Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Endogenous inhibitor

    An organism can produce a substance that at a low concentration, inhibits the growth of itself or another organism or some physiological process associated with growth. This is known as a growth inhibitor. In higher plants, growth inhibitors like abscisic acid (ABA) exhibit a distinct characteristic their effects can be countered by specific growth promoters,…

  • Endemic disease

    A malady that has taken root in a particular geographic region, typically encompassing a nation or a portion thereof, and has become firmly established in a state of moderate to severe severity. Within the realm of infectious diseases, there exists a category of ailments that frequently manifest within a specific geographical locale. These diseases demonstrate…

  • Effective inoculum dose:

    The amount of inoculum which is available for penetration of the plant tissues. This may be equivalent to the inoculum concentration used or only a proportion of it, e.g. in leaf scar inoculations the amount of inoculum which enters is dependent upon vascular tension in the plant and rate of evaporation etc.  

  • Edaphosphere

    The soil that lies beyond the rhizosphere, where plant roots no longer hold sway, is a subject of great intrigue to soil scientists and researchers. This region is known as the bulk soil, where a diverse array of microorganisms, minerals, and organic matter interact with each other in complex and fascinating ways. The perplexing nature…

  • Dwarfing

    A reduction in the total dimensions of the plant, while keeping the relative sizes of its individual components unchanged.  

  • Drop spectrum

    The dispersal, as quantified by either the number or volume of droplets, of an atomized mist is distributed among defined ranges of droplet sizes.  

  • Disinfestant

    An agent that kills organisms present on the surface of plants or plant parts, or in the immediate environment, e.g. in soil.  

  • Disease potential

    J. Grainger introduced a phrase to describe the biological state of a plant that influences its susceptibility to illness. The phrase is represented by the ratio of Cp/Rs, where Cp stands for the overall carbohydrate content of the entire plant, and Rs is the residual dry weight of the plant’s stem. This concept was initially…

  • Disease gradient

    The alteration in disease prevalence in relation to the proximity from the infectious origin point.  

  • Disease escape

    the failure of a host to become diseased because of separation, in space or time, of susceptible host tissues and the infective units of the pathogen, e.g. an air-borne pathogen may not arrive in contact with the host until after the susceptible period has passed; climatic conditions may not permit the germination of a pathogen…

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