Canker
Encyclopedia
Symptom
A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality...
s including the appearance of small areas of dead tissue, which grow slowly, often over a period of years. Some are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal, and of major economic importance in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
. Different cankers and anthracnoses are caused by a wide range of organisms, including fungi
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
, bacteria, mycoplasma
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma refers to a genus of bacteria that lack a cell wall. Without a cell wall, they are unaffected by many common antibiotics such as penicillin or other beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis. They can be parasitic or saprotrophic. Several species are pathogenic in humans,...
s and virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es. The majority of canker-causing organisms are tied obligately to a single host species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
or genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, but a few will attack a wider range of plants. Canker can be spread by weather and animals, making an area that even has a slight amount of canker hazardous.
Some cankers are treatable with fungicide
Fungicide
Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals...
s or bactericides, but many are not; often the only treatment available is to destroy the infected plant to prevent the disease from spreading to other plants.
Examples
- AppleAppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
canker, caused by the fungus Nectria galligenaNectriaThis article is about a genus of fungi. For the echinoderm genus, see Nectria .Nectria is a genus of Ascomycete fungi. They are most often encountered as saprophytes on decaying wood but some species can also occur as parasites of trees, especially fruit trees and a number of other hardwood trees... - AshAsh treeFraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
bacterial canker, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringaePseudomonas syringaePseudomonas syringae is a rod shaped, Gram-negative bacterium with polar flagella. It is a plant pathogen which can infect a wide range of plant species, and exists as over 50 different pathovars, all of which are available to legitimate researches via international culture collections such as the... - ButternutButternut (tree)Juglans cinerea, commonly known as Butternut or White Walnut, is a species of walnut native to the eastern United States and southeast Canada. Its range extends east to New Brunswick, and from southern Quebec west to Minnesota, south to northern Alabama and southwest to northern Arkansas...
canker, caused by the fungus Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearumSirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearumSirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum is a mitosporic fungus that causes a lethal canker disease of Butternut trees . Known in the vernacular as butternut canker, it is also known to parasitize other members of the Juglans genus on occasion, and very rarely other related trees including hickories... - Bleeding Canker of Horse ChestnutBleeding Canker of Horse ChestnutBleeding Canker of Horse Chestnut is a common canker of horse chestnut trees that is known to be caused by infection with several different pathogens....
, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringaePseudomonas syringaePseudomonas syringae is a rod shaped, Gram-negative bacterium with polar flagella. It is a plant pathogen which can infect a wide range of plant species, and exists as over 50 different pathovars, all of which are available to legitimate researches via international culture collections such as the...
pv. aesculi - Citrus cankerCitrus cankerCitrus canker is a disease affecting citrus species that is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis. Infection causes lesions on the leaves, stems, and fruit of citrus trees, including lime, oranges, and grapefruit...
, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis - CypressCupressusThe genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group...
canker, caused by the fungus Seiridium cardinale - DogwoodFlowering DogwoodCornus florida is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southern Ontario, Illinois, and eastern Kansas, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, with a disjunct population in Nuevo León and Veracruz in eastern Mexico.-Classification:The flowering...
anthracnose, caused by the fungus Discula destructivaDiscula destructivaDiscula destructiva is a fungus in the family Valsaceae which causes dogwood anthracnose, affecting populations of dogwood trees native to North America.... - Grape cankerDead arm (grapes)Dead-arm, sometimes grape canker, is a disease of grapes caused by a deep-seated wood rot of the arms or trunk of the grapevine. As the disease progresses over several years, one or more arms may die, hence the name "deadarm". Eventually the whole vine will die...
, caused by the water mouldWater mouldOömycota or oömycetes form a distinct phylogenetic lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms . They are filamentous, microscopic, absorptive organisms that reproduce both sexually and asexually...
Eutypa lata - Honey locustHoney locustThe Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, is a deciduous tree native to central North America. It is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as eastern Massachusetts.-Description:Honey locusts, Gleditsia...
canker, caused by the fungus Thyronectria austro-americana - MulberryMulberryMorus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
canker, caused by the fungus Gibberella baccataGibberella baccataGibberella baccata is a fungal plant pathogen.- External links :* *... - OakOakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
canker, caused by the fungus Diplodia quercina - Pine pitch cankerPine pitch cankerthumb|240px|Pitch canker affecting western white pinePine pitch canker is a virulent and incurable fungal disease of pine trees caused by the fungus Fusarium circinatum....
, caused by the fungus Fusarium pini - PlanePlatanusPlatanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
anthracnose, caused by the fungus Apiognomonia venetaApiognomonia venetaApiognomonia veneta is a plant pathogen which causes anthracnose on London Plane trees.- External links :* *... - PoplarPoplarPopulus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
canker, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas populi - RapeseedRapeseedRapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
stem canker, caused by the blacklegBlacklegBlackleg may refer to:* Strikebreaker* Card sharp* Appalousa tribe* Operation Blackleg, dive operation on warship HMS Coventry * Blackleg , in sheep and cattle* Scurvy, deficiency in primates & some other animals...
fungus Leptosphaeria maculansLeptosphaeria maculansLeptosphaeria maculans is a fungal pathogen that is the causal agent of blackleg disease on Brassica crops. The major yield loss is due to stem canker.... - RoseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
cankers, caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria coniothyriumLeptosphaeria coniothyriumLeptosphaeria coniothyrium is a plant pathogen. It can be found across the world. - External links :* *...
and Cryptosporella umbrinaCryptosporella umbrinaCryptosporella umbrina is a plant pathogen.- External links :* *... - Scleroderris cankerScleroderris cankerScleroderris canker , or Brunchorstia disease , Gremmeniella abietina, is a species of fungal diseases infecting coniferous forests. The main symptom is the death of the needles, leading to the death of the tree. In the forest industry, fighting off an infection of Scleroderris canker is usually...
, caused by the fungus Gremmeniella abietina - WillowWillowWillows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
anthracnose, caused by the fungus Marssonina salicicola