Strawberry Anthracnose: Detection and Survival of Colletotrichum acutatum in Soil. D. M. Eastburn, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801. W. D. Gubler, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis 95616. Plant Dis. 74:161-163. Accepted for publication 18 September 1989. Copyright 1990 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-74-0161.

Propagules of Colletotrichum acutatum were detected in soil from a recently fallowed strawberry nursery plot. A survey of strawberry nursery and production fields showed that C. acutatum was present in soils from sites with a recent history of strawberry anthracnose but not in fumigated soils. Isolates of C. acutatum from soil were culturally similar to isolates from plant tissue and were equally pathogenic in assays using detached fruit. Soil naturally infested with C. acutatum initiated disease development on strawberry plants in the greenhouse. C. acutatum survived in buried strawberry tissue for 9 mo, but soil population densities gradually declined over an 11-mo period. Results suggest that soilborne propagules, especially those in soil attached to planting stock, may be a source of inoculum in California.

Keyword(s): Colletotrichum fragariae, overwintering.