The majority of phytopathogenic fungi belong to the Ascomycetes and the Basidiomycetes.
The fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually via the production of spores and other structures. Spores may be spread long distances by air or water, or they may be soil borne. Many soil inhabiting fungi are capable of living saprotrophically, carrying out the part of their life cycle in the soil. These are known as facultative saprotrophs.

• Fusarium spp. (causal agents of Fusarium wilt disease)
• Thielaviopsis spp. (causal agents of: canker rot, black root rot, Thielaviopsis root rot)
• Verticillium spp.
• Magnaporthe grisea (causal agent of blast of rice and gray leaf spot in turfgrasses)
• Sclerotinia sclerotiorum white mold

• Ustilago spp.
• Rhizoctonia spp.
• Phakospora pachyrhizi (causal agent of soybean rust)
• Puccinia spp. (causal agents of severe rusts of virtually all cereal grains and cultivated grasses)
• Armillaria spp.