Disease Note.

Outbreak of Strawberry Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum acutatum in Central Brazil. G. P. Henz, CNPH/EMBRAPA, C. Postal 07-0218, 70359 Brasilia-DF, Brazil. L. S. Boiteux, and C. A. Lopes. CNPH/EMBRAPA, C. Postal 07-0218, 70359 Brasilia-DF, Brazil. Plant Dis. 76:212. Accepted for publication 1 August 1991. Copyright 1992 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-76-0212A.

A severe outbreak of anthracnose was observed in strawberry (Fragaria X ananassa Duchesne 'lAC Campinas') during the 1989 growing season (June-October) in central Brazil. Symptoms consisted of girdling of the peduncle, browning of flowers, and blackening and mummification of green fruits. Symptoms of anthracnose usually observed in the region, such as girdling lesions on stolons and petioles, were observed rarely and black leaf spot and crown rot were not seen. The pathogen was identified by B. J. Smith as Colletotrichum acutatum J.R. Simmonds. In greenhouse tests, flower and fruit symptoms became evident 3 days after artificial inoculation of lAC Campinas plants with a suspension of 5 X 10⁶ conidia per milliliter. The disease is new in that area and was probably introduced through infected stock imported from the state of Sao Paulo, where this type of anthracnose is becoming widespread. The outbreak was probably due to cultivar susceptibility and prevailing weather conditions that season, i.e., humid and rainy rather than the usual dryness. Because flowers and fruits were attacked, yield losses were high, ranging from 30 to 68%.