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Glite Dictionary
leprosis

leprosis

9.9
A disease caused by a virus that makes dark spots and dead areas on plant leaves or fruit
  • noun
  • /lɛˈproʊsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : leprosis
  • The farmer struggled to control the spread of leprosis affecting his citrus crops.

Examples

  • Due to leprosis, many coffee plants developed visible lesions and tissue damage.

  • For example, a flat mite can carry the citrus leprosis virus—a very important and costly plant disease in South America.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The flat mite (Brevipalpus phoenicis) carries the leprosis virus in citrus, a disease currently in South America but moving north.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Research shows that leprosis can severely impact the yield and quality of infected citrus fruits.

Synonyms

blight
vsleprosis
  • Specialized
7 7.3

A plant disease that makes leaves and stems die without rotting

creates focal lesions and dead spots rather than broad rapid withering
smut
vsleprosis
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A plant disease that makes black powder on grain plants like wheat

is viral producing lesions and tissue death rather than fungal spore masses
yellow spot
vsleprosis
6.8

A plant disease that causes yellow spots on leaves

causes larger lesions and tissue death rather than only small leaf marks
leaf disease
vsleprosis
3.2

A problem that makes a plant's leaves sick or damaged

is viral and causes lesions and tissue death rather than only foliage harm

How Severe

fire blight
  • Specialized
1 7.7
peach blight
  • Specialized
7.7
leprosis
  • Specialized
9.9
blight
  • Specialized
7 7.3

Surface Forms

leprosis singular
leprosises plural

Morphology

leprosis = leprosy (semi-transparent) = lepro + osis

Formed from the disease root 'lepro-' plus the medical suffix '-osis'; the meaning 'a disease resembling leprosy' is clear from the parts but the shift to a plant disease makes the relation slightly specialized.

Etymology

Leprosis comes from the same root as leprosy: Greek lepra meaning 'scaly' and the ending -osis meaning 'disease'. So leprosis is a disease that causes scaly spots, dead patches, and tissue damage on plants.