mildew

→ Catalan: míldiu

→ French: mildiou

→ Portuguese: míldio

→ Spanish: mildiu

From Middle English myldew, from Old English meledēaw, mildēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *milidauw, from *mili (“honey”) + *dauw (“dew”). Compare West Frisian moaldau, Dutch meeldauw, German Mehltau. More at dew.

(phytopathology) A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances.


scab

en-noun

scab (countable and uncountable, plural scabs)

From Middle English scabb, scabbe (also as shabbe, schabbe > English shab), from Old English sċeabb and Old Norse skabb, both from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz (“scab, scabies”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, carve, shape”). Doublet of shab. Cognate with German Schabe (“scabies”), Danish skab (“scab, scabies”), Swedish skabb (“scab, scabies”), Latin scabies (“scab, itch, mange”). Related also to Old English scafan (“to scrape, shave”), Latin scabere (“to scratch”), English shabby.

der

(phytopathology) Any one of various more or less destructive fungal diseases that attack cultivated plants, forming dark-colored crustlike spots.


canker

en-noun

canker (countable and uncountable, plural cankers)

From Middle English canker, cancre, from Old English cancer (“cancer; crab”), akin to Dutch kanker, Old High German chanchar. Ultimately from Latin cancer (“a cancer”). Doublet of cancer, a later borrowing from Latin, and chancre, which came through French.

(phytopathology) A plant disease marked by gradual decay.


curl

From metathesis of Middle English crulle (“curled, curly”), from Middle Dutch crul, crulle (“curl”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kruzlǭ (“bent or crooked object, curl”), of unknown origin; possibly from Pre-Germanic *grus-, contracted from Proto-Indo-European *gurus- (“twist, curl”), same source as Persian گرس (gors, “braid of hair”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Krulle (“curl, lock”), West Frisian krul (“curl”), Dutch krul (“curl”), German Low German Krull (“curl”), dialectal German Krolle (“curl”), Danish krølle (“curl”), Norwegian krull (“curl”). Related also to Saterland Frisian Kruus (“curl”), German kraus (“frizzy, crumpled, curly”), Danish krus (“curl”), Swedish krusa (“to crimp, curl”). Compare also Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to grind, crush, gnash”).

unk

unknown

cog

These potatoes, however, planted the next year, have a fair yield, untouched by the curl.

1840, "Farmers' Department", The Family Magazine, volume 1, page 227:

(agriculture, phytopathology, uncountable) Any of various diseases of plants causing the leaves or shoots to curl up; often specifically the potato curl.


gall

From Middle English galle, from Old French galle, from Latin galla (“oak-apple”).

Even so, Redi retained a belief that in certain other cases—the origin of parasites inside the human or animal body or of grubs inside of oak galls—there must be spontaneous generation. Bit by bit the evidence grew against such views. In 1670 Jan Swammerdam, painstaking student of the insect’s life cycle, suggested that the grubs in galls were enclosed in them for the sake of nourishment and must come from insects that had inserted their semen or their eggs into the plants.

1974, Philip P. Wiener, editor, Dictionary of the History of Ideas:

(phytopathology) A blister or tumor-like growth found on the surface of plants, caused by various pathogens, especially the burrowing of insect larvae into the living tissues, such as that of the common oak gall wasp (Cynips quercusfolii).


scorch

en-noun

scorch (countable and uncountable, plural scorches)

From Middle English scorchen, scorcnen (“to make dry; parch”), perhaps an alteration of earlier *scorpnen, from Old Norse skorpna (“to shrivel up”).

