Abstract
Mildew is a disease in which the pathogen is seen as a growth on the surface of plants. The same word is used for the fungus causing the disease. Mildews are Ascomycetes. Black mildews are parasites in the order Meliolales with a dark mycelium to give a sooty effect. They are common in the South or on tropical plants in greenhouses (Black Mildew). Powdery mildews are plant parasites in the order Erysiphales. They have white mycelium, in a delicate weft or thick felt, made up of a criss-cross tangle of hyphae. Colorless spores borne in chains on upright conidophores give the white powdery effect (see Fig. 1). False or downy mildews are oomycetes, and the conspicuous growth is not vegetative mycelium but fruiting structures and conidia protruding through stomata or epidermis to give a white frosty appearance in moist weather (Downy Mildews).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Horst, R.K. (2013). Powdery Mildews. In: Westcott's Plant Disease Handbook. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2141-8_40
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2141-8_40
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-2140-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-2141-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences