crown gall

crown gall, plant disease, caused by the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens (synonym Rhizobium radiobacter). Thousands of plant species are susceptible. They include especially grape, members of the rose family (Rosaceae), shade and nut trees, many shrubs and vines, and perennial garden plants. Symptoms include roundish rough-surfaced galls (woody tumourlike growths), several centimetres or more in diameter, usually at or near the soil line, on a graft site or bud union, or on roots and lower stems. The galls are at first cream-coloured or greenish and later turn brown or black. As the disease progresses, plants lose vigour and may eventually die.

Crown gall can be avoided by using nursery stock free of suspicious bumps near the crown, former soil line, or graft union; practicing five-year rotation or avoiding replanting for that period; removing severely infected plants (including as many roots as possible); protecting against injury; keeping down weeds; controlling root-chewing insects and nematodes; cutting away large galls on trees; and disinfecting wounds.