(phytopathology) Brown discoloration on the leaves of plants caused by heat, lack of water or by fungi.


wilt

wilt (countable and uncountable, plural wilts)

Recorded since 1691, probably an alteration of welk, itself from Middle English welken, presumed from Middle Dutch (preserved in modern inchoative verwelken) or Middle Low German welken (“to wither”), cognate with Old High German irwelhen (“to become soft”).

cog

(phytopathology) Any of various plant diseases characterized by wilting.


blight

en-noun

blight (countable and uncountable, plural blights)

The etymology of the noun is uncertain; suggested derivations include the following:
* possibly related to Middle English blichening (“mildew or rust on grain, blight”), possibly related to Middle English bliken (“to gleam, shine; to turn pale”), from Old English blīcan (“to shine, sparkle”) (whence modern English blike (“(obsolete) to gleam, shine”); also compare Old Norse blikna (“to grow pallid”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blīkan (“to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”); or
* since sense 2.2 is a diseased condition of the skin, possibly from Middle English *bleighte, *bleȝte, from Old English blǣcþa (“leprosy”) (related to blǣċe (“an itching skin-disease”) and blǣċo (“leprosy; paleness”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blaik, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale; white”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). If so, the word is a doublet of bleak.
The verb is derived from the noun.

cog

Proceed, inhuman Parent in thy Scorn; / Root up my Trees, vvith Blites deſtroy my Corn; / My Vineyards Ruin, and my Sheepfolds burn.

1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 136, lines 467–469:

As ſudden blights corrupt the ripen'd grain, / And of its verdure ſpoil the mournful plain; / So hapleſs love on blooming features preys, / So hapleſs love deſtroys our peaceful days.

1720, John Gay, “[Miscellanies.] Panthea. An Elegy.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, volume II, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], and Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, page 388, lines 337–340:

Some there are vvho imagine the moſt deſtructive Blights vvhich attend Fruit-Trees, are produc'd by ſmall Shovvers of Rain, or vvhite Hoar-Froſts falling upon the Bloſſoms of Fruit-trees, vvhich being ſucceeded by cold North or Eaſterly VVinds, or froſty Mornings, are the Occaſion of the frequent Blights vvhich happen in the Spring Seaſon: […]

1733, Philip Miller, “BLIGHTS”, in The Gardeners Dictionary: […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, column 1:

A blight in 1855–56 set back the industry, many plantations being ruined and then given over to sugar cane. After the blight had disappeared, the plantations were re-established, and prosperity continued for years.

1922, William H[arrison] Ukers, “Cultivation of the Coffee Plant”, in All About Coffee, New York, N.Y.: The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company, →OCLC, page 241, column 1:

A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as floral organs, leaves, branches, or twigs, especially one caused by a fungus; a mildew, a rust, a smut.

главня

type of diseased condition of a plant — see also mildew, rust, smut

The cause of such a condition, often unseen but believed to be airborne; specifically, a bacterium, a virus, or (especially) a fungus; also, an aphid which attacks fruit trees.


blight

en-verb

blight (third-person singular simple present blights, present participle blighting, simple past and past participle blighted)

blights (present singular third-person)
blighting (participle present)
blighted (participle past)
blighted (past)
blight (infinitive)
blight (first-person present singular)
blighted (first-person past singular)
blight (present second-person singular)
blightest (archaic present second-person singular)
blighted (past second-person singular)
blightedst (archaic past second-person singular)
blights (present singular third-person)
blighteth (archaic present singular third-person)
blighted (past singular third-person)
blight (plural present)
blighted (past plural)
blight (present subjunctive)
blighted (past subjunctive)
blight (imperative present)
blighting (participle present)
blighted (participle past)

But if it happens, as ſometimes it does, that this Vapour bears up along vvith it any noxious mineral Steams, it then blasts Vegetables, eſpecially thoſe vvhich are more young and tender: blights Corn and Fruits: and is ſometimes injurious even to Men vvho chance to be then abroad in the Fields.

1695, John Woodward, “Part IV. Of the Origin and Formation of Metalls and Minerals.”, in An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth: And Terrestrial Bodies, Especially Minerals: […], London: […] Ric[hard] Wilkin […], →OCLC, pages 212–213:

In your eye there is death, / There is frost on your breath / Which would blight the plants.

