February Pest of the Month: Pythium
Name: Pythium
Pythium infects roots via motile zoospores and is favoured by wet, poorly drained soils and is closely related to Phytophthora. Pythium tends to nibble root tips but can cause serious losses in production nurseries and hydroponic systems as a root rot and damping off pathogen.
Plants can often appear as though they have a nutrient deficiency and fail to thrive. Roots may have necrotic tip dieback, appear ‘glassy’ or sometimes may not have any noticeable symptoms. More