a few of the most susceptible plants, but it will also infect other herbaceous plants. "Fusarium oxysporum" generally produces symptoms such as wilting, chlorosis, necrosis, premature leaf drop, browning of the vascular system, stunting, and damping-off. The most important of these is vascular wilt. Fusarium wilt starts out looking like vein clearing on the younger leaves and drooping of the older lower leaves, followed by stunting of the plant, yellowing of the lower leaves, defoliation, marginal necrosis and death of the plant. On older plants, symptoms are more distinct between the blossoming and fruit maturation stages.
"Fusarium oxysporum" is split into divisions called "formae speciales" (singular "forma specialis", abbreviated "f.sp."). There are over 100 formae speciales divisions, each with one or two different races. Each forma specialis within the species are host-specific (i.e. specific to a certain plant) and produce different symptoms:
"F. oxysporum" f. sp. "batatas" affects sweet potato. The symptoms include leaf chlorosis, stunting, and leaf drop. It is transmitted through the soil and through vascular wounds in plant material.
"Fusarium oxysporum" f. sp. "canariensis" causes Fusarium wilt of Canary Island date palm and other propagated palms. The disease is spread through contaminated seed, soil, and pruning tools.
"F. oxysporum" f. sp. "cubense" causes Panama disease on banana. It is found everywhere bananas are grown in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. It attacks banana plants of all ages and spreads mainly through the soil. It causes wilting and yellowing of the leaves.
"F. oxysporum" f. sp. "lycopersici" causes vascular wilt in tomato. The disease starts out as yellowing and drooping on one side of the plant. Leaf wilting, plant stunting, browning of the vascular system, leaf death, and lack of fruit production also occur.
"F. oxysporum" f. sp. "melonis" attacks muskmelon and cantaloupe. It causes damping-off in seedlings and causes chlorosis, stunting and wilting in old plants. Necrotic streaks can appear on the stems.
Bacterial leaf streak (BLS), also known as black chaff, is a common bacterial disease of wheat. The disease is caused by the bacterial species "Xanthomonas translucens" pv. undulosa. The pathogen is found globally, but is a primary problem in the US in the lower mid-south and can reduce yields by up to 40 percent. BLS is primarily seed-borne (the disease is transmitted by seed) and survives in and on the seed, but may also survive in crop residue in the soil in the off-season. During the growing season, the bacteria may transfer from plant to plant by contact, but it is primarily spread by rain, wind and insect contact. The bacteria thrives in moist environments, and produces a cream to yellow bacterial ooze, which, when dry, appears light colored and scale-like, resulting in a streak on the leaves. The invasion of the head of wheat causes bands of necrotic tissue on the awns, which is called Black Chaff.
The disease is not easily managed, as there are no pesticides on the market for treatment of the infection. There are some resistant cultivars available, but no seed treatment exists. Some integrated pest management (IPM) techniques may be used to assist with preventing infection although, none will completely prevent the disease.
Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to Peronosporaceae. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucifers, grapes and vegetables that grow on vines. The prime example is "Peronospora farinosa" featured in NCBI-Taxonomy and HYP3. This pathogen does not produce survival structures in the northern states of the United States, and overwinters as live mildew colonies in Gulf Coast states. It progresses northward with cucurbit production each spring. Yield loss associated with downy mildew is most likely related to soft rots that occur after plant canopies collapse and sunburn occurs on fruit. Cucurbit downy mildew only affects leaves of cucurbit plants.
Beet vascular necrosis and rot is a soft rot disease caused by the bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum" subsp. "betavasculorum, which has also been known as "Pectobacterium betavasculorum" and "Erwinia carotovora" subsp. "betavasculorum". It was classified in the genus "Erwinia" until genetic evidence suggested that it belongs to its own group; however, the name Erwinia is still in use. As such, the disease is sometimes called Erwinia rot today. It is a very destructive disease that has been reported across the United States as well as in Egypt. Symptoms include wilting and black streaks on the leaves and petioles. It is usually not fatal to the plant, but in severe cases the beets will become hollowed and unmarketable. The bacteria is a generalist species which rots beets and other plants by secreting digestive enzymes that break down the cell wall and parenchyma tissues. The bacteria thrive in warm and wet conditions, but cannot survive long in fallow soil. However, it is able to persist for long periods of time in the rhizosphere of weeds and non-host crops. While it is difficult to eradicate, there are cultural practices that can be used to control the spread of the disease, such as avoiding injury to the plants and reducing or eliminating application of nitrogen fertilizer.