1830 June, Alfred Tennyson, “The Poet’s Mind”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 51:

Oh, Love! like the blast of the desert thou blightest / The fairest of flowers with thy venomous breath.

1840 August, “The Talisman”, in The Citizen; a Monthly Journal of Politics, Literature, and Art, volume II, number X, Dublin: Machen and Company, […]; London: Simpkin and Marshall, and Richard Groombridge, →OCLC, stanza IV, page 157:

Much is permitted to the power of spirits, so that, being unseen and unperceived, they appear rather in their effects than in their acts: as when some lurking evil in the air blighteth the fruit or grain in the blossom, killeth it in the blade, woundeth it in its full growth, and when the atmosphere tainted in some secret way poureth over the earth its pestilential vapours.

1842, Tertullian, “The Book of Apology against the Heathen”, in C[harles] Dodgson, transl., edited by E[dward] B[ouverie] P[usey], Tertullian (A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, […]; 10), volume I (Apologetic and Practical Treatises), Oxford, Oxfordshire: John Henry Parker; London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington, →OCLC, pages 54–55:

(phytopathology) To affect the fertility or growth of (a plant) with a blight (noun sense 1.1), especially one caused by a fungus; to blast, to mildew, to smut.

antaa ruostetauti

to affect the fertility or growth of (a plant) with a blight


murrain

en-noun

murrain (countable and uncountable, plural murrains)

murrains (plural)
murrein (alternative)
murrion (alternative)

The noun is derived from Late Middle English morein, morine, moreyn (“(widespread) death; widespread sickness, plague; fatal disease; carnage; carrion”), from Anglo-Norman morine, mourine, moreyn (“death; widespread sickness, plague; carrion; cattle disease”), Middle French morine, and Old French morine, mourine, murine (“widespread sickness, plague; animal which has died from a disease”), from Late Latin morina (“plague”), probably from Latin morior (“to die; to decay, wither”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to die”).
The adjective and adverb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Italian morìa (“plague”)
* Latin morticīnus (“that has died naturally, dead; (relational) carrion”) (Medieval Latin morticinium)
* Occitan moria (“death; plague”)
* Old French morie (“death”) mourie (“flesh of animals that have died of disease”) (Middle French murie)
* Portuguese morrinha (“cattle plague”)
* Spanish morriña (“cattle plague”)

cog

potato murrain

[H]e had reason to think that a murrain had fallen over the whole of the potato crops in England, and that, if it extended to Ireland, the most serious consequences must ensue.

1880, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter XIV, in Endymion […], volume III, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, pages 141–142:

(countable, by extension, phytopathology) An infectious disease affecting plants.


mosaic

en-noun

mosaic (countable and uncountable, plural mosaics)

mosaics (plural)
mosaick (alternative obsolete)
musaic (alternative archaic)

From Middle French mosaïque, from Italian mosaico, from Medieval Latin musaicum, from Late Latin musivum (opus), from Latin museum, musaeum, probably from Ancient Greek Μουσεῖον (Mouseîon), shrine of the Muses (Μοῦσα (Moûsa)).

(phytopathology) Any of several viral diseases that cause mosaic-like patterns to appear on leaves.


Dutch elm disease

Named after the country in which the disease was first identified. (It is not specific to Dutch elms.)

The village is a dignified place of thatch, half-timbering, box hedges and neat farms, set among elms (though not as many as formerly, since Dutch elm disease took its toll) on the level plain of the Pewsey Vale.

1980, AA Book of English Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 67:

The process began 50 years ago when Europe’s elms were ravaged by the beetle-borne fungal malady misnamed ʻDutch elm diseaseʼ (which, in fact, is Asian).

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 296:

(phytopathology) A disease of elm trees caused by ascomycete fungi in the genus Ophiostoma and spread by bark beetles.


chlorosis

chlorosis (countable and uncountable, plural chloroses)

From international scientific vocabulary, from New Latin; by surface analysis, chlor- + -osis, where chlor- in this instance refers to pale yellow-green colorations and not to chlorine.

