Pythium, herbaceous perennials

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IPM Scouting in Herbaceous Perennials

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Pythium

Pathogen: Pythium spp. (P. aphanidermatum, P. debaryanum, P. ultimum, etc.).

Hosts include: Berberis, Calendula, Chrysanthemum, Delphinium, Dianthus, Gaillardia, Gypsophila, Lathyrus, Lavandula, Lilium, Lupinus, Pelar-gonium, Phlox, Salvia, Sempervivum and Viola.

Symptoms: Wilting, stunting, uneven plant growth, crown rot and plant death. Roots are discolored. The cortex may slough off, leaving the vascular cylinder.

Spread: Pythium spp. are soil-borne pathogens, so movement of infested soil or plant material can spread disease. This pathogen produces several types of spores, each with a slightly different function. Sporangia can either germinate and infect plants directly or produce many zoospores. Sporangia may be produced on both above- and below- ground plant parts. Zoospores are motile spores, which allow the fungus to spread in saturated soils or standing water. Each zoospore can cause a new infection. Oospores are thick-walled spores, which allow the fungus to survive on equipment or in soils for long periods of time. Disease can be quickly spread through recirculated irrigation water.

Management: Roots of incoming plant material should be checked for root rot symptoms. Use media with good drainage and avoid overwatering; do not use field soil in growing media for particularly susceptible crops. Maintain good sanitation practices with equipment and keep hose ends off the ground. Pythium spp. can develop resistance to mefenoxam, the active ingredient in several fungicides commonly used for Pythium spp. control. If Pythium spp. problems persist, diag-nostic testing should be done to assess the sensitivity of the patho-gen to mefenoxam.


Small discolored lesions caused by Pythium sp. on the roots of a hosta.	Infected roots are discolored. Note that the root cortex has sloughed off some of the roots.


Stunting and plant death caused by Pythium spp. in a plug sheet of Sempervivum.

This information was developed from A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Herbaceous Perennials by Jan Byrne and Raymond A. Cloyd. Purchase this in a pocket-sized guide for reference in the orchard from MSU Extension (publication E-2981).

The MSU IPM Program maintains this site as an access point to pest management information at MSU. The IPM Program is administered within the Department of Entomology, fueled by research from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, delivered to citizens through MSU Extension, and proud to be a part of Project GREEEN.
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