adjective
- (of a parasitic fungus or rust) completing its entire life cycle on a single host plant species
Usage: biology; mycology
Examples
- The autoecious rust fungus requires only one host plant to complete its reproductive cycle.
- Autoecious pathogens are often easier to control because they depend entirely on a single crop species.
- Unlike heteroecious rusts, autoecious species do not alternate between different plant hosts.
- Farmers studying autoecious fungi can predict disease spread more accurately within a monoculture.