Fungal Pathogens of Plants

Fungi are the most important of the various groups of pathogens that attack plants. Our agricultural fields, forests, grasslands and urban landscapes are diminished in economic value and beauty by this important group of plant pathogens. Some fungal diseases, such as chestnut blight, make it impossible for hosts such as the American chestnut to grow where the disease is present. Keywords: plant disease; ascomycetes; basidiomycetes; rust fungi; smut fungi; disease control; host–pathogen interaction; fungal disease; disease transmission