Chlorosis (medicine)
Chlorosis (plant disorder)

jaundice

also involves pale and yellowish complexions

en:yellowing of plants from chlorophyll disturbances

(botany, phytopathology, uncountable) A yellowing of plant tissue due to loss or absence of chlorophyll.


dry rot

dryrot (alternative)
dry-rot (alternative)

(phytopathology) A fungal infection which affects plants, in particular potatoes.


root rot

root rot (countable and uncountable, plural root rots)

root rots (plural)
rootrot (alternative)

(phytopathology) Any of several plant fungal diseases caused by having overwet roots.


black spot

black spot (countable and uncountable, plural black spots)

black spots (plural)
blackspot (alternative)

In areas where black spot is only a problem after heavy rain or later in the season, restrict spraying to these times, or if yellowing or spotted foliage is detected.

2006, Mary Moody, Mary Moody's Roses, Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page 20:

(phytopathology, uncountable) A fungal disease among plants, particularly roses, that results in black spots on the leaves.


potato blight

They say they used to give pauper children soup to change to protestants in the time of the potato blight.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 8]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

Phytophthora infestans
Phytophthora infestans#Translingual

(phytopathology) A devastating disease of potatoes caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans.

perunarutto

Phytophthora infestans, disease of potatoes


crown gall

(phytopathology) A disease of plants caused by infection of soil bacteria of the genus Agrobacterium


leaf spot

(phytopathology) Any of various fungal or bacterial diseases of plants that cause blemishes on their leaves.


esca

(phytopathology) A fungal disease afflicting grapes.


head blight

(phytopathology) a blight afflicting the seed heads or inflorescences of cereal crops


blister blight

(phytopathology) An infection of tea plants, caused by the fungus Exobasidium vexans, characterized by blister-like lesions on the leaves.

(phytopathology) A similar disease of some pines caused by Cronartium asclepiadeum.


anthracnose

anthracnose (countable and uncountable, plural anthracnoses)

(phytopathology) Any of several fungal diseases that affect many plants and trees.

caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides


dieback

The National Trust reports that 30,000 ash trees on its land will have been felled this year owing to ash dieback. “Dieback” sounds like a gentle, seasonal withdrawal. In fact, ash dieback is a devastating disease caused by a fungus, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, likely to have been carried into the UK on imported ash saplings in the early part of this century.

2021 December 12, “The Guardian view on ash dieback: a tiny chink of hope”, in The Guardian:

(phytopathology) The browning and death of a plant shoot starting at the tip, due to either disease or climate conditions.


clubroot

clubroot (countable and uncountable, plural clubroots)

Plasmodiophora brassicae
Plasmodiophora brassicae

(phytopathology) A common disease of cabbages, radishes, turnips, and other plants of the Cruciferae, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, in which galls form on latent roots, rendering them clublike.


soybean rust

(phytopathology) A fungal disease of soybeans and other legumes, caused by Phakopsora spp..


tobacco mosaic

As is the case with tobacco mosaic, the disease has been successfully transmitted by inoculating healthy plants with juice pressed out of diseased plants.

1920, Journal of agricultural research, volume 19, page 131:

(phytopathology) A disease of tobacco plants, characterized by mottled leaves, caused by this virus.


fire blight

fire blight (countable and uncountable, plural fire blights)

fire blights (plural)
fire-blight (alternative)
fireblight (alternative)

Pear growers also often reported scab and fire blights as the most damaging diseases.

1949, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Information Bulletin, page xv:

This paper reports on the transformation of apple aimed on an improvement of resistance to fire blight. Fire blight is a serious disease, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, affecting apple, pear and other members of the Rosaceous family.

