Diseases of mushrooms
Diseases of mushrooms
Fungal diseases.
Even though the mushroom itself is a fungus, it can in turn be affected by a range of fungal pathogens, listed below in Table 1.
Table 1. Fungal diseases of mushrooms
Disease | Other names | Symptoms |
Dactylium | Cobweb, mildew | White to pink cobweb-like fluffy mould. |
Diehlomyces | Calves brains / false truffle | A competing fungus which produces brain-shaped fruiting bodies. |
Fusarium | Damping off | Mushrooms wither. |
Mycogone | Wet bubble / white mould | Dense white growth on gills. |
Papulaspora | Brown plaster mould | Brown plaster-like patches on casing. |
Scopulariopsis | White plaster mould | White plaster-like patches on casing. |
Trichoderma | Green mould | Dark green mould patches on casing spreading to lesions on stems. |
Verticillium | Dry bubble / brown spot | Brown irregular pitted areas on stems and caps. Distortion and splitting. |
Bacterial diseases
Pseudomonas (bacterial spot, bacterial or pit or brown blotch), causes yellow to brown blotches on the cap which may exude sticky residues. Early symptoms are similar to verticilium.
Other diseases
A range of viral diseases attack mushrooms. Fruiting bodies that are either noticeably elongated or flattened, or gradually decreasing crops or flushes should be examined. If viral diseases are suspected, professional advice on eradication should be sought.
ManagementMaintaining high levels of hygiene will assist any pest management program by reducing the number of problems that are likely to occur. If an outbreak does occur, ensure that the pest or disease is correctly identified before taking any action.
Diseases of mushrooms
Labels: Diseases of mushrooms