Damping Off Disease

Damping-off is a common disease of seedlings. It causes extensive losses to growers through death of seedlings or production of low-quality plants that perform poorly in the field. The disease can be avoided and controlled by practicing effective preplant control measures.

Damping-off is primarily caused by fungi present in the growing medium. The fungi include species of Rhizoctonia, Pythium, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Sclerotinia, Sclerotium, Botrytis, and others. Germinating seed and seedlings, especially weak ones, are vulnerable to attack by these fungi during periods of unfavorable growing conditions. Species of Pythium, Sclerotinia, and Phytophthora are more likely to cause damping-off in cool, wet soils; whereas species of Rhizoctonia, Fusarium and Sclerotium rolfsii may cause damping-off under warmer and drier conditions.

True damping-off may be confused with plant injury caused by excessive fertilization, high soluble salts, drowning in wet soil, desiccation in dry soil, and death of seedlings from excessive heat, cold, fuel fumes, or chemical injury. This type injury often damages the leaves and upper stem before the roots are affected.

Controlling Damping Off Disease

The best control of damping-off is to avoid it altogether. Once damping-off has started in a plant bed or seedling flat, it may be difficult to control and it is probably better to dispose of the growing medium for small planting beds.

The general methods used to prevent damping-off consist of :

Proper soil preparation and management that includes good soil drainage, structure, aeration, water-holding capacity and plant nutrition by including proper amounts of nutrients based on a reliable soil test report.
Proper soil treatment with heat or chemicals to reduce the level of fungi that cause damping-off.
Use of fungicide-treated seed with high germination rates.
Sowing at the correct seed rates to avoid thick plant stands, poor air movement and low light intensity.
Planting seeds at the proper depth and insuring correct soil temperature for rapid seed growth.
Avoid reinfesting treated soil with these fungi. Many outbreaks of damping-off can be attributed to poor sanitation practices after treating the soil. For bedding plant operations, it may be more practical to buy a sterilized soilless mix and eliminate steps 1 and 2 above.


