Encyclopedia
Definitive guides for crops, pests, and agricultural diseases.
Stem-end rot
Stem-end rot is a destructive postharvest fungal disease affecting fruits like citrus, avocado, and mango, caused by Phytophthora species that enter through stem wounds. It leads to rapid fruit decay, dark lesions, and significant economic losses in storage and transport. Effective management relies on sanitation, fungicide dips, and cultural practices to minimize infection risks.
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Stemphylium
Stemphylium is a fungal disease causing leaf spots, blights, and defoliation in various crops, thriving in warm, humid conditions. Early identification of characteristic dark brown spots with yellow halos is crucial for effective management. Organic control relies on cultural practices, resistant varieties, and biofungicides to minimize yield losses.
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Stemphylium species
Stemphylium species are fungal pathogens causing leaf spots, blights, and defoliation in a wide range of crops, thriving in warm, humid conditions. Early identification through characteristic necrotic lesions is crucial for effective management. Organic control relies on cultural practices, resistant varieties, and biocontrol agents to minimize yield losses.
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Sterility Mosaic Disease
Sterility mosaic disease is a devastating viral infection primarily affecting pigeon pea crops, transmitted by eriophyid mites, leading to complete sterility and significant yield losses. Early symptoms include mosaic patterns on leaves and bushy growth, progressing to floral abortion and plant death. Effective management relies on resistant varieties, vector control, and cultural practices.
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Stevia
Stevia is a tender perennial herb prized for its intensely sweet leaves, which contain steviol glycosides many times sweeter than sucrose. Native to Paraguay and Brazil, it performs best in warm, frost-free conditions with fertile, well-drained soil, consistent moisture, and careful harvest timing before flowering for peak sweetness.
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Stevia Leaf
Stevia leaf is a tender perennial herb grown for its intensely sweet leaves, which contain natural steviol glycosides used as a calorie-free sweetener. Although often treated like a specialty herb, it responds best to professional management of drainage, temperature, fertility, and harvest timing, especially when grown for high leaf quality and sweetness.
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Stewart's Wilt
Stewart's wilt is a serious bacterial disease primarily affecting corn plants, transmitted by flea beetles, causing leaf lesions and potentially devastating yields. Early detection through characteristic symptoms like gray-white streaks and systemic wilting is crucial for effective management. Organic control relies on resistant corn varieties, flea beetle suppression, and sanitation practices to minimize spread.
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Sticky Rice (Black Glutinous)
Sticky Rice, also known as Black Glutinous Rice, is a variety known for its sticky texture and unique appearance. This rice is cultivated primarily in Southeast Asia and requires specific soil, water, and climatic conditions to thrive.
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Stink bugs
Stink bugs are shield-shaped pests notorious for their foul odor when disturbed, causing significant damage to crops through piercing-sucking mouthparts that inject toxins and extract plant juices. This guide provides definitive diagnostics, lifecycle insights, organic management strategies, and prevention tips for farmers battling these invasive invaders. Protect your yields with proven, professional agricultural techniques tailored for small farms and commercial operations.
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Stokes Purple Sweet Potato
Stokes Purple Sweet Potato is a distinctive purple-fleshed sweet potato cultivar prized for its dense texture, deep anthocyanin-rich flesh, and excellent storage quality. It requires a long, warm growing season, loose well-drained soil, and careful moisture management to produce uniform, high-quality roots with strong color and flavor.
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stolon rots
Stolon rots are devastating fungal diseases that target the horizontal stems (stolons) of stoloniferous crops like strawberries and raspberries, causing rapid decay, plant collapse, and significant yield losses. Caused primarily by soilborne pathogens thriving in wet conditions, they spread through contaminated soil, water, and equipment. Effective management relies on cultural practices, organic treatments, and vigilant prevention to protect runner production and plant health.
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Stone Root (Collinsonia canadensis)
Stone Root is a native North American perennial herb valued for its medicinal roots and attractive foliage. It thrives in woodland conditions and is increasingly cultivated for herbal and ecological uses.
