In these cases, damage is very limited, and also very easily eradicated. Sooty mold is occasionally spotted as a minor condition, on plants in which only a few leaves were coated in honeydew, and eventually, in the moldy growth. The growth doesnвЂ™t hurt the plant directly, but the dark layer of sooty mold decreases photosynthesis, blocking the sunвЂ™s rays from the leaves, which subsequently start to wilt, wither, and eventually die if the growth isnвЂ™t treated.

Though sooty mold doesnвЂ™t grow directly on the plants, that doesnвЂ™t mean that affected plants do not suffer from the growth of the fungus as it can quickly cover every branch and leaf on the entire plant with a thick, black, sooty layer. The fungal spores stick to the honeydew left behind by these parasites, and sooty mold grows on the honeydew itself. Sooty mold forms when fungal spores from ascomycete, capnodium and saprophytic fungi land on plants that are coated in a sugary, sticky substance that is excreted by common garden pests like aphids, mealybugs, white flies, and scale. Sooty mold appears on plants and any objects or structures in the near vicinity of affected plants as a dark gray to black soot-like powdery coating that forms on the outer layer of plants, specifically on the branches, leaves, fruit, and anything else in the general area of the plant or plants in question.

Thankfully, it is relatively easy to treat and remove.

Though the fungus does little actual harm to the plant it infects, it is certainly unsightly and an unwanted presence in any garden. If you have a plant, shrub, or tree that looks like it has spent a little bit too much time next to a fireplace, its leaves and branches covered with a thick layer of black soot like the face of a chimney sweeper after a double shift, thereвЂ™s a good chance that your plant is suffering from a fungal condition known as sooty mold fungus.

The gunk gardener fight