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Plasmodiophora brassicae

Plasmodiophora brassicae

9.9
A tiny organism that infects plants like cabbage and makes their roots swell
  • noun
  • /plæzˌmoʊdiəˈfɔːrə bræsɪˈkeɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Plasmodiophora brassicae
  • Researchers are studying how Plasmodiophora brassicae infects cabbage roots to develop resistant cultivars.

Examples

  • Careful crop rotation can help manage the spread of Plasmodiophora brassicae in vegetable gardens.

  • The soil in the field was contaminated with Plasmodiophora brassicae, leading to a severe outbreak of clubroot.

  • Farmers should learn about Plasmodiophora brassicae to prevent crop loss.

  • The Plasmodiophora brassicae infection can severely affect cabbage yields.

  • Researchers are studying how Plasmodiophora brassicae infects cabbage roots to develop resistant cultivars.

  • The soil in the field was contaminated with Plasmodiophora brassicae, leading to a severe outbreak of clubroot.

  • Farmers should learn about Plasmodiophora brassicae to prevent crop loss.

Synonyms

clubroot fungus
vsPlasmodiophora brassicae
  • Specialized
9.0

A soil fungus that makes cabbage or broccoli roots swell and plants weak

is the exact species name for the organism that causes the disease
Plasmodiophora
vsPlasmodiophora brassicae
  • Specialized
9.9

A tiny living thing that infects plants and causes clubroot disease in cabbages

is a single species in the genus rather than the whole group

Surface Forms

Morphology

Plasmodiophora + brassicae

The name is compositional in a scientific way: 'Plasmodiophora' denotes a plant-pathogenic microorganism and the species epithet 'brassicae' indicates association with Brassica (i.e. ‘‘of brassica’’), so a learner who recognises the Brassica root or Latin genitive can infer it is the Plasmodiophora that affects brassica plants. However, understanding this requires familiarity with scientific binomial naming or the brassica root, which is specialist knowledge beyond an average B1 learner, so the relation is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Plasmodiophora brassicae is a scientific name made of two parts: Plasmodiophora suggests a shape-changing tiny mass and brassicae means 'of cabbages'. So the name points to a tiny organism that attacks cabbage roots and causes 'clubroot'.