Farm Science
We’ve assembled over 50 pages of original material referencing farm science, plant science, plant pathology and disease. Understanding basic pathogens, their preferred climate and how they travel can keep you one step ahead on corrective action.
Whether you are a home gardener, farmer or nursery plant owner, it’s best to get yourself familiar with various types of plant diseases. In this section, you will learn about the pathogens and transmitters which are the very core of plant disease.
Take a look at our list of major plant diseases encountered in farms and gardens and learn about the pathogens and transmitters that cause them.
Life Cycle Of A Plant
Plants are very helpful to humans. We eat plants in order to stay healthy and strong, use household products which is mostly made of plants to remain tidy in appearance, for shelter and other usefulness, etc. Nowadays, as a result of increasing number of human...
Plant Pathology
Whether you are a home gardener, farmer or nursery plant owner, it’s best to get yourself familiar with various types of plant diseases. In this section, you will learn about the pathogens and transmitters which are the very core of plant disease. Take a look at our list of major plant diseases encountered in farms and gardens and learn about the pathogens and transmitters that cause them.
Ascomycetes
Ascomycetes are a group of fungi that are inside a sac that created microscopic spores. As the spores mature, it builds up the pressure inside the ascus (elongated cell or sac). The spores will then shoot out of the ascus up to about 30cm. Each ascus holds at least...
Bacteria
Bacteria are the oldest form of life. It has been a belief that the primordial soup contained the first bacterium that existed. Bacteria is present everywhere. It can be found on air, land or water. They are also residing in any and all living organism, dead or alive....
Basidiomycetes
Basidiomycetes are the most common fungi in the world. They make for one third of the fungi that is identified by scientists. It is so common that there are more than 30,000 species named. Fungus is the most common living organism around, more than bacteria, viruses...
Nematodes
What are nematodes? Nematodes are roundworms that have openings on each end. They can be found in most places like the ocean or even the rainforest. Their habitat is diverse that mountains, trenches and deserts have these species. They also have a vast population that...
Oomycota
Oomycota are commonly known as water molds or downy mildews. They can be quite destructive as they absorb their food from what is in their surroundings. They also attack an organism and feed from there. This is the reason why oomycetes are very important in decaying...
Phytoplasma
Phytoplasmas are the main cause of plant death. More than 600 plant diseases are cause by these organisms and it affects both insects and plants. This is due to the transplanting and pollination that happens between plants and insects. Phytoplasmas are prokaryotes and...
Plant Viruses
Viruses do not only affect humans and animals, they also attack plants. Over the years, farmers only blamed the devastation of crops due to pests, insects and animals. Up until the 20th century, plant viruses were not even known about. Viral studies are very important...
Protozoa
What is protozoa? Protozoan are species that are single-celled that act like animals. They are eukaryotic and mobile. They have the ability to move unlike most microorganisms in existence. The classifications for these are quite complicated and extensive. Some of them...
Corn Diseases
Anthracnose Leaf Blight
About the Disease: Anthracnose is a blight that is caused by the fungus. Many people confuse the blight with spots. When many spots converge to form the blight, it can be considered as the blight. This mainly affects the leaves of the Maple plants. Symptoms: Many...
Anthracnose Stalk Rot
The plant portion, which is present above the ear, will wither. The same case can happen to the part of the corn plant that is below the ear. The inter nodal region will be greatly affected. It gets so fragile that it can even be broken using the finger nails. This...
Aspergillus Ear Rot
About the Disease: Aspergillus Ear Rot, like any other ear rot disease is caused by fungus. It occurs in hot weather conditions. Symptoms: There are three main pathogens that are causing the disease. The symptoms of the disease will differ according to the fungus that...
Common Corn Rust
About the Disease: Common Corn Rust is mainly caused by the fungus and seems to be widespread in plants like corn. This is a very common condition in United States of America. The sweet corn is actually highly resistant to many of the diseases. But the fruits still...
Crazy Top
About the Disease: Crazy Top is quite a common disease that is caused by Sclerophthora. Symptoms: The symptoms of the disease are not the same at all stages of infection. At every phase of the infection, a specific symptom gets exhibited. There are many tillers for...
Diplodia Ear Rot
About the Disease: The Diplodia Ear Rot disease is mainly caused by a fungus in the corn plants. Symptoms: As its name points out, the main portion that gets affected is the ear. To be more specific the base of the ear gets affected. Infection starts here and proceeds...
