Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as the signs of the causal pathogen are quite distinctive. Infected plants display white powdery spots on the leaves and stems. This mycelial layer may quickly spread to cover all of the leaves. The lower leaves are the most affected, but the mildew can appear on any above-ground part of the plant. As the disease progresses, the spots get larger and denser as large numbers of asexual spores are formed, and the mildew may spread up and down the length of the plant.
Uncinula necator is a fungus that causes powdery mildew of grape. It is a common pathogen of Vitis species, including the wine grape, Vitis vinifera. The fungus is believed to have originated in North America. European varieties of Vitis vinifera are more or less susceptible to this fungus. Uncinula necator infects all green tissue on the grapevine, including leaves and young berries. It can cause crop loss and poor wine quality if untreated. The sexual stage of this pathogen requires free moisture to release ascospores from its cleistothecia in the spring. However, free moisture is not needed for secondary spread via conidia; high atmospheric humidity is sufficient. Its anamorph is called Oidium tuckeri.
Oidium is a genus of Deuteromycetes, where traditionally most anamorphs of the order Erysiphales are included. Most of them are plant pathogens causing different forms of powdery mildew, for example:
Erysiphales are an order of ascomycete fungi. The order contains one family, Erysiphaceae. Many of them cause plant diseases called powdery mildew.
Blumeria graminis is a fungus that causes powdery mildew on grasses, including cereals. It is the only species in the genus Blumeria. It has also been called Erysiphe graminis and Oidium monilioides or Oidium tritici.
Erysiphe cruciferarum is a plant pathogen of the family Erysiphaceae, which causes the main powdery mildew of crucifers, including on Brassica crops, such as cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. E. cruciferarum is distributed worldwide, and is of particular concentration in continental Europe and the Indian subcontinent. E. cruciferarum is an ascomycete fungus that has both sexual and asexual stages. It is also an obligate parasite that appears to have host specificity; for example, isolates from turnip will not infect Brussels sprout, and vice versa. While being a part of the family Erysiphaceae, it belongs to those members in which the conidia are formed singly and whose haustoria are multilobed.
Erysiphe betae is a fungal plant pathogen. It is a form of powdery mildew that can affect crops of sugar beet, that could cause up to a 30% yield loss. The fungus occurs worldwide in all regions where sugar beet is grown and it also infects other edible crops, e.g. beetroot.
Leveillula taurica is an obligate fungal pathogen, from the phylum Ascomycota, which causes powdery mildew on onion. This disease prefers warm, dry environments. It is rare in the United States, and is currently restricted to western states. Globally, it is also a minor problem with limited occurrences in the Middle East, Europe, and South America. L. taurica causes powdery mildew of onions, but is also known to infect other allium, solanaceous, and cucurbit species. The disease has appeared in parts of the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and South and North America. Currently, it is not a cause for major concern in the U.S. and throughout the world, as its geographic extent is sparse. In addition, it is relatively easy to control through basic sanitation and reducing water stress.
Erysiphe heraclei is a plant pathogen that causes powdery mildew on several species including dill, carrot and parsley.
Podosphaera fuliginea is a plant pathogen that causes powdery mildew on cucurbits. Podosphaera fuliginea and Erysiphe cichoracearum are the two most commonly recorded fungi causing cucurbit powdery mildew. In the past, Erysiphe cichoracearum was considered to be the primary causal organism throughout most of the world. Today, Podosphaera fuliginea is more commonly reported.
Podosphaera fusca is a fungus that parasitically infects plants. It is one cause of powdery mildew in melons and gourds.
Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici is a plant pathogen that causes a fungal infection known as powdery mildew. It is most common in grains, and it can be identified by the characteristic white spots on leaves and stems that appear to be made of powder. Powdery mildew is one of the most widespread and easily recognizable plant diseases.
Erysiphe is a genus of fungi in the family Erysiphaceae. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens which cause powdery mildew.
Erysiphe alphitoides is a species of fungus which causes powdery mildew on oak trees.
Ampelomyces quisqualis is an anamorphic fungus that is a hyperparasite of powdery mildews. This parasitism reduces growth and may eventually kill the mildew. These mycoparasites can live up to 21 days on mildew-free host plant surfaces, attacking powdery mildew structures as soon as they appear. A. quisqualis is used as the active ingredient in a commercial fungicide.
Cecil Edmund Yarwood (1908–1981) was an American-Canadian plant pathologist whose work focused on obligate parasites of plants, viruses, and conditions that predisposed plants to infections. He is considered an authority on rust (fungus) and powdery mildew.
Illeis cincta, is a species of lady beetle native to India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Illeis (Hibachi) bistigmosa, is a species of lady beetle native to India, and Sri Lanka.
Golovinomyces orontii is a species of fungus that causes powdery mildew disease and it is in the family Erysiphaceae. It is an obligate biotroph that infects plants in several families including Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae, and Lamiaceae.
Erysiphe platani, also known as sycamore powdery mildew, is a fungus native to North America that now infects sycamore tree species worldwide. Infections may spread rapidly in urban settings with large groups of young trees or in plant nurseries. This mildew thrives when there are high humidity conditions during the growing season.
