Disease Note

Colletotrichum elasticae Causing Leaf Spots on Fig in Florida. S. A. Alfieri, Jr., and N. E. El-Gholl, Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, P. O. Box 1269, Gainesville 32602. Plant Disease 69:268, 1985. Accepted for publication 8 November 1984. Copyright 1985 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-268e.

Colletotrichum elasticae Tassi (= Glomerella cingulata (Ston.) Spauld. & Schrenk var. minor Wr.) was isolated from Ficus carica L. 'Green Ischia' leaf spots.  Spots were brown, necrotic, 3 mm in diameter, and surrounded by prominent yellow halos.  C. elasticae, in an inoculum density of 4.5 × 10⁵ conidia per milliliter, infected six of the more popular cultivars of fig (Celeste, Conandria, Green Ischia, Kadota, Lemon, and Osborn Prolific) in the absence of wounds.  The number of spots per infected leaf varied from one to five and did not differ significantly among the six cultivars tested, indicating a mild pathogenicity at 25 ± 2 C and at 70% relative humidity.  This is the first published report of proven pathogenicity for this fungus on fig.  C. elasticae was deposited with the American Type Culture Collection as ATCC 56772.

References: Hildegrand, P. D., and Sutton, J. C. Phytopathology 72:219, 1982.