Expand All \| Collapse All Problems Animal Problems Animals Armadillos Deer Deer Plantings Dogs Dog Problems Dog Diet Dog Prevention Using Gypsum Geese Gophers Gopher Trapping Groundhogs / Woodchuck Moles Skunks Squirrels Diseases Diseases Identifying Diseases Disease Chart Prevention Bacterial Diseases Fungal Diseases Viruses Brownpatch Brownpatch ID Dollarspot Fairy Ring Fusarium Grayleaf Grease Spot Hosta Virus Leaf Smut Leaf Spot Powdery Mildew Pythium Red Thread Rust SAD Snowmold Summerpatch Insects Turf Insects Ornamental Insects Monitoring Activity Aphids Armyworms Bees Billbugs Centipede Caterpillars Chinchbugs Crane Fly Cutworms Earthworms Earwigs Fire ants Flys Galls Grubs Japanese Beetle Millipedes Molecrickets Mosquitos Nematodes Bad Slugs Snails Sodwebworms Sowbugs Ticks Tick Removal Lyme Disease R.M. Spotted Fever Webworms Woolly Adelgid Insect Controls Insect Detection Chemical Insect Controls Biological Insect Controls Cultural Insect Controls Manual Insect Control Merit Grub Control Milky Spore Soil Problems Urban Soils Compaction Dethatch Droughts Floods Over Watering Thatch Top Dressing Weeds Weeds Weed Identification Weed Photo ID Soil Problems Grassy Weeds Grassy Weeds Annual Bluegrass Barnyardgrass Bentgrass Bermudagrass Crabgrass Dallisgrass Fall Panicum Foxtails Goosegrass Johnsongrass Nimblewill Quackgrass Grass-like Weeds Grass-like Wild Garlic/Onion Star of Bethlehem Yellow Nutsedge Broadleaf Weeds Broadleafs Buckhorn Plantain Carolina Geranium Carpetweed Chickweed Creeping Beggarweed Curly Dock Dandelions Henbit Horsenettle Ground Ivy Lambsquarters Plantain Ragweed White Clover Wild Violets Wood Sorrel Edible Weeds Moss Mushrooms Sandbur Speedwell Spurge Weed Controls Weed Controls Pre-emergent Post-emergent IPM Biological Controls Chemical Controls Botanical Controls Mechanical Controls Spot Controls Cultural Controls Organic Controls Noxious Weeds Noxious Thistle Hogweed Horsenettle Poison Ivy Poison Ivy Rash Poison Oak Poison Sumac Quackgrass Enter your ZipCode below to find a professional in your area.	Home Landscapes Gardens Lawns Problems Problems in the Landscape Animals Animals Armadillos Deer Deer Plantings Dogs Dog Spots Dog Diet Dog Spot Prevention Using Gypsum Geese Gophers Gopher Trapping Groundhogs Moles Skunks Squirrels Diseases Diseases Identify Disease Chart Prevention Bacterial Fungal Viruses Brownpatch Brownpatch ID Dollarspot Fairyring Fusarium Grayleaf Greasespot Hosta Virus Leafsmut Leafspot Powdery mildew Pythium Red thread Rust St. Augustine Decline Snowmold Summerpatch Insects Insects Turf Insects Detection Ornament Insects Aphids Armyworms Bees Billbugs Caterpillars Centipede Chinchbugs Crane Flys Cutworms Earthworms Earwigs Fire ants Galls Grubs Japanese Beetle Millipedes Molecrickets Mosquitos Nematodes Bad Slugs Snails Sodwebworms Sowbugs Ticks Tick Removal Lyme Disease Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Webworms Woolly Adelgid Insect Controls Chemical Biological Cultural Monitoring Manual Merit Milky Spore Soils Soil Problems Urban Soil Problems Compaction Dethatching Lawns Droughts Floods Over water Thatch Topdress Weeds Common Weeds Grass-like Weeds Grassy-type Weeds Broadleaf Weeds Annual Bluegrass Barnyardgrass Bentgrass Bermudagrass Star of Bethlehem Buckhorn Plantain Carpetweed Chickweed White Clover Crabgrass Creeping Beggarweed Dallisgrass Dandelions Curly Dock Edible Weeds Foxtails Wild Garlic Carolina Geranium Goosegrass Henbit Horsenettle Ground Ivy Johnsongrass Lambsquarters Moss Mushrooms Nimblewill Nutsedge Panicum Plantain Quackgrass Ragweed Sandbur Soil Problems Speedwell Spurge Wild Violets Weed Index Woodsorrel Weed Identification Identification Photo Id Weed Controls Controls Pre emergent Post emergent Spot Chemical Mechanical Biological Botanical Cultural Corngluten IPM Noxious Weeds Canadian Thistle Hogweed Horsenettle Poison Ivy Poison Ivy Exposure Poison Oak Poison Sumac Quackgrass Soil Problems Galleries Resources
	>>Home > Damping Off Disease Damping-off is a common disease of seedlings. It causes extensive losses to growers through death of seedlings or production of low-quality plants that perform poorly in the field. The disease can be avoided and controlled by practicing effective preplant control measures. Damping-off is primarily caused by fungi present in the growing medium. The fungi include species of Rhizoctonia, Pythium, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Sclerotinia, Sclerotium, Botrytis, and others. Germinating seed and seedlings, especially weak ones, are vulnerable to attack by these fungi during periods of unfavorable growing conditions. Species of Pythium, Sclerotinia, and Phytophthora are more likely to cause damping-off in cool, wet soils; whereas species of Rhizoctonia, Fusarium and Sclerotium rolfsii may cause damping-off under warmer and drier conditions. True damping-off may be confused with plant injury caused by excessive fertilization, high soluble salts, drowning in wet soil, desiccation in dry soil, and death of seedlings from excessive heat, cold, fuel fumes, or chemical injury. This type injury often damages the leaves and upper stem before the roots are affected. Controlling Damping Off Disease The best control of damping-off is to avoid it altogether. Once damping-off has started in a plant bed or seedling flat, it may be difficult to control and it is probably better to dispose of the growing medium for small planting beds. The general methods used to prevent damping-off consist of : Proper soil preparation and management that includes good soil drainage, structure, aeration, water-holding capacity and plant nutrition by including proper amounts of nutrients based on a reliable soil test report. Proper soil treatment with heat or chemicals to reduce the level of fungi that cause damping-off. Use of fungicide-treated seed with high germination rates. Sowing at the correct seed rates to avoid thick plant stands, poor air movement and low light intensity. Planting seeds at the proper depth and insuring correct soil temperature for rapid seed growth. Avoid reinfesting treated soil with these fungi. Many outbreaks of damping-off can be attributed to poor sanitation practices after treating the soil. For bedding plant operations, it may be more practical to buy a sterilized soilless mix and eliminate steps 1 and 2 above.

	©2012 Landscape-America.com. All Rights Reserved \| Site developed by OHCPi Site Map \| Pro Search Submission Form \| American-Lawns.com \| FAQ \| Resources

Working with problem areas

Enter your ZipCode below to find a professional in your area.

Damping Off Disease

Controlling Damping Off Disease