The genus Fusarium includes over 20 species affecting a wide range of crops from fruits, vegetables, herbs, tubers, and cereal grains (DoctorFungus Corporation) (Gullino, et al., 1998) (Lõiveke, 2006). Fusarium spp. are in the phylum Ascomycota; they have septate hyphae, conidiospores, mircoconidia, macroconidia and can be found worldwide (DoctorFungus Corporation) (Glenn, et al., 2004). Several species are responsible for producing mycotoxins in many grains which can have adverse effects for humans and other animals (Teich & Hamilton, 1985) (Lõiveke). Some Fusarium species can also act as beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, while different strains of that species can be pathogenic as with Fusarium oxysporum on corn, wheat and solanaceous crops (Lõiveke) (Fracchia, et al., 2000) (Tamietti & Valentino, 2006) (Champeil, et al., 2004) .
As a pathogen Fusarium spp. can cause a variety of diseases depending on which host plant it infects. In cereal grains numerous species may cause head blight, root rot, Fusarium foot rot, or seedling blight; in potatoes it can cause dry rot and in solanaceous or other fruit crops various wilt diseases (Lõiveke) (Champeil, et al.) (Katan, 2000). Due to the wide variety of host crops management of Fusarium spp. can be difficult, this paper will focus on some cultural controls that have been studied, some have proven to be very effective while others are still in debate and being studied.
Crop rotation is perhaps the most effective form of management for grain diseases caused by pathogenic Fusarium spp.. Numerous studies have shown that, especially in wheat, the previous crop can make a large difference in the instances of disease. For Fusarium head blight studies have shown wheat following corn in rotat...
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Irrigation aids the leaching of chemicals used in the production of grapes into the environment. The shift towards drip irrigation has been positive for the environment. It has minimized the quantity of water used in irrigation thus minimizing chemical leaching.
In the 1880's a harmful fungus known as blight, inhabited the United States from imported Japanese chestnut trees. Blight quickly spread, killing chestnuts and chinquapins, which is another species of chestnut that produces 1 nut per bur. In 1904, Chestnut blight appeared infecting trees in New York City and spread at a rate of 20-50 miles per year. By 1906, W.A. Murrill reported that this disease is known to occur in New Jersey, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. In 1912, the Planet Quarantine Act was passed to reduce the chances of plant deterioration or devastation prevention. Chestnut Blight or Chestnut Bark Disease was originally found in 1904 and within 50 years, it spread across the eastern United States, from Maine to Georgia and as far west as the edge of Michigan. By 1950, the American chestnut was essentially eliminated as a forest tree. In 1972, importation from Italy gave a biological control in which a virus helped prevent the blight f...
middle of paper ... ... Katsvairo, Tawainga W., David L. Wright, Jim J. Marois, and Pawel P. Wiatrak. "Making the Transition from Conventional to Organic Farming Using Conservation Tillage in Florida. " University of Florida IFAS Extension.
"Unstoppable plant diseases" do not threaten our world. Crop pestilences are nothing new and have existed all-throughout the thousands of years that humans have grown their own food. In fact, ancient agrarians had it even harder than we do today because they were completely reliant upon rainfall, as they did not have advanced irrigation systems.
The most common route of exposure to mycotoxins is ingestion, but it may also involve dermal, respiratory, and parenteral routes, the last being associated with drug abuse (Peraica and Domijan, 2001). In general, animals are directly exposed to mycotoxins through the consumption of mouldy feedstuffs, eating contaminated foods, skin contact with mould infected substrates and inhalation of spore-borne toxins (Bennett and Klich, 2003a). Human exposure to mycotoxins may result from consumption of plant-derived foods that are contaminated with toxins, the carry-over of mycotoxins and their metabolites in animal products such as meat and eggs (Veldman, 2004) or exposure to air and dust containing toxins (Jarvis, 2002). Most importantly, the presence of potentially toxigenic fungi does not imply the presence of mycotoxins, nor does the finding of mycotoxins prove that a particular species is, or was, present. Toxin production is dependent on substrates, nutrient levels, moisture, pH, and temperature (Murtoniemi et al.,
Aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) are considered to be the group of mycotoxins of greatest concern from a global perspective. They are primarily produced by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and in rare cases, by A. nomius (Nida’M and Ahmad, 2010). AFB1, the most abundant and most toxic aflatoxin [(Prandini et al., 2009), is often referred to as the most potent naturally occurring carcinogen (Creppy, 2002). It is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (Liu and Wu, 2010). Lactating animals fed AFB1 contaminated diets will produce milk contaminated with its mono hydroxylated derivative AFM1 (Bognanno et al., 2006), known as 2B, possibly
There were many arbitrary causes of the Irish potato famine, one of which was a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, which was accidentally transferred to Ireland from Mexico. Since the fungus was airborne it was virtually impossible to stop, and it wiped out almost all of Irelands potato crop in just a few years. Specifically, this fungus c...
Schumann, Gail L., and Cleora J. D'Arcy. Hungry Planet: Stories of Plant Diseases. St. Paul: American Phytopathological Society, 2012. Print.
This is caused by large round worm Ascaris lumbricoides. Estimated to be the most widespread soil transmitted helminthes infection and affecting ap...
Weeds are known to be a bad sign for farmers and gardeners alike. Weeds take all the nutrients from the intended crop and prevent the plant intended to grow from growing. This is a highly tedious and expensive task. For some mass produced crops such as corn, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means, so farmers will often spray large amounts of herbicides to kill weeds, which also is time-consuming and expensive. Sometime the herbicide is so strong that is ends up killing the plant as well. C...
The potato famine of 1846 was one of the biggest natural disasters in Irish history. The “explosive disease” said William Fry, Ph.D., caused by Phytophtera infestans, is a condition that prevents growth and destroys the plant by disease. P. infestans is a fungus-like pathogen that infects and destroys the leaves, stems, potato seed and the potato itself, turning it black and slimy (Craig, 1998). The first signs of blight are when leaves get brown specks on them that start to get white, hairy growth around them (Damsker, n.d.). In addition, leaves and stems withered very quickly. This if followed by a terrible smell. It spreads as a spore and grows rapidly in moist, warm and humid conditions. Today, the blight disease still affects potato crops. However, an application of the plant fungicide, metalaxyl, or copper sulfate mixtures and pesticide will prevent and eliminate or, at least, decrease the possibility of its appearance (Daly, 1996). In fact, according to Gibbon’s article in 2013, the pathogen and its host of dried leaves ar...
According to writer and environmentalist Vandana Shiva, "the crucial characteristic of monocultures is that they do not merely displace alternatives, they destroy their own basis"(1993, p.50). If the self-destruction of a monoculture is really so simple, it seems that continuous cropping agriculture should long have been abandoned for a more suitable method. Unfortunately, the problem is far more complex. This paper will focus on the effects of corn monoculture on soils in general, the development of the monoculture in the United States and the effects this had on soil in this country. Through the exploration of other models, suggestions will then be made on how to modify the continuous cropping system in the United States into a more sustainable one.
Plants are grown under controlled and sterile conditions which reduce the risk of being exposed to pests, pathogens and diseases.
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good