Wagaris

Wagaris is a disease, that has only shortly appeared in Andaperna. It affects grain, especially wheat and spelt, in rarer cases also oat. Plants that suffer from wagaris tend to show abnormal growth, like thick stalks and tumor-like swellings. They also draw a lot of water and don't dry out and mature, especially the grain, unless it is really very dry, but even then the grain quality is very poor. Wagaris has not yet proven a big problem, but needs further observation.

The disease is caused by a small bug, that is very small and black. It looks almost like a tick. These bugs only appear in small numbers and have a distinct, unpleasant smell to them. It seems like the smell is unpleasant to other individuals of this bug as well, as affected plants tend to stand solitarily and house one of the bugs and its offspring respectively, while other affected plants are outside of the smell radius. It is unclear whether the bugs can fly or whether they crawl to their host plant. In any case the bug burrows a hole into the plant's stalk, preferably close to the ground, and lays its eggs there. When the eggs are laid, the plant starts changing.

A plant affected by Wagaris will start to change considerably. It grows longer and stronger roots, to supply the plant with more water for growth and to stay fresh. Also, as the plants shows abnormal thickening of tissue, and extra amount of minerals is needed. The energy, that would ideally be stored in the grain is instead invested in stem tissue growth and lets the grain stay small and immature. The extra tissue is needed to feed the bugs larvae, which devour the stems. Although the stems are abnormally thick, they are hollowed out so much they withstand no mechanical stress and easily bend over or collapse. It is believed, that the bugs or their eggs secrete something, that causes the plants metabolism and growth pattern to change so considerably.

Not many plants are affected by Wagaris, as the bugs keep each other apart with their smell. Nonetheless it is very important to look out for infected plants and destroy them, as this is an effective way to fight the spread of Wagaris, but also grain from a Wagaris-infected plant will spoil huge amounts of other grain when processed together, lending a bitter and ugly taste to them.