SIMURG
downy mildew
EN
c. n.
A disease of vines causes by a fungus (plasmopara) (peronospora viticola) which invades the green parts of the vine. 1
Initial leaf symptoms are light green to yellow spots, called “oil spots” because they may appear greasy. Under humid conditions, white, downy spore masses can be seen on the lower leaf surface. These spores are wind dispersed. The lesions eventually turn brown as the infected tissue dies. Severely infected leaves drop prematurely, which can reduce winter hardiness of the vine. Infected flower clusters dry up or become covered with white spores under humid conditions. Infected berries turn a mottled dull-green or reddish purple and readily fall from the cluster. Although berries become resistant to infection within three weeks after bloom, the rachis remains susceptible for several weeks longer. 2
Downy mildew is common in cool, humid environments but seldom occurs in hot, dry areas. 3
[ˈdaʊ.ni ˈmɪl.djuː] 4
Downy: from down "soft feathers," late 14c., from O.N. dunn, perhaps ultimately from PIE base *dheu- (1) "to fly about (like dust), to rise in a cloud."
Mildew: M.E. mildeu "honeydew, nectar," from O.E. mildeaw "honeydew" (sticky stuff exuded by aphids), from P.Gmc. compound of *melith "honey" + *dawwaz "dew" (cf. O.S. milidou, Du. meeldauw, Ger. Meltau "mildew"). 5
Università degli Studi di Genova - Facoltà di Lingue e letterature straniere - Corso di laurea Teorie e tecniche della mediazione interlinguistica
Alice Benzi rev. Gerbaudo
1 : «http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/FindTermsByLilId.do?lilId=1616865&langId=en», (03/11/2011)
2 : « http://www.grapes.msu.edu/downymildew.htm», (04/11/2011)
3 : « http://winegrapes.tamu.edu/grow/downy.html», (04/11/2011)
4 : «http://dictionary.cambridge.org/», (04/11/2011)
5 : «http://www.etymonline.com/index.php», (04/11/2011)