2003, Viola Hanke, Klaus Geider, Klaus Richter, “Transgenic Apple Plants Expressing EPS-depolymerase: Evaluation of resistance to the phytopathogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora”, in Indra K. Vasil, editor, Plant Biotechnology 2002 and Beyond: Proceedings of the 10th IAPTC&B Congress, page 153:

A very serious bacterial disease in North America and Europe is fire blight, which can be most destructive to pears. In the past, fire blight led to big losses in the USA, destroying established pear orchards in one season.

2008, A. T. G. Elzebroek, Guide to Cultivated Plants, page 82:

(phytopathology) A bacterial plant disease, caused by Erwinia amylovora, that affects apples, pears and some other members of the Rosaceae family.


ferrugo

Borrowed from Latin ferrūgō (“iron rust”), from ferrum (“iron”).


ringspot

en-noun

ringspot (countable and uncountable, plural ringspots)

ringspots (plural)
ring spot (alternative)

Disease name: Tobacco rattle Causal virus: Tobacco rattle virus Symptoms: Necrotic local lesions, necrotic or chlorotic ringspots, systemic necrosis, ringspots, line patterns, mottling are the various symptoms induced in tobacco depending on the environment and cultivars.

(phytopathology) A symptom of various viral infections in plants.


rubigo

/ɹuːˈbaɪɡəʊ/

Dr. Darwin supposes that the rubigo which shows itself in a ferruginous powder beneath the leaves of vegetables previously diseased, may be a fungus (like the eurisiphe or mildew)[…]

1804, Annals of agriculture and other useful arts:

(phytopathology, obsolete) rust (fungal disease of plants)


brown rot

(phytopathology) A fungal disease of stone fruit such as peaches and nectarines, caused by the fungus Monilinia fructicola


white rust

(phytopathology) A disease of some plants caused by the pathogen Albugo candida


ash dieback

Ash dieback is a major concern. Only ten years after its identification in the UK, the risks posed by dead and diseased trees is rising, says NR. In 2020, ash dieback was present in 73% of ash trees in England, 92% in Wales, and 21% in Scotland, with a rapid increase in tree mortality rates over the next six years expected.

2023 August 9, Mel Holley, “Network News: Scotland's £4.2bn plan to ensure network stability”, in RAIL, number 989, page 24:

(phytopathology) Dieback of ash trees caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus.


witch's broom

witch's broom (countable and uncountable, plural witch's brooms)

witch's brooms (plural)
witches' broom (alternative)

(phytopathology) A disease or deformity in a woody plant, typically a tree, such that the natural structure of the plant is changed so that a dense mass of shoots grows from a single point.


rice blast

(phytopathology) A disease of rice caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea.


black rust

(phytopathology) A disease of wheat, in which a black, moist substance is deposited in the fissures of the grain.


ramularia

/ˌɹæm.jʊˈlɛəɹi.ə/

/ˌɹæm.jəˈlɛɹi.ə/

" For instance, breeding barley that resists ramularia, a disease that emerged in 1998, "will take at least 10 years.

2009 January 23, Sara Coelho, “AGRICULTURE: European Pesticide Rules Promote Resistance, Researchers Warn”, in Science, volume 323, number 5913, →DOI:

(phytopathology) A disease of barley, more fully ramularia leaf spot, caused by fungi of the genus Ramularia


halo blight

(phytopathology) A bacterial disease of bean plants, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola.


early blight

(phytopathology) A disease of tomato and potato plants caused by the fungus Alternaria solani, producing distinctive bullseye-patterned leaf spots, stem lesions, fruit rot on tomato and tuber blight on potato.


red rot

(phytopathology) A disease of sugar cane caused by the fungus Glomerella tucumanensis.


wetwood

Even though considerable data may show that a species in class 1 is not susceptible to wetwood formation, it may be important to continue looking for exceptions.

