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Glite Dictionary
damping off

damping off

8.0
A disease that makes young seedlings rot and die when the soil stays too wet
  • noun
  • /ˈdæmpɪŋ ɔf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : marchitez
  • To prevent damping off, make sure to use well-draining soil and avoid overwatering your seedlings.

So this could be bacterial wilt, this could be Fusarium wilt, this could be things like damping off.

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Examples

  • The gardener noticed that several seedlings were affected by damping off, leading to their decay.

  • And I said, wow, I know what damping off looks like.

    MIgardener

  • However, he also discovered that the compost tea destroyed all traces of the greymold and damping off.

    Academic text (1996)

  • He had noticed some early gray mold and damping off before he began using the tea, but had not made up his mind as to what the best organic treatment would be.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Overwatering leads to problems like damping off, root rod, powdery mildew, blights.

  • If you notice damping off in your seedling tray, it can lead to significant losses if not addressed quickly.

Surface Forms

damping off singular
damping offs plural

Morphology

damping + off

The disease sense of 'damping off' is a specialized horticultural collocation that is not transparently built from the listed constituents: 'damping' (given here as a decrease) and an undefined 'off' do not together signal a fungal disease of seedlings. Even if a learner knew 'damp' = wet, the specific technical meaning ‘seedlings rotting/collapsing’ is language- and register-specific and not predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.

Etymology

Damping off comes from gardeners' talk: when soil is too damp, tiny seedlings can rot and 'go off', so their stems weaken and the plants fall over. So, damping off means a disease where young plants decay and collapse.