| Peronospora hyoscyami f.sp. tabacina | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Oomycota |
| Order: | Peronosporales |
| Family: | Peronosporaceae |
| Genus: | Peronospora |
| Species: | P. hyoscyami |
| Forma specialis: | P. h. f.sp. tabacina |
| Trionomial name | |
| Peronospora hyoscyami f.sp. tabacina Skalický, (1964) | |
| Synonyms | |
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.[1] 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.[1] Each year, Peronospora hyoscyami is introduced as blue mold as windblown spores from outside the region by infected transplants.