Diplodia Stalk Rot
About the Disease: The Diplodia Stalk Rot is caused by fungus. This is characterized by the formation of few lesions in brown color. Symptoms: The most obvious symptom and one of the first symptoms that is observed is the gray colored leaves. The leaves turn almost...
Fusarium Ear Rot
About the Disease: Fusarium Ear Rot is a fungal disease, characterized by the rotting of the ear tip. Symptoms: The infected kernels will be mainly seen in the ear region and hence the name of the disease is ‘Fusraium ear rot’. The ear region will be fully covered...
Fusarium Stalk Rot
About the Disease: The disease is caused by Fusarium species and is characterized by a pink colored discoloration of the stalk. In many of the stalk rot diseases, black specks might be observed. But in the case of the Fusarium stalk rot, you will not find them. This...
Gibberella Stalk Rot
About the Disease: This is a fungal disorder where the pith of the plant’s stalk region becomes diseased. Symptoms: As its name suggests, the major region that gets affected is the pith of the plant and the vascular bundles. When you observe the vascular bundles, you...
Gray Leaf Spot
About the Disease: The gray leaf spot is characterized by graying of leaves and the appearance of black colored specks throughout the foliage. Symptoms: Numerous lesions are formed on the leaves. Thus the leaves can completely turn yellow and then brown and fall off....
Northern Corn Leaf Blight
About the Disease: The term blight refers to a group of diseases caused by fungus. The Northern Corn Leaf Blight, which is caused by E. turcicum is characterized by long lesions. Usually many spots will merge into one to form the blights. Symptoms: the major symptom...
Northern Leaf Spot
About the Disease: This is a fungal disease that occurs in moderate temperatures in the leaves of plants like corn. It is characterized by the presence of lesions, all over the leaf. Some lesions can be very broad, while some are narrow. Some lesions can be linear...
Seed Rot
About the Disease: There are so many plant diseases that you might be aware of. Seed rot is one of the most common plant diseases. This refers to the sudden death of the plant seedlings. It is a fungal disease that might be carried in the seed or the soil. Symptoms:...
Southern Corn Rust
About the Disease: this is a fungal disease that is characterized by the formation of blights on the leaf. This is different from the leaf spot disease. There are so many types of sweet corn diseases. Some are caused by the fungi, while some are caused by the...
Diseases of Cucurbits
Angular Leaf Spot
About the Disease: Angular leaf spot is actually a bacterial disease that will occur on any type of cucurbit crops. Out of all the crops, cucumber is affected by Angular Leaf Spot to the least extent. Symptoms: The leaves will have very small spots that are angular...
Bacterial Wilt
About the Disease: Bacterial Wilt is a bacterial disease that mainly affects plants like cucumber, muskmelon and pumpkin plants. Squash can also be seen affected by this bacteria but the squash is less affected by this bacteria. Many of them have the wrong belief that...
Choanephora Rot
About the Disease: Choanephora Rot is otherwise called as the blossom end rot. This wet rot disease is very common in plants like squash. This disease occasionally occurs in cucurbits. This will include the pumpkins and muskmelons. Symptoms: The flowers of these...
Downy Mildew
About the Disease: This disease is mainly seen in the pumpkin crops. The amount of damage that is caused due to this disease cannot be clearly measured. The yield loss can be very high at times. This mainly happens in the Mid West region. Symptoms: There are pale...
Gummy Stem Blight
About the Disease: The Gummy Stem Blight diseases as well as the black rot disease are quite similar. In fact the causative agent for the Gummy Stem Blight is the same as the black rot. Symptoms: This mainly involves the infection of the stems and the leaves of the...
Phytophthora Blight
About the Disease: This disease will be infected crops like peppers, the eggplants and tomatoes. It can also affect some variety of beans. The cucurbit crops will be mainly affected. Symptoms: There will be many irregular and giant spots, all over the surface of the...
Powdery Mildew
About the Disease: The powdery mild dew infects all kinds of cucurbits. It is a fungal disease. Symptoms: The main symptom that is seen is the pale yellow colored spots that are found all over the surface of the leaves. These spots then get converted to large...
White Mold
About the Disease: The white mold disease is the fungal disease that mainly affects the vegetable crops. For instance, the carrots, beans, lettuce and tomatoes are the main plants that get affected by the fungus. Cabbage can also get affected. In many of the diseases,...
