Radopholus similis is a species of nematode known commonly as the burrowing nematode. It is a parasite of plants, and it is a pest of many agricultural crops. It is an especially important pest of bananas, and it can be found on coconut, avocado, coffee, sugarcane, other grasses, and ornamentals. It is a migratory endoparasite of roots, causing lesions that form cankers. Infected plants experience malnutrition.
The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, is the most devastating pest to soybean crop yields in the U.S., targeting the roots of soybean and other legume plants. When infection is severe SCNs cause stunting, yellowing, impaired canopy development, and yield loss. The symptoms caused by SCNs can go easily unrecognized by farmers—in some cases there are no warning symptoms before a loss of 40% of the yield. Due to the slight stunting and yellowing, many farmers may mistake these symptoms as environmental problems when in fact they are SCNs. Another symptom of SCNs that may affect farmers' yields is stunted roots with fewer nitrogen-fixing nodules. Due to the fact that soybean cyst nematodes can only move a few centimeters in the soil by themselves, they mostly are spread via tillage or plant transplants. This area of infection will look patchy and nonuniform making diagnosis more difficult for farmers. They can be seen in the roots of summer soybean plants if the roots are taken out very carefully and gently washed with water. The egg masses should be seen as bright white or yellow "pearls" on the roots. The later the roots are pulled the harder it will be to diagnose due to the SCNs female dying and turning a much darker color, forming a "cyst". The best way to know if a field is infected by soybean cyst nematodes is to take a soil sample to a nematologist.
Common root rot is a fungal disease of barley caused by Cochliobolus sativus, Fusarium culmorum and F. graminearum.
Rhizoctonia solani is a species of fungus in the order Cantharellales. Basidiocarps are thin, effused, and web-like, but the fungus is more typically encountered in its anamorphic state, as hyphae and sclerotia. The name Rhizoctonia solani is currently applied to a complex of related species that await further research. In its wide sense, Rhizoctonia solani is a facultative plant pathogen with a wide host range and worldwide distribution. It causes various plant diseases such as root rot, damping off, and wire stem. It can also form mycorrhizal associations with orchids.
Fusarium culmorum is a fungal plant pathogen and the causal agent of seedling blight, foot rot, ear blight, stalk rot, common root rot and other diseases of cereals, grasses, and a wide variety of monocots and dicots. In coastal dunegrass, F. culmorum is a nonpathogenic symbiont conferring both salt and drought tolerance to the plant.
Aphanomyces euteiches is a water mould, or oomycete, plant pathogen responsible for the disease Aphanomyces root rot. The species Aphanomyces euteiches can infect a variety of legumes. Symptoms of the disease can differ among hosts but generally include reduced root volume and function, leading to stunting and chlorotic foliage. Aphanomyces root rot is an important agricultural disease in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Management includes using resistant crop varieties and having good soil drainage, as well as testing soil for the pathogen to avoid infected fields.
Phytophthora nicotianae or black shank is an oomycete belonging to the order Peronosporales and family Peronosporaceae.
Pythium aphanidermatum is a soil borne plant pathogen. Pythium is a genus in the class Oomycetes, which are also known as water molds. Oomycetes are not true fungi, as their cell walls are made of cellulose instead of chitin, they are diploid in their vegetative state, and they form coenocytic hyphae. Also, they reproduce asexually with motile biflagelette zoospores that require water to move towards and infect a host. Sexually, they reproduce with structures called antheridia, oogonia, and oospores.
Pythium graminicola is a plant pathogen infecting cereals.
Ceratobasidium cornigerum is a species of fungus in the order Cantharellales. Basidiocarps are thin, spread on the substrate out like a film (effused) and web-like. An anamorphic state is frequently obtained when isolates are cultured. Ceratobasidium cornigerum is saprotrophic, but is also a facultative plant pathogen, causing a number of economically important crop diseases, and an orchid endomycorrhizal associate. The species is genetically diverse and is sometimes treated as a complex of closely related taxa. DNA research shows the species actually belongs within the genus Rhizoctonia.
Aphanomyces cochlioides is a plant pathogen that can affect commodity crops like spinach, Swiss chard, beets and related species. In spinach the pathogen is responsible for the black root "rot" that can damage plants.
