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Glite Dictionary
russet scab

russet scab

9.6
A disease of potatoes that makes rough brown patches on their skins
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : costra russet
  • Signs of russet scab include superficial, corky patches on potato skins.

Examples

  • The farmer discovered russet scab developing on several rows of potatoes after a wet spring.

  • The presence of russet scab can significantly reduce the marketability of potatoes.

  • Careful crop rotation can help prevent russet scab from affecting your potato yield.

  • Farmers often struggle with russet scab in their potato crops.

  • The russet scab affected the yield of the potatoes this year.

  • Signs of russet scab include rough, brownish patches on the surface of potatoes.

  • Careful monitoring can help farmers identify russet scab before it spreads.

Synonyms

potato disease
vsrusset scab
  • Specialized
3.6

An illness that makes potato leaves yellow and tubers rot

is a single fungal illness producing rough brown patches on tuber skin

Surface Forms

russet scab singular
russet scabs plural

Morphology

russet + scab

Both constituents directly describe the phenomenon: 'russet' denotes the rough brown skin/color and 'scab' denotes a crusty lesion or plant disease, so a learner who knows those words can infer a brownish scab-like disease on potatoes. This compounding pattern (color/quality + disease name) is transparent and common cross-linguistically, making the meaning predictable to B1 learners.

Etymology

The plant disease russet scab gets its name from how the potato looks: russet means 'reddish-brown' and a scab is a rough crust on skin, so the disease makes potatoes show brown, crusty patches like a healing sore. That's why russet scab describes those rough, brown spots on potato skins.