1980, J. C. Ward, Wetwood in trees: a timber resource problem, page 8:

(phytopathology) Wood with a darkened or wet appearance resulting from abnormally high water content or a bacterial infection.


slime flux

(phytopathology) An infection occurring in some tree species that causes a foul smelling fluid to ooze from infected wood and bark.


citrus black spot

(phytopathology) A disease of citrus plants caused by the Guignardia citricarpa fungus.


summit disease

summit disease (countable and uncountable, plural summit diseases)

From summit + disease, from the tendency of infected insects to climb to the upper parts of plants before dying.

Some fungus mediated behavioral changes have been recorded, such as "summit disease" where infected grasshoppers climb to the top of plants to die[…]. This may aid spore dispersal, but it has also been suggested that it is a mechanism by which the host reduces infection through increased exposure to UV.

2010, M[ark] S[tanislaw] Goettel, J[ørgen] Eilenberg, T[ravis] Glare, “Entomopathogenic Fungi and Their Role in Regulation of Insect Populations”, in Lawrence I[rwin] Gilbert, Sarjeet S[ingh] Gill, editors, Insect Control: Biological and Synthetic Agents, London; Burlington, Mass.: Academic Press, →ISBN, page 405:

Soybean looper, Thysanoplusia orichalcea, infected with Thysanoplusia orichalcea nucleopolyhedrovirus. The image illustrates what is known as treetop disease or summit disease, whereby the host climbs to an exposed position (e.g., on vegetation) before death to facilitate dispersal of the pathogen.

2012, David I[an] Shapiro-Ilan, Denny J[oseph] Bruck, Lawrence A[nthony] Lacey, “Principles of Epizootiology and Microbial Control”, in Fernando E. Vega, Harry K[azuyoshi] Kaya, editors, Insect Pathology, 2nd edition, London; Waltham, Mass.: Academic Press, →ISBN, figure 3.2 caption, page 38, column 2:

Many foliar-feeding hosts infected with bacterial and viral pathogens display classic "summit" diseases, in which the infected insects move up the foliage immediately before they die. This behavioral host response to infection results in increased transmission to uninfected hosts, as the pathogen propagules from the cadaver shower down on the foliage below, resulting in increased transmission to the rest of the population.

2014, D[enny] J[oseph] Bruck, “Entomopathogens as Insect Biocontrol Agents”, in Robert G[rant] Linderman, D[avid] Michael Benson, editors, Compendium of Rhododendron and Azalea Diseases and Pests, 2nd edition, St. Paul, Minn.: APS Press, →ISBN, page 84, column 2:

A particularly striking example of host manipulation called ‘summit disease’ occurs across a wide range of insect groups including aphids, grasshoppers, butterflies and moths, beetles and ants. The fungus grows within the host’s body, infecting various organs, but before it reaches a point when the animal can no longer move, somehow the fungus causes the host to climb to a higher point like the top of a grass stem or tree and wait there to die. This can be beneficial to the fungus as from this elevated position they can spread their spores far and wide on the breeze.

2017, Jack Ashby, “Caterpillar with Parasitoid Fungus: Dried Specimen”, in Animal Kingdom: A Natural History in 100 Objects, Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, →ISBN:

In the case of Ophiocordyceps, an infected ant's behaviour can be thought of as fungal behaviour. The death grip, summit disease, these are extended characteristics of the fungus, part of its extended phenotype.

2020, Merlin Sheldrake, “Mycelial Minds”, in Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures, London: The Bodley Head, →ISBN, page 124:

(phytopathology) A disease (usually fungal, caused by the species complex Entomophaga grylli) that affects various species of insect, especially grasshoppers, whereby the infected individual typically climbs to the upper parts of a plant, attaches itself there and dies, at which point the infecting agent disperses itself, usually in the form of spores.

Gipfelkrankheit

disease that affects various species of insect


root disease

root disease (countable and uncountable, plural root diseases)

(phytopathology) Any of several plant diseases affecting the root system.


black measles

(phytopathology) Synonym of esca (“a fungal disease afflicting grapes”)