ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

A wilting Acacia koaia tree infected with a vascular wilt fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. koae. When woody plants wilt, they do not collapse as do succulent plants; rather the leaves turn yellow and dry up and the twigs and branches die back.

A wilting Piper methysticum plant (`awa, kava) infected with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), cause of kava dieback.  The collapse of the stem and petioles was followed by leaf scorching and defoliation.

Wilting banana (Musa sp.) plants affected by Panama disease.

Wilting banana (Musa sp.) plant affected by Panama disease.

Vascular necrosis in a psuedostem of a banana (Musa sp.) plant affected with Panama disease.  The necrotic xylem elements result in reduced water transport and plant wilting.

Noni (Morinda citrifolia) plant wilwting and yellwoing due to infection of roots by root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne sp.) and the fungal plant pathogen, Sclerotium rolfsii.

Definition

A wilt is disease or disease symptom in which there is drooping of leaves and stems from lack of water (inadequate water supply or excessive transpiration); vascular disease that interrupts normal water uptake.

Etymology. 1691, probably an alteration of welk "to wilt," probably from M.Du. or M.L.G. welken "to wither," cognate with O.H.G. irwelhen "become soft."

Discussion

Wilting of plants can be caused by biotic or abiotic factors, inclduing drought, root rot, flooding, root-knot nematodes, fertilizer burn of root systems, pesticide injurry and other toxicities and pathogenic microorganisms that colonize plant vascular systems.