Damping-off is a plant disease caused by certain fungi that live near the surface of the soil (see Fungi). The disease affects many kinds of plants. Damping-off kills seedlings (young plants) before they grow above the ground, or it destroys the stems of seedlings just above the surface of the soil. Damping-off cannot be cured. But growers can prevent it by planting seeds in soil free from disease-causing fungi, by treating the seeds or the soil with fungicides (chemicals that kill fungi), or by introducing microorganisms (tiny living things) that use up nutrients in the soil vital to the fungi.