Pyrenochaeta terrestris is a fungal plant pathogen that infects maize, sweet potatoes, and strawberries. This plant pathogen causes a disease in onion that is commonly called pink root. P. terrestris is also known to infect shallots, garlic, leeks, chives, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, cowpea, cucumbers, eggplants, lima beans, millet, oats, peas, peppers, potatoes, spinach, sugarcane, and tomatoes.
Meloidogyne arenaria is a species of plant pathogenic nematodes. This nematode is also known as the peanut root knot nematode. The word "Meloidogyne" is derived from two Greek words that mean "apple-shaped" and "female". The peanut root knot nematode, M. arenaria is one of the "major" Meloidogyne species because of its worldwide economic importance. M. arenaria is a predominant nematode species in the United States attacking peanut in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. The most damaging nematode species for peanut in the USA is M. arenaria race 1 and losses can exceed 50% in severely infested fields. Among the several Meloidogyne species that have been characterized, M. arenaria is the most variable both morphologically and cytologically. In 1949, two races of this nematode had been identified, race 1 which reproduces on peanut and race 2 which cannot do so. However, in a recent study, three races were described. López-Pérez et al (2011) had also studied populations of M. arenaria race 2, which reproduces on tomato plants carrying the Mi gene and race 3, which reproduces on both resistant pepper and tomato.
Pratylenchus penetrans is a species of nematode in the genus Pratylenchus, the lesion nematodes. It occurs in temperate regions worldwide, regions between the subtropics and the polar circles. It is an animal that inhabits the roots of a wide variety of plants and results in necrotic lesions on the roots. Symptoms of P. penetrans make it hard to distinguish from other plant pathogens; only an assay of soil can conclusively diagnose a nematode problem in the field. P. penetrans is physically very similar to other nematode species, but is characterized by its highly distinctive mouthpiece. P. penetrans uses its highly modified mouth organs to rupture the outer surface of subterranean plant root structures. It will then enter into the root interior and feed on the plant tissue inside. P. penetrans is considered to be a crop parasite and farmers will often treat their soil with various pesticides in an attempt to eliminate the damage caused by an infestation. In doing this, farmers will also eliminate many of the beneficial soil fauna, which will lead to an overall degradation of soil quality in the future. Alternative, more environmentally sustainable methods to control P. penetrans populations may be possible in certain regions.
Heterodera humuli is a plant pathogenic nematode, the hop cyst nematode. It is an obligate parasite and infests hop plants, Humulus lupulus.
Heterodera schachtii, the beet cyst eelworm or sugarbeet nematode, is a plant pathogenic nematode. It infects more than 200 different plants including economically important crops such as sugar beets, cabbage, broccoli, and radish. H. schachtii is found worldwide. Affected plants are marked by stunted growth, wilting, yellowing, decreased yields, and death. While there are many methods of control, crop rotation with non-susceptible plants is preferred.
Heterodera sacchari, the sugarcane cyst nematode, mitotic parthenogenic sedentary endoparasitic nematode. This plant-parasitic nematode infects the roots of sugarcane, and the female nematode eventually becomes a thick-walled cyst filled with eggs. Aboveground symptoms are species specific and are similar to those caused by other Heterodera species. Symptoms include: stunted and chlorotic plants, and reduced root growth. Seedlings may be killed in heavily infested soils.
Heterodera medicaginis, the alfalfa cyst nematode, is a plant pathogenic nematode which is cited as an invasive species. It is closely allied to Heterodera daverti, H. glycines and H. sonchophila in the H. schachtii-group. The only known host plant of this obligate parasite is the important crop alfalfa or lucerne, Medicago sativa.
Heterodera zeae, the corn cyst nematode (CCN), is a plant parasitic nematode that feeds on Zea mays (maize/corn). The CCN has a limited economic impact worldwide due to its high soil temperature requirements.
Sudden death syndrome (SDS), a disease in soybean plants, quickly spread across the southern United States in the 1970s, eventually reaching most agricultural areas of the US. SDS is caused by multiple Fusarium fungi in the Fusariumsolani complex. Fusarium virguliforme is the sole causal agent in North America. In South America, Fusarium brasiliense, F. cuneirostrum, F. tucumaniae, and F. virguliforme are all causal agents. Losses could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars in US soybean markets alone making it one of the most important diseases found in Soybeans across the US.
