Fungi and Disease

Photo: N. Goldberg, NMSU

Seminar in Mycology
CAg-CPROT ALE Review 2015
Zosimo G. Battad II
Kingdoms of Life
 Plant Diseases
Plant diseases reduce the harvest of food
worldwide by about 30% each year.
Diseases can take many forms, and
cause many different types of symptoms
in host plants.

Ex: necrosis (death), wilts, loss of fruit,

economic damage to harvested crops
The Disease Triangle?
Distinguishing between Abiotic
Disorders and Plant Diseases
Abiotic Disorders Plant Diseases
Abiotic Disorders
May affect several species
Symptoms often develop
suddenly
Symptoms do not spread
Distribution may be
uniform or patterned
Plant Diseases
Usually one species affected
or like species affected
Symptoms usually develop
slowly
Symptoms spread from plant
to plant
Distribution is random
(scattered, clustered, sporadic)
• What is a fungus
Fungus is a multi-celled organism that has no
leaves and true stems and roots. It lacks the
green color. Its reproduction is by spores which
are tiny seed-like structures that grow up to 1
mm in size. Mushroom, mold, and mildew are
examples of the mostly seen fungi.
 Fungi vs Bacteria
• Fungi are eukaryotes while bacteria are prokaryotes.
• Bacteria are single celled whereas most fungi are multicellular
except for yeast.
• The compositions within their cell walls are different.
• Fungi are heterotrophs while Bacteria can be autotrophs or
heterotrophs.
• Bacteria have 3 distinct shapes while fungi have various shapes.
• Bacteria reproduce sexually via binary fission whereas fungi are
capable of reproducing both sexually or asexually
• Fungi cause the greatest problems on woody plants because they
have enzymes to break down cellulose and lignin. Bacteria and
viruses more of a problem on soft tissued plants.
• Fungi and Fungal-like organisms (FLOs) cause
more plant diseases than any other group of
plant pest with over 8,000 species known to
cause disease.
• FLOs are organisms like Pythium and
Phytophthora.
• Some of the greatest famines and human
suffering can be blamed on plant pathogenic
fungi and FLOs.
 Fungi and FLOs (indeed all pathogens) can be grouped into the
following four categories based on their preference for surviving
on dead or decaying organic matter versus living tissue:

• 1. Obligate saprophytes—always a saprophyte. These organisms can only survive or

are obliged to gain nourishment by colonizing dead or decaying organic matter. They
are not parasites.
• 2. Obligate parasites—always a parasite. Can only grow as a parasite on or in a living
host. They cannot survive as saprophytes or be cultured in the laboratory. This is a
very interesting group of pathogens in that they have a vested interest in prolonging
the life of their host to increase their own viability. All viruses, downy mildews,
powdery mildews, rusts, and smuts are obligate parasites.
• 3. Facultative parasites—usually survive as a saprophyte but have the ability to
parasitize and cause disease under certain conditions. Examples include Pythium
species and many bacterial pathogens.
• 4. Facultative saprophytes—usually survive as a parasite but have the ability to live on
dead and decaying organic matter under the right conditions. Examples include
Phytophthora and Botrytis species.
• Some fungi and FLOs are able to live on only one host
• Meanings of sign and symptom
Sign is the infectious disease itself and its products,
examples are; fungal spores, fungal growths, sooty
molds, cankers, galls, slimy ooze, and fishy odor 

Symptom is the plant's response to the disease

causing organism, examples are; changes in plant
color, death of infected tissues, and wilting.
 Anthracnose
• The pathogen causes leaf spot/leaf blight, wither tip, blossom
blight and fruit rots. On leaves characteristic symptoms
appear as oval or irregular vinaceous brown to deep brown
spots of various sizes scattered all over the leaf surface.
 Fungus http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu

• Anthracnose
MANGO

TOMATO
 Fungus http://www.oznet.ksu.edu

• Anthracnose

Watermelon / Cantaloupe

http://ianrpubs.unl.edu
 Fungus http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu

• Anthracnose
Pepper

Green Beans

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu
• Blights are the appearance of streaks on
leaves, stems, and fruits that include early and
late blights that mostly attack tomatoes,
potatoes, eggplant, pepper, and their
relatives.
• Early blight, appears on the lower leaves,
usually after a heavy fruit set. The spots are
dark brown to black. Concentric rings develop
in the spot forming a bull’s eye.
• Late blight occurs in moist weather with cool
nights and moderately warm days. Dark-green
to nearly black wet-looking spots begin
spreading in from the leaf edge. In wet
weather, the spots may have a downy, white
growth on the lower leaf surface near the
outer portion of the spot. Spots also develop
on the fruits.
• Management: All overwinter on tomato and
weed refuse. Remove dead debris. Rotate
crops.
 Fungus
Early Blight
Potato

www.ndsu.nodak.edu
Tomato early blight (Alternaria solani)
-caused by a soil-borne fungus, can over
winter in plant debris on the ground.
-causes dark sunken lesions on mature
fruit, concentric rings of necrosis, fruit
often falls from the plant before
harvest.

