Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
    • Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
    Published 14 April 2009 Referencing Hub media
    Download

    Dr Peter Buchanan, of Landcare Research NZ Ltd, describes the role of fungi1 as decomposers and in causing disease2.

    Transcript

    Dr Peter Buchanan

    Just as fungi are able to decompose leaves and wood and our own bodies, they also decompose the food that we eat if we have left it around. The other negative side of fungi, is fungi causing disease. And all of the crops that we grow, and the native3 trees and native vegetation4 we have, every kind of plant has diseases5, just as we as people have diseases. Some of our diseases are fungal diseases. Most plant diseases are fungal diseases, so growers of those plants spend a lot of money every year to control6 the diseases that affect the yield of the crop7 that they are growing.

    Acknowledgements:
    Robert Britt
    Shanky Jones
    Landcare Research New Zealand Limited
    Jim Webb

    1. fungi: The Fungi are a kingdom separate from plants and animals. Like animals, a fungus (or fungi – plural) is an organism that cannot make its own food. It can be multicellular such as mushrooms and moulds, or unicellular such as yeasts. Fungi may be decomposers, parasites, or mutualists (helping plants to grow).
    2. diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
    3. native: A species that lives naturally in a country, as opposed to species that have been introduced by the activity of humans. 
    4. vegetation: Plant life.
    5. diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
    6. control: 1. Part of a scientific experiment in which no treatment has been applied in order to see whether there are any detectable differences to the experiment that did receive a treatment. 2. To hold in check or to curb.
    7. crop: 1. In agriculture, a cultivated plant that is grown on a large, commercial scale. The term most often refers to cereals, fruits and vegetables. 2. A compartment of muscle tissue that birds use to store and soften their food before it moves on to be processed by the gizzard.

    Appears in

    ARTICLE

    Conserving New Zealand’s fungi

    We may be aware of the conservation problems facing kiwi, tuatara, hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin), kākāpo and black robin, but what do we know about the unique challenges faced by New Zealand fungi ...

    READ MORE
    MORE
    Add to favourites
    Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
    • ARTICLE

    Ngāi hekaheka – pai mai, kino mai, anuanu mai

    Noho tahi ai ngā hekaheka, ngā tipu me ngā hanga oreore ki te poho o Tāne-mahuta. Ka mutu, he mahi nui anō ka kawea e tēnā, e tēnā. He piri tahi te hekaheka ki ngā pakiaka o ngā rākau. He āwhina ...

    READ MORE
    MORE
    Add to favourites
    Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
    • ARTICLE

    Making a case for the 5th kingdom

    Are fungi plants? Are they animals? How do you decide? Since the 1700s when it was first used, the classification system for organisms has been under debate. As new species have been discovered ...

    READ MORE
    MORE
    Add to favourites
    Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
    • ARTICLE

    Fungi – the good, the bad and the ugly

    Fungi, plants, and animals live together in Tāne-mahuta, and all have important roles to play. Fungi live with plant roots, helping the plant to get minerals and water from the soil. Fungi like ...

    READ MORE
    MORE
    Add to favourites
    Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
      • Go to full glossary
      Download all

      fungi

    1. + Create new collection

      2. The Fungi are a kingdom separate from plants and animals. Like animals, a fungus (or fungi – plural) is an organism that cannot make its own food. It can be multicellular such as mushrooms and moulds, or unicellular such as yeasts. Fungi may be decomposers, parasites, or mutualists (helping plants to grow).

      vegetation

    2. + Create new collection

      3. Plant life.

      diseases

    3. + Create new collection

      4. 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions.

      2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.

      control

    4. + Create new collection

      5. 1. Part of a scientific experiment in which no treatment has been applied in order to see whether there are any detectable differences to the experiment that did receive a treatment.

      2. To hold in check or to curb.

      native

    5. + Create new collection

      6. A species that lives naturally in a country, as opposed to species that have been introduced by the activity of humans. 

      crop

    6. + Create new collection

      7. 1. In agriculture, a cultivated plant that is grown on a large, commercial scale. The term most often refers to cereals, fruits and vegetables.

      2. A compartment of muscle tissue that birds use to store and soften their food before it moves on to be processed by the gizzard.

      Email Us

      See our newsletters here.