PLANT PROTECTION 1 – Pests, Diseases and Weeds

PLANT PROTECTION 1 – Pests, Diseases and Weeds
GLOSSARY & ACRONYMS
Abiotic Non-living.
Acaricide See Miticide.
Action In relation to IPM (Integrated Pest
Management), decision-making, control.
Adjuvant A substance added to a pesticide to
improve effectiveness or safety, eg wetting agent.
Adventitious Buds and roots arising from unusual
places in normal plants.
Aerobic A microorganism that lives, or a process
that occurs, in the presence of molecular oxygen.
Aflatoxin A toxin produced by some fungi which is
toxic to humans and livestock, eg by Aspergillus
flavus when it infects peanuts.
Algacide A substance active against algae.
Agricultural biological products
Biological chemicals, eg pheromones, hormones.
Plant and other extracts, eg plant extracts, plant oils.
Microbial agents, eg bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa.
Other living organisms, eg microscopic insects, plants
and animals plus some organisms that have been
genetically modified.
Alien weed An introduced weed.
Allelopathy The beneficial or harmful effects of one
plant on another plant by the release of chemicals
from plant parts by leaching, root exudation,
volatilization, residue decomposition and other
processes in both natural and agricultural systems.
Anaerobic A microorganism that lives, or a process
that occurs, in the absence of molecular oxygen.
Annual Completes its life cycle in one year.
Ant An insect belonging to the Order Hymenoptera
(ants, bees, wasps and sawflies).
Anthracnose A leaf or fruit spot with a sharply
defined margin, caused by a group of fungi, eg
Colletotrichum spp.
Anti-transpirant 1. A substance applied to a plant
to slow transpiration. 2. Oils that do not evaporate
readily maintaining droplet size longer.
Aphid An insect belonging to the Order Hemiptera
(bugs; hoppers; aphids, lerps, scales, mealybugs,
whiteflies).
APVMA Australian Pesticides and Veterinary
Medicines Authority.
AQIS Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
Arachnid A Class within the Phylum Arthropoda
(Insects and Allied Pests), eg spiders, ticks and mites.
Armyworm The larva of some moths (Family
Noctuidae, Order Lepidoptera).
Arthropoda (Insects and Allied Pests) A Phylum
in the Animal Kingdom.
AS Australian standard.
Ascomycota A Phylum of Fungi producing their
sexual spores (ascospores) within asci (sac fungi), eg
powdery mildews.
Ascospore A sexually produced fungal spore in an
ascus.
Ascus A sack-like cell of a hyphae in which meiosis
occurs and which contains ascospores, usually 8.
Asexual reproduction Non-sexual reproduction,
vegetative reproduction.
Autoecious fungus A parasitic fungus that can
complete its entire life cycle on the same host.
Avicide A substance active against birds.
Bactericide. Any agent active against bacteria.
Bacterium (pl. bacteria) A single-celled microscopic
organism lacking chlorophyll and which multiplies by
cell division.
Bag shelter Leaves of plants bound together by silk
produced by insects which shelter within (usually
moth caterpillars (Order Lepidoptera).
Bait A food or other substance that attracts a pest to
a chemical or trap where it is destroyed or captured.
Basidiomycota A Phylum of Fungi producing their
sexual spores (basidiospores) on basidia (club fungi),
eg rusts, smuts, mushrooms, wood rots.
Basidiospore A sexually produced fungal spore on
a basidium.
Basidium A fungal club-shaped reproductive
structure on which basidiospores are borne.
Bee An insect belonging to the Order Hymenoptera
(ants, bees, wasps, sawflies).
Beetle An insect belonging to the Order Coleoptera
(beetles, weevils).
Beneficial insect An insect that is useful or
helpful to humans, eg pollinators, parasites and
predators of pests.
BFA (Biological Farmers of Australia) The preeminent
organization for the organic industry and
movement (education, trade, promotion, advocacy).
Biennial A plant that completes its life cycle in
2 years. It grows vegetatively for 1 year then flowers,
seeds and dies in the 2 nd year.
Biochemistry The study of chemical processes that
take place in all living things.
Biodegradable Can be broken down by living
organisms, eg by bacteria, fungi, nematodes, etc.
Biological control Classical biological control is
the deliberate use of a pest, disease or plant’s natural
enemies to control a particular pest, disease or weed.
Biosecurity Australia Provides science-based
quarantine assessments and policy advice that
protects Australia's favourable pest and disease status
and enhances Australia's access to international
animal and plant related markets.
Biotype A race of a species that is genetically
different from the rest of the species often caused by
geographical isolation, often look the same, only
genetic analysis in a laboratory can tell the difference.
Blight A general and extremely rapid browning of
leaves, flowers, branches or twigs resulting in their
death, caused by fungi, insects, frost or other agents.
Blister Raised area on leaves or fruit, eg grapeleaf
blister mite, peach leaf curl (fungus).
Blotch Dead areas on leaves and fruit which may
cover most of the plant, be irregular in shape or form
patterns other than spots, caused by fungi, bacteria,
leafmining insects, sunscorch, or other agents.
BMP (Best Management Practice) Management
practices which are environmentally conscious.
Borers Insects usually belonging to the Order
Coleoptera, eg longicorn beetles; or the Order
Lepidoptera, eg wood moths, which feed internally in
trunks, limbs, branches, stems and roots of trees and
shrubs. Some feed in fruit.
Breaking Loss of flower color resulting in a
variegated flower, usually caused by virus diseases,
eg tulip breaking virus, rasping and sucking insects,
eg thrips, genetic variegation, or sunscald.
Bud drop A mass dropping of buds before they
open, not necessarily a symptom of disease as some
plants always drop some buds.
Bug An insect belonging to the Order Hemiptera
(bugs; hoppers; aphids, lerp insects, mealybugs,
scales, whiteflies).
Butterfly An insect belonging to the Order
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).
Cambium Thin layer of longitudinal cells between
the xylem and phloem that gives rise to growth.
Canker A localized diseased area resulting in an
open wound usually on a woody structure caused by
stubs, sunburn, fungi and bacteria), etc.
Capillary action The physical process by which
fluid material is drawn upwards from a fluid surface
through narrow tube-like structures, either natural (in
roots, stems, fibres) or manufactured, eg glass tubing.
Carbon dioxide A significant greenhouse gas which
come from natural sources and human activity, eg
burning fossil fuels for energy, cattle, etc.
Case moths Caterpillars of moths which live in a
case made of silk and leaves/sticks and feed on leaves.
Caterpillar Larva of a moth or butterfly (Order
Lepidoptera), has 3 pairs of legs on the thorax and
2-5 pairs of legs on the abdomen.
Glossary & Acronyms 475