Most of the SDS symptoms can be confused with other factors like nutrient deficiencies and some other diseases like brown stem rot and stem canker. Usually the first symptom seen is interveinal chlorosis, which is the yellowing of the plant material between the leaf veins. When leaves begin to die, puckering and mottling can also be observed along with the chlorosis. As severity increases, necrosis (death of cells) occurs and eventually these leaves will fall off, leaving only petioles left on the stem. If the conditions are right (cool and wet), these symptoms can appear suddenly, causing large yield reductions. Normally, this is seen in mid or late July around the time of flowering and pod production.
In addition to foliar symptoms, the stem of the soybean plant can show symptoms as well. If a soybean stem with SDS is split, the pith will be visibly white while the cortical tissue around the pith will be tan to light brown in color. If the pith is brown in color (or if the whole stem looks brown on the inside), it is likely that the plant has brown stem rot, rather than SDS
Along with the above ground foliar and stem symptoms, the roots usually show some kind of rotting and decrease in vigor compared to other healthy soybean roots. If soil conditions are moist, roots are also likely to show blue masses of spores (macroconidia) around the taproot just below the soil surface. Blue fungal masses, found along with the foliar and stem symptoms, are strong diagnostic indicators for SDS
This disease affects strawberry plant foliage causing purple spots ⅛ to ¼ inches across on the upper side of the leaves. At first, the whole spot is purple but as the disease matures the center of the leaf spots become tan or gray, then almost white. When numerous spots merge foliage death can occur; this can stunt or kill infected plants when severe.
On petioles, stolons, calyxes, and fruit trusses, elongated lesions may form and interfere with water transport in the plant, weakening the plant and making it more susceptible to invasion by a secondary organism.
In fields, symptomatic plants are recognized in patches or rows. They appear dwarfed, stunted, and brown in comparison to healthy plants. Local symptoms appear above ground, and plant leaves are typically distorted in shape, crinkled, and discolored with hard surfaces. They often have reduced flower size. Diseased plants typically have dead crowns and a shortened internode of the runners.
A classic leaf symptom is the appearance of angular, water-soaked lesions between the veins. The angular appearance results where the lesion edge and vein meet. In leaves with parallel venation, the length of the lesion progresses parallel to the direction of the vein. As lesions enlarge and leaf damage progresses, symptomatic leaf edges become dry, dead, and crinkled. Because infected strawberry plants are less vigorous in growth, the stolon does not grow well, which results in reduced fruit size and number. If the nematodes infect early in plant development, specifically when the buds are forming, the plant morphology will be dwarfed and distorted.
Once the nematodes destroy most of the leaf tissue, they leave the plant through wounds and natural openings in the leaf to find a new host to infect. The pathogen is easily transmitted through direct contact between the foliage of infected and non-infected plants. Nematodes can also move over large distances through soil transportation, as a result of human and animal movement, or through insect and bird travel.
Symptoms can be found on both beet roots and foliage, although foliar symptoms are not always present. If present, foliar symptoms include dark streaking along petioles and viscous froth deposits on the crown which are a by-product of bacterial metabolism. Petioles can also become necrotic and demonstrate vascular necrosis. When roots become severely affected, wilting also occurs. Below ground symptoms include both soft and dry root rot. Affected vascular bundles in roots become necrotic and brown, and tissue adjacent to necrosis becomes pink upon air contact. The plants that do not die completely may have rotted-out, cavernous roots.
Various pathogens can cause root rot in beets; however the black streaking on petioles and necrotic vascular bundles in roots and adjacent pink tissue help to distinguish this disease from others such as Fusarium Yellows. Additionally, sampling from the rhizosphere of infected plants and serological tests can confirm the presence of "Erwinia caratovora" subs.
Corn is the only species that can be affected by "Cercospora zeae-maydis". There are two populations of "Cercospora zeae-maydis", distinguished by molecular analysis, growth rate, geographic distribution, and cercosporin toxin production. "Cercospora Zeae-Maydis" differs from its cousin group "Cercospera zeina sp. nov" in that it has faster growth rate in artificial media, the ability to produce the toxin cercosporin, longer conidiophores, and broadly fusiform conidia. "Cercospera zeina sp. nov" affects corn in the Eastern Corn Belt and Mid-Atlantic States; "Cercospora Zeae-Maydis" is found in most corn producing areas of western Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio, and west Tennessee (Midwest). Both populations share the same symptoms and virulence, the ability of the fungus to invade the host.
