Disease Note.

First Report of Strawberry Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum acutatum in Connecticut. J. A. LaMondia, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Valley Laboratory, P.O. Box 248, Windsor, CT 06095. Plant Dis. 75:1186. Accepted for publication 23 August 1991. Copyright 1991 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-75-1186A.

Severe wilting of maize (Zea mays L.) caused by extensive rotting of roots with reddish pink discoloration has been occurring in the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) for the last several years. Yield losses of 15-20% have been estimated in several commercial fields. Extensive isolations from symptomatic roots during 1988-1990 consistently yielded the fungus Phoma terrestris E. M. Hans. (= Pyrenochaeta terrestris (E.M. Hans.) Gorenz, J.C. Walker, & R.H. Larson). The red discoloration and the isolation of P. terrestris confirm the presence of red root rot. During 1989-1990, maize genotypes (two sets of diallel crosses, 49 commercial hybrids, and 49 inbreds) were evaluated for resistance in four fields in southern Delaware where the disease had previously been severe. Red root rot ratings were correlated with stalk rot ratings (r = 0.92-0.93, P = ≤ 0.0001) and wilt ratings (r = 0.48-0.79, P = ≤ 0.0004). Resistance was found in both inbreds and hybrids. This is the first report of red root rot on maize from the Delmarva area.