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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Thursday, August 20, 2026
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Little Ketchup
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Grittyville, WA
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Entry 238 of 241 |
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We tend to think of diseases as "bad". But let me explain a theory. My theory is that we dont always know why the plant benefits from the disease. Yhe black and white view of the world often ignores the real truth which is somewhere in between.
In humans, the sickle cell trait might seem like a disease. Even though its harmful, it is defending against something even more harmful: malaria.
In this tomato plant, the fusarium is destroying the leaves, but I believe it is benefitting the plant against a greater threat. Evolutionarily speaking, the greater threat to this plant is that the birds that distribute its seeds would not find all of the fruit if it was buried under leaves. The fusarium is doing what the plant wants. The plant wants its leaves gone to expose the fruit so that its seeds will spread. We might say, well that's stupid. But it's not. Its quite clever. The plant enters into a self sacrificial relationship with the fusarium because the plant only survives if its seeds survive. Seed dispersal is no laughing matter for a plant which cannot physically move.
I believe most of the pathogenic relationships where the oldest leaves are destroyed may be aiding seed dispersal. Why make your fruit red? Why make it nutritious and good tasting? All this effort by the plant is to pay for one thing, which is seed dispersal.
So some plants might go the extra mile and allow a moderate level of self destruction in order to further make it easier and safer for animals to find a meal.
Ultimately, the plant wants to be diseased. It could resist the disease if it wanted to. But it just doesn't... the disease is helping it reach its ultimate natural goal: to reproduce successfully. To give the best possible odds to its progeny... to continue the circle of life.
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