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Storage Beetles
Storage beetles are a diverse group of small insects that infest and damage stored grains, seeds, nuts, and dried goods in post-harvest facilities, warehouses, and homes. These pests thrive in warm, humid environments, rapidly multiplying and rendering commodities unsalable through feeding, contamination, and mold promotion. Effective management combines sanitation, monitoring, and targeted organic controls to protect agricultural yields.
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Storage insects
Storage insects are a group of pantry pests including weevils, beetles, and moths that infest and destroy stored grains, seeds, and dry goods. They cause significant economic losses in agriculture by contaminating food products and reducing quality. Effective management combines prevention, monitoring, and organic controls to protect post-harvest crops.
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Storage rots
Storage rots are post-harvest diseases caused by fungi and bacteria that decay harvested crops in storage, leading to significant economic losses. They thrive in warm, humid conditions and spread rapidly through contaminated produce or poor ventilation. Effective management relies on pre-harvest cultural practices, proper curing, and vigilant storage monitoring.
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Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn
Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn is a historic white sweet corn heirloom prized for its tender kernels, rich old-fashioned flavor, and unusually long harvest window for a sweet corn of its era. It is a late-season variety that performs best in warm, fertile soil with consistent moisture, generous nutrition, and block planting for strong pollination and full ears.
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Strawberry
Strawberry is a high-value, shallow-rooted perennial fruit crop prized for its aromatic berries, rapid returns, and suitability for field, raised-bed, and protected cultivation. Successful production depends on precise management of soil drainage, crown placement, fertility, irrigation, and disease pressure, especially during flowering and fruiting.
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Strawberry Guava
Strawberry guava is a compact tropical to subtropical fruiting shrub or small tree valued for its aromatic red or yellow fruits, glossy evergreen foliage, and strong adaptability. When managed correctly, it is highly productive, tolerant of a range of soils, and well suited to backyard orchards, mixed tropical plantings, and intensive small-scale fruit systems.
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Strawberry Mint
Strawberry Mint is a fragrant herb valued for its unique sensory profile, combining the sweet scent of strawberries with the refreshing aroma of mint. It thrives in well-drained soils and is ideal for use in culinary and ornamental applications.
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Strawberry Popcorn
Strawberry Popcorn is a decorative and edible popcorn variety known for its small, ruby-red ears that resemble oversized strawberries. Though often grown for ornamental use, it is a true popping corn with dense, hard kernels that can be dried and popped successfully when harvested and cured correctly.
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Streptomyces scabies
Streptomyces scabies is a soil-borne actinomycete bacterium responsible for common scab, a widespread disease primarily affecting potatoes and other root and tuber crops. It produces raised, corky lesions on tubers that reduce marketability and storage quality. Effective management relies on integrated cultural practices that modify soil conditions and limit pathogen survival.
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streptomyces soil rot
Streptomyces soil rot is a persistent soil-borne bacterial disease caused by actinomycetes that produces corky, pitted lesions on underground plant parts. It thrives in dry, alkaline soils and can cause significant quality losses in root and tuber crops. Effective management relies on integrated cultural, biological, and chemical practices rather than curative sprays.
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striga
Striga, commonly known as witchweed, is a parasitic weed that severely impacts cereal and legume crops across Africa and parts of Asia by attaching to host roots and extracting water and nutrients. It causes stunting, chlorosis, and significant yield losses in staple crops like sorghum, maize, and millet. Effective management combines cultural, mechanical, and chemical practices with long-term prevention strategies.
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Stripe Rust
Stripe rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is a devastating foliar disease primarily affecting wheat and barley crops worldwide. It manifests as bright yellow-orange stripes on leaves, leading to significant yield losses if unmanaged. Effective management relies on resistant varieties, timely fungicide applications, and cultural practices to disrupt the pathogen's lifecycle.
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