Anthracnose (Colletotrichum coccodes)
Credit: Biovision-Infonet
(c) Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, www.insectimages.org(www.ecoport.org)
Spots of fruits are sunken. When weather is moist, the spots get tan-coloured (growth of fungal spores). There may be several spots on affected fruit and they may join up and cover the whole fruit. Severely affected fruits drop. Eventually, affected fruits dry and become black. Most often, soft-rot bacteria invade affected fruits and cause a soft watery decay.
The fungus usually attacks fruits on plants that are weakened or over-ripe. Infection is favoured by relative humidity close to 100% and temperatures between 21 and 300C.
| What to do: Use resistant varieties, if available. Use certified disease-free seeds. Practise crop rotation. Destroy infected crop residues. |