Canker

{{Short description|Common name for a tree disease}}

{{About|the plant disease|the human condition|canker sore}}

{{Distinguish|Kanker (disambiguation){{!}}Kanker}}

File:Butternut canker.jpg is a lethal disease of butternut trees, and has no cure.]]

A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticulture. Their causes include a wide range of organisms as fungi, bacteria, mycoplasmas and viruses. The majority of canker-causing organisms are bound to a unique host species or genus, but a few will attack other plants. Weather (via frost or windstorm damage) and animal damage can also cause stress to the plant resulting in cankers. Other causes of cankers is pruning when the bark is wet or using un-sterilized tools.{{cite web |title=Canker Diseases |url=https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/tree-plant-care/plant-care-resources/canker-diseases/#overview |website=The Morton Arboretum |access-date=18 September 2023}}

Although fungicides or bactericides can treat some cankers, often the only available treatment is to destroy the infected plant to contain the disease.

Examples

File:Tree Canker.svg

Image:Baumkrebs-Birke.jpg|Canker on a birch

Image:Beech bark burrs and canker.JPG|Canker on a beech tree

Image:Canker on Ash.JPG|Canker on an ash tree in North Ayrshire, Scotland

See also

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite journal|last=Gardan|first=L.|author2=Shafik, H.|author3=Belouin, S.|author4=Broch, R.|author5=Grimont, F.|author6=Grimont, P. A. D.|title=DNA relatedness among the pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae and description of Pseudomonas tremae sp. nov. and Pseudomonas cannabina sp. nov. (ex Sutic and Dowson 1959)|journal=International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology|date=1 April 1999|volume=49|issue=2|pages=469–478|doi=10.1099/00207713-49-2-469|pmid=10319466|doi-access=free}}}}