Useful Definitions

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Abiotic - Non-living, or caused by a non-living agent, for example, abiotic disease.

Biological Control - Total or partial destruction of pathogen populations by other organisms.

Blight - A disease characterized by general and rapid killing of leaves, flowers, and stems.

Disease - Any malfunctioning of host cells and tissues that results from continuous irritation by a pathogenic agent or environmental factor and leads to development of symptoms.

Fungicide - A compound toxic to fungi.

Host - A plant that is invaded by a parasite and from which the parasite obtains its nutrients.

Infection - The establishment of a parasite within a host plant.

Infectious Disease - A disease that is caused by a pathogen which can spread from a diseased plant to a healthy plant.

Integrated Pest Management - The attempt to prevent pathogens, insects, and weeds from causing economic crop losses by using a variety of management methods that are cost effective and cause the least damage to the environment.

Intercellular - Movement between cells.

Intracellular - Movement within or through the cells.

Noninfectious Disease - A disease that is caused by an abiotic agent, that is, by an environmental factor, not by a pathogen.

Pathogen - An entity, usually a microorganism, that can incite a disease.

Sclerotia - A compact mass of hyphae with or without host tissue, usually darkened rind, and capable of surviving under unfavorable environmental conditions.

Symptom - The external and internal reactions or alterations of a plant as a result of a disease.

Vascular - Term applied to a plant tissue or region consisting of conductive tissue; also, to a pathogen that grows primarily in the conductive tissues of a plant.

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