Major outbreaks of grey leaf spot occur whenever favorable weather conditions are present (see Environment section). The initial symptoms of grey leaf spot emerge as small, dark, moist spots that are encircled by a thin, yellow radiance (lesions forming). The tissue within the “spot" begins to die as spot size increases into longer, narrower leaf lesions. Although initially brownish and yellow, the characteristic grey color that follows is due to the production of grey fungal spores (conidia) on the lesion surface. These symptoms that are similar in shape, size and discoloration, are also prevalent on the corn husks and leaf sheaths. Leaf sheath lesions are not surrounded by a yellow radiance, rather a brown or dark purple radiance. This dark brown or purple discoloration on leaf sheaths is also characteristic to northern corn leaf blight ("Exserohilum turcicum"), southern corn leaf blight ("Bipolaris maydis"), or northern corn leaf spot ("Bipolaris zeicola"). Corn grey leaf spot mature lesions are easily diagnosed and distinguishable from these other diseases. Mature corn grey leaf spot lesions have brown rectangular and vein limited shape. Secondary and tertiary leaf veins limit the width of the lesion and sometimes individual lesions can combine to blight entire leaves.
Diseases can have a variety of causes, including bacterial infections from an external source such as "Pseudomonas fluorescens" (causing fin rot and fish dropsy), fungal infections (Saprolegnia), mould infections (Oomycete and "Saprolegnia"), parasitic disorders ("Gyrodactylus salaris", "Ichthyophthirius multifiliis", Cryptocaryon, Oodinium causing velvet disease, "Brooklynella hostilis", head and lateral line erosion, Glugea, "Ceratomyxa shasta", "Kudoa thyrsites", "Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae", "Ceratomyxa shasta" leeches, nematode, Trematoda, Platyhelminthes and fish louse), viral disorders, metabolic disorders, inappropriate water conditions (insufficient aeration, pH, water hardness, temperature and ammonia poisoning) and malnutrition.
External bacterial infections may cause spots or streaks on the body which appear red or orange Dropsy (bloating) is also a sign of a bacterial infection. "False fungal infections" look like fungus but is actually a bacterial infection known as Columnaris. These symptoms may include a white or gray film on the body.
The hosts for Leucostoma canker include stone fruits such as cultivated peach, plum, prune, cherry ("Prunus spp".), or other wild "Prunus" spp. It can also be found on apple ("Malus domestica"). Stone fruits are referred to as drupe, which are fruits containing a seed encased by a hard endocarp, surrounded by a fleshy outer portion.
Leucostoma canker symptoms differ depending on where on the tree infection takes place. Discoloration occurs in sunken patches on infected twigs. Light and dark concentric circles of narcotic tissue characterize this symptom, occurring near buds killed by cold or on leaf scars. Infections on the nodes are seen 2–4 weeks after bud break. As time passes, darkening occurs within diseased tissues, and eventually, amber gum ooze may seep from infected tissue. Nodal infections are particularly vulnerable in one-year-old shoots that develop within the center of the tree. If fungal growth persists without treatment, scaffold limbs and large branches will likely become invaded within a short time frame. Cankers occurring on branches that are the product of such infections will contain dead twigs or twig stubs at the canker’s center.
The most striking symptom of infection includes cankers located on the main trunk, branch crotches, scaffold limbs, and older branches. A symptom called “flagging” can be found on necrotic scaffold limbs. The cankers are parallel to the long axis of the stem and take on an oval shape. Normally, large-scale production of amber colored gum marks the first external symptom of such cankers. While gum production is the typical plant response to irritation, the gum secretion of Leucostoma occurs in bulk amounts. This gum darkens as time passes, gradually leading to the drying and cracking of bark; thus exposing the blackened tissue below.
As the tree continues to mature in the early growing season, the tree resists additional fungal penetration through the formation of callus rings surrounding the canker. However, the Leucostoma generally reinvades the tissue late in the growing season while the tree switches into dormancy. Due to the alteration of callus production and canker formation, cankers with circular callus rings are usually observed.
Foliar symptoms might develop from branch or twig infections. Symptoms include chlorosis, wilting, and necrosis. Signs include small black structures on dead bark which contain pycnidia.
Bacterial leaf streak is a pathogen known to infect and damage wheat varieties. The pathogen has also been known to infect other small grain all cereal crops such as rice, barley and triticale. The strains of the pathogen are named differently according to the species they infect. It is one of the most destructive diseases in rice.
Resistant wheat cultivars offer the best protection against yield loss, but little is known about the inheritance of resistance. The disease is most common on wheat and can be found on winter and summer wheat varieties.
Symptoms of this pathogen can be seen on the stem, leaves, and glumes. Stem symptoms are not always present, but can be seen as a dark brown to purple discoloration on the stem below the head and above the flag leaf. In the early stages of the disease, translucent water soaked streaks can be seen on the leaves often accompanied by a shiny glaze or clumps of dried bacteria on the leaf surface. These markings turn to brown lesions after just a few days, and may be surrounded by a lime green halo. Lesions can stretch the entire leaf blade.
