needle blight
- noun
- /ˈnidəl blaɪt/
- Specialized
:
muerte de agujas
- The spruce trees in the forest were severely affected by needle blight this year.
Examples
-
Foresters are researching ways to prevent needle blight from spreading to other conifers.
-
The forest suffered from needle blight last summer.
-
Early detection of needle blight is essential for saving young pine plantations.
-
Have you heard about needle blight affecting the pines?
-
Early detection of needle blight is essential for saving young pine plantations.
-
The spruce trees in the forest were severely affected by needle blight this year.
-
Foresters are researching ways to prevent needle blight from spreading to other conifers.
Synonyms
A disease of evergreen trees like pines that makes their needles fall early
A disease of pine and spruce trees that makes their needles turn brown and fall early
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'needle blight' transparently combines 'needle' (pine leaf) and 'blight' (a plant disease), so its meaning — a disease affecting needles — is directly inferable from the parts. This noun-compound pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would be able to understand it.
Etymology
Needle blight comes from how the damage looks on a tree: the tree's needles turn brown and fall, and blight means 'a plant disease', so the phrase refers to a disease that makes the needles fall early.