Blue mold

Peronospora hyoscyami f.sp. tabacina is a plant pathogen infecting tobacco that causes blue mold. It is an oomycete (a fungus-like organism) that is highly destructive toward seed plants. It is very prevalent in humid farming zones, like the southeastern and eastern U.S., Canada, and countries bordering the Caribbean. The disease was first identified in 1921 in Florida and Georgia. Ten years later the same disease was found once again in the same region of the U.S. The disease began to spread into Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. A few years later, the disease reached Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1960, a blue mold epidemic spread in approximately eleven countries. There was approximately twenty five million dollars in losses which is nearly thirty percent of tobacco plants at the time. Each year, Peronospora hyoscyami is introduced as blue mold as windblown spores from outside the region by infected transplants. Tobacco plants with an upright position of small patches of the seed bed are typically early signs of blue mold. These leaves are usually 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) in diameter, and normally spotted with yellow, gray, or a bluish mold in the lower surface. Younger plants that are up to four weeks old and are affected by the disease are easily killed by the oomycete. Older plants become deformed and dark, indicating that parts of the plant are dead. In more severe cases the stem and root become infected and turn to a brownish color. The observation of downy mold in the lower surface of the leaf is the most reliable symptom of blue mold. Downy mold carries thousands of small reproductive units called conidia If conidia forms at different spots in the seedbed an outbreak is more than likely to occur. The symptoms usually take place before it’s obvious. The symptoms evolve rapidly and are typically noticeable over night. The oomycete frequently takes place when the vein of the leaves reaches vascular tissue of the stem, causing weakness and lodging. This infection is called 'systemic infection'. The infection causes a stunt in growth and the leaves become narrow and short. The vascular system of the plants usually turns brown in color and the weakened stalk usually causing the stalk to fall over. The mould is highly weather sensitive. During the time when the weather is cool, wet, or overcast the disease can evolve in a greenhouse or field. The disease spreads rapidly because of the pathogen. The rate of continental spread is based on the potential for high levels of inoculum and effective wind spores. When the weather is clear, dry, and hot the disease usually stops spreading and more than likely stops all together.