BLS exhibits similar symptoms to those of "Septoria nodorum", a common fungal infection. A common sign that will distinguish this pathogen from "Septoria nodorum" is the lack of spores on the leaves, which appears as tiny black spots on the leaf surface with a "Septoria" infection. A cream to yellow colored bacterial ooze produced by BLS infected plant parts is also a distinguishing sign of the pathogen.
Infected glumes, known as black chaff, are darkened and necrotic. Severe symptoms will result in kernels that are discolored due to black and purple streaks. Plants infected with bacterial leaf streak will exhibit an orange cast from leaf symptoms and suffer yield and quality loss.
Ornamental fish kept in aquariums are susceptible to numerous diseases. Due to their generally small size and the low cost of replacing diseased or dead fish, the cost of testing and treating diseases is often seen as more trouble than the value of the fish.
Due to the artificially limited volume of water and high concentration of fish in most aquarium tanks, communicable diseases often affect most or all fish in a tank. An improper nitrogen cycle, inappropriate aquarium plants and potentially harmful freshwater invertebrates can directly harm or add to the stresses on ornamental fish in a tank. Despite this, many diseases in captive fish can be avoided or prevented through proper water conditions and a well-adjusted ecosystem within the tank.
All plants require sufficient supplies of macronutrients for healthy growth, and nitrogen (N) is a nutrient that is commonly in limited supply. Nitrogen deficiency in plants can occur when organic matter with high carbon content, such as sawdust, is added to soil. Soil organisms use any nitrogen to break down carbon sources, making N unavailable to plants. This is known as "robbing" the soil of nitrogen. All vegetables apart from nitrogen fixing legumes are prone to this disorder.
Nitrogen deficiency can be prevented in the short term by using grass mowings as a mulch, or foliar feeding with manure, and in the longer term by building up levels of organic matter in the soil. Sowing green manure crops such as grazing rye to cover soil over the winter will help to prevent nitrogen leaching, while leguminous green manures such as winter tares will fix additional nitrogen from the atmosphere.
ARGT is a neurological condition and affects the brain. Sheep may at first appear perfectly normal, but if driven for a hundred metres or so, the slight stress will cause mildly affected animals to lag behind the rest of the flock and exhibit a high-stepping gait. More seriously affected animals may lose co-ordination and stumble, but will usually recover and join the rest of the flock if left quietly alone. The most-severely affected sheep will fall repeatedly and may be unable to get up. These sheep are likely to die, with death sometimes occurring within a few hours of the first symptoms appearing.
The visual symptoms of nitrogen deficiency mean that it can be relatively easy to detect in some plant species. Symptoms include poor plant growth, and leaves that are pale green or yellow because they are unable to make sufficient chlorophyll. Leaves in this state are said to be chlorotic. Lower leaves (older leaves) show symptoms first, since the plant will move nitrogen from older tissues to more important younger ones. Nevertheless, plants are reported to show nitrogen deficiency symptoms at different parts. For example, Nitrogen deficiency of tea is identified by retarded shoot growth and yellowing of younger leaves.
However, these physical symptoms can also be caused by numerous other stresses, such as deficiencies in other nutrients, toxicity, herbicide injury, disease, insect damage or environmental conditions. Therefore, nitrogen deficiency is most reliably detected by conducting quantitative tests in addition to assessing the plants visual symptoms. These tests include soil tests and plant tissue test.
Plant tissue tests destructively sample the plant of interest. However, nitrogen deficiency can also be detected non-destructively by measuring chlorophyll content.
Chlorophyll content tests work because leaf nitrogen content and chlorophyll concentration are closely linked, which would be expected since the majority of leaf nitrogen is contained in chlorophyll molecules. Chlorophyll content can be detected with a Chlorophyll content meter; a portable instrument that measures the greenness of leaves to estimate their relative chlorophyll concentration.
Chlorophyll content can also be assessed with a chlorophyll fluorometer, which measures a chlorophyll fluorescence ratio to identify phenolic compounds that are produced in higher quantities when nitrogen is limited. These instruments can therefore be used to non-destructively test for nitrogen deficiency.
Gnathostomiasis (also known as larva migrans profundus) is the human infection caused by the nematode (roundworm) "Gnathostoma spinigerum" and/or "Gnathostoma hispidum", which infects vertebrates.
Annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT) is the poisoning of livestock from toxin contained in bacterially infected annual ryegrass ("Lolium rigidum"). The toxin is produced by the bacterium "Rathayibacter toxicus" (formerly "Clavibacter toxicus"), which is carried into the ryegrass by the nematode "Anguina funesta".