-also causes defoliation of the host plant

Tomato Early Blight,
Altenaria solani
 Tomato
Fungus
Late Blight – numerous
Phytophthora spp.

Potato

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu
 Fungus
Late Blight
Pepper

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu
Potato Late Blight, (Phytophthora
infestans)
-one of the most devastating plant
diseases, it is responsible for the
Irish Potato Famine of the 1800’s.
-caused by a fungus, it will defoliate an
entire field of potatoes in a few days.
-tubers are also infected, and cause the
disease to be transmitted over years.
 Potato Late Blight,
(Phytophthora infestans)

Infected tuber Defoliated Plant

 • Bacterial blight on rice
( Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae)

• Sheath blight on rice

( Rhizoctonia solani) • Bacterial blast on rice
 (Pyricularia grisea)
• Cankers are dead areas on a stem or fruit
surrounded by living cortical tissues.
• Damping-off kills seedlings before soil
emergence as well as the newly emerged
ones. The stem rots occurred right on the soil
line. 
• Damping-off on chile seedlings
(Phytophthora capsici)
• Fusarium wilt on solanaceous
crops caused by Fusarium spp.
• Mildews are the white spots or patches on leaves, shoots, and
other plan parts.

• Downy mildew kills the infected plant fast, while powdery

mildew causes stunted growth, stressed plant, and reduced
yield but not killing the plant.

• Example: Powdery mildew on mango (Oidium mangiferae)

Powdery mildew on cereals (Erysiphe graminis)
• Example: Downy mildew on soybean (Peronospora manshurica)
Powdery mildew on mango (Oidium
mangiferae)

Powdery mildew on cereals

(Erysiphe graminis)

Downy mildew on soybean

(Peronospora manshurica)
Grey Mold (Botrytis cinerea)
-caused by a soil-borne fungus, easily
invades new tissue on many plants.
-requires high humidity, close proximity
of other plants.

-attacks stems first, causes black slimy

lesions, which cause the plant to die.
-lesions on fruit cause economic loss.
Grey Mold of bean,
(Botrytis cinerea)
Botrytis mold on raspberries
and strawberries
• Root rots are the killing of the rootlets that
cause stunting and wilting.
Example: Fusarium Root Rot – Fusarium solani f.
sp. phaseoli (beans), Phytophthora root rot – P.
capsici
 Phytophthora root
rot – P. capsici

Fusarium solani f. sp.

phaseoli

Rhizoctonia root rot

-Rhizoctonia solani Phytophthora crown
rot – P. capsici
• Rusts  a fungal disease with yellow/ green
blotches on upper side and clusters of blister
like formations which release more spores.

Example: Mango red rust - (Cephaleuros

virescens Kunze)
Mango red rust - (Cephaleuros
virescens Kunze)

Maize rust/ Common rust-

(Puccinia sorghi
• Scabs appear corky and cracked on infected
fruit.
• Spots of yellow, orange, gray, brown, tan,
purplish, red, or black on the plant parts are
caused by several species of disease causing
fungi like; Anthracnose, Alternaria, Fusarium,
Cercospora, etc.
Mango scab (Elsinoe
mangiferae)
• Wilts are fungal damages wherein the plants'
water conducting vessels are plugged causing
the leaves to wilt and die.
• Causes of wilting:
Vascular dysfunction
Root dysfunction
• Smuts are the silver
swellings or galls on
leaves, flowers,
tassels, and stems.
They enlarge,
darkened, and break
open to expose the
masses of black
fungal spores.
Example: Corn smut
(Ustilago maydis)
 Prevention and Control
• Always make a plan to grow a healthy crop
• Properly select plant cultivars that are fungal resistant and are common in
your locality
• Have proper plant spacing by following the recommended planting
distances. This enables light penetration and air flow
• Have a healthy and well-balanced soil
• Prune the overcrowded foliage
• Pick and cut the infected plant parts
• Uproot the heavily infected plants
• Always practice proper field sanitation
• Control the weeds
• Practice crop rotation by alternating crops of non-related family groups
during every cropping season
• C:\Users\iamspeziel\Desktop\SKILLS OLYMPIC
S DOCS\IPM for Mango.pdf
• C:\Users\iamspeziel\Desktop\SKILLS OLYMPIC
S DOCS\Handbook of Bean Diseases.PDF
 REVIEW Questions
• ALE Review Mycology.ppt
• ..\Teaching Materials EPPWS\CP 101 and CP 2
01\Biological Control agents.pptx