Spores can be carried for miles in the wind. Though fungi cause more diseases than bacteria, bacterial diseases can be some of the most difficult to control and can be devastating to plants. Though some bacteria do produce spores, there are no plant pathogenic bacteria that produce spores. Some bacteria can survive in the soil in decaying plant material for a time. Unlike fungi, they usually need the host to survive.
Bacteria are dependent on outside agents for dispersal.
Splashing water is the chief means by which bacteria are disseminated. Another important means of dispersal is through human contact. Many bacterial diseases can be spread simply by touching an infected plant and then touching a healthy plant. Bacteria cannot penetrate the cuticle of plants, but must enter the plant through a wound or natural opening. Viruses are the smallest of the three pathogens mentioned here.