Canker

This article is about the plant disease. For the human condition, see mouth ulcer.

Butternut canker is a lethal disease of Butternut trees, and has no cure.

Canker and anthracnose are general terms for a large number of different plant diseases, characterised by broadly similar symptoms, the appearance of small areas of dead tissue, which grow slowly, often over a period of years. Some are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal, and of major economic importance in agriculture and horticulture. Different cankers and anthracnoses are caused by a wide range of organisms, including fungi, bacteria, mycoplasmas and viruses. The majority of canker-causing organisms are tied obligately to a single host species or genus, but a few will attack a wider range of plants.

Some cankers are treatable with fungicides or bactericides, but many are not; often the only treatment available is to destroy the infected plant to prevent the disease from spreading to other plants.

Some cankers:

Apple canker, caused by the fungus Nectria galligena
Ash bacterial canker, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae
Butternut canker, caused by the fungus Sirococcus clavigigenti-juglandacearum
Citrus canker, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis
Cypress canker, caused by the fungus Seridium cardinale
Dogwood anthracnose, caused by the fungus Discula destructiva
Grape canker, caused by the fungus Eutypa lata
Honey locust canker, caused by the fungus Thyronectria austro-americana
Mulberry canker, caused by the fungus Gibberella baccata
Oak canker, caused by the fungus Diplodia quercina
Pine pitch canker, caused by the fungus Fusarium pini
Plane anthracnose, caused by the fungus Apiognomonia veneta
Poplar canker, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas populi
Rapeseed stem canker, caused by the blackleg fungus Leptosphaeria maculans
Rose cankers, caused by the fungi Leptosphaeria coniothyrium and Cryptosporella umbrina
Scleroderris canker, caused by the fungus Gremmeniella abietina
Willow anthracnose, caused by the fungus Marssonina salicicola

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