Basil, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also known as sweet basil or Genovese basil. Basil is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia. In temperate climates basil is treated as an annual plant, however, basil can be grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial in warmer horticultural zones with tropical or Mediterranean climates.
Fusarium wilt is a common vascular wilt fungal disease, exhibiting symptoms similar to Verticillium wilt. This disease has been investigated extensively since the early years of this century. The pathogen that causes Fusarium wilt is Fusarium oxysporum. The species is further divided into formae speciales based on host plant.
Nufar basil is the first variety of sweet basil that is resistant to fusarium wilt. Fusarium wilt is a disease that causes sudden wilting and death in multiple species, including basil. It is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. basilicum, which attacks the xylem in the stem, blocking water uptake and leading to a characteristic sudden leaf wilt that does not respond to watering. Nufar basil is resistant to fusarium wilt, remaining asymptomatic even when infected. It was released in 1999 in Israel by the breeders of the Agricultural Research Organization, and commercialized by Genesis Seeds.
Trichoderma is a genus of fungi in the family Hypocreaceae that is present in all soils, where they are the most prevalent culturable fungi. Many species in this genus can be characterized as opportunistic avirulent plant symbionts. This refers to the ability of several Trichoderma species to form mutualistic endophytic relationships with several plant species. The genomes of several Trichoderma specieshave been sequenced and are publicly available from the JGI.
Pythium ultimum is a plant pathogen. It causes damping off and root rot diseases of hundreds of diverse plant hosts including corn, soybean, potato, wheat, fir, and many ornamental species. P. ultimum belongs to the peronosporalean lineage of oomycetes, along with other important plant pathogens such as Phytophthora spp. and many genera of downy mildews. P. ultimum is a frequent inhabitant of fields, freshwater ponds, and decomposing vegetation in most areas of the world. Contributing to the widespread distribution and persistence of P. ultimum is its ability to grow saprotrophically in soil and plant residue. This trait is also exhibited by most Pythium spp. but not by the related Phytophthora spp., which can only colonize living plant hosts.
Alternaria japonica is a fungal plant pathogen. It is a cause of black spot disease in cruciferous plants. It is not a major source of crop loss, but is considered dangerous for plants during the seedling stage.
Cadophora malorum is a saprophytic plant pathogen that causes side rot in apple and pear and can also cause disease on asparagus and kiwifruit. C. malorum has been found parasitizing shrimp and other fungal species in the extreme environments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and can be categorized as a halophilic psychrotrophic fungus and a marine fungus.
Pseudopestalotiopsis theae is a plant pathogen affecting tea.
Waitea circinata is a species of fungus in the family Corticiaceae. Basidiocarps are corticioid, thin, effused, and web-like, but the fungus is more frequently encountered in its similar but sterile anamorphic state. Waitea circinata is best known as a plant pathogen, causing commercially significant damage to amenity turf grass.
Corynespora cassiicola is a species of fungus well known as a plant pathogen. It is a sac fungus in the family Corynesporascaceae. It is the type species of the genus Corynespora.
Neocosmospora vasinfecta is a fungal plant pathogen that causes, among other types of infections soybean stem rot.
Didymella bryoniae, syn. Mycosphaerella melonis, is an ascomycete fungal plant pathogen that causes gummy stem blight on the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cantaloupe, cucumber, muskmelon and watermelon plants. The anamorph/asexual stage for this fungus is called Phoma cucurbitacearum. When this pathogen infects the fruit of cucurbits it is called black rot.
Nigrospora sphaerica is an airborne filamentous fungus in the phylum Ascomycota. It is found in soil, air, and plants as a leaf pathogen. It can occur as an endophyte where it produces antiviral and antifungal secondary metabolites. Sporulation of N. sphaerica causes its initial white coloured colonies to rapidly turn black. N. sphaerica is often confused with the closely related species N. oryzae due to their morphological similarities.
Puccinia thaliae is the causal agent of canna rust, a fungal disease of Canna. Symptoms include yellow to tan spots on the plant's leaves and stems. Initial disease symptoms will result in scattered sori, eventually covering the entirety of the leaf with coalescing postulates. Both leaf surfaces, although more predominant on the underside (abaxial) of the leaf, will show yellow to brownish spore-producing these pustulate structures, and these are the signs of the disease. Spots on the upper leaf-surface coalesce and turn to brown-to-black as the disease progresses. Infection spots will become necrotic with time, with small holes developing in older leaves. These infected leaves eventually become dry and prematurely fall.
Boxwood blight is a widespread fungal disease affecting boxwoods, caused by Cylindrocladium buxicola. The disease causes widespread leaf loss and eventual death.
Brown ring patch is a recently described Rhizoctonia-like disease of turf grass caused by the fungus Waitea circinata var. circinata. The disease primarily affects putting greens and causes yellow or brown rings up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter. Brown ring patch was first observed in Japan and has since spread to the United States and China (2011).
Penicillium carneum is a fungus species of the genus of Penicillium.Penicillium roqueforti var. carneum was reclassified to Penicillium carneum.P. carneum was isolated from spoiled meat products, silage, rye bread, water, beer, cheese, mouldy barkers yeast and cork. P. carneum produces patulin, penicillic acid, penitrem A, mycophenolic acid roquefortines.
Cladosporium cladosporioides is a darkly pigmented mold that occurs world-wide on a wide range of materials both outdoors and indoors. It is one of the most common fungi in outdoor air where its spores are important in seasonal allergic disease. While this species rarely causes invasive disease in animals, it is an important agent of plant disease, attacking both the leaves and fruits of many plants. This species produces asexual spores in delicate, branched chains that break apart readily and drift in the air. It is able to grow under low water conditions and at very low temperatures.
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is a plant virus in the genus Tobamovirus that was first described in 2015. It has spread rapidly since it was first noted in Jordan and Israel. The main hosts are tomato and peppers. The virus causes symptoms including mosaic and distortion of leaves and brown, wrinkly spots (rugose) on fruits. Outbreaks can be severe and leave fruit unmarketable.
Epicoccum sorghinum is an ascomycete fungus with known plant pathogenicity to sugarcane and rice, causing ring spot disease and leaf spot disease. This fungus is primarily known for its production of tenuazonic acid, which leads to complications with growth and causes the symptoms of leaf spot disease. Tenuazonic acid not only affects plant growth, but has recently been proven to impact human health due to its prevalence in food and beverages. It is widely dispersed, affecting multiple hosts in different countries. Although not a serious threat, Epicoccum sorghinum has been known to influence the sorghum grain-mold complex in ways which reduce crop yields, seed viability, and kernel weight. As a result of continuous phylogenetic and morphological discoveries relevant to Epicoccum sorghinum, this fungus has undergone a number of name changes.
