Helicobasidium monpa

Nobuj. Tanaka (1891)

- classification: Fungi, Basidiomycota, Pucciniomycetes, Incertae sedis, Helicobasidiales, Helicobasidiaceae

Helicobasidium monpa causes rotting of the root cortex. The diseased tissue eventually turns pink. This is a highly characteristic symptom of this pathogen, which causes violet root rot of many plants. Symptoms appear at the end of the production season.

Dense, wine-coloured mycelia, develops in the infected tissues, for instance the stem at the soil level, a sign that allows one to identify the pathogen.

This soil pathogen has been observed only in Japan where it causes losses during rainy periods.