Biological characteristics of the strawberry anthracnose pathogen <i>Colletotrichum nymphaeae</i> and methods of its diagnostics

Abstract

This work presents the research results of artificial infection of garden strawberry plants of the Elsanta variety with the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum nymphaeae from the Colletotrichum acutatum complex. Three different ways of infecting strawberry plants were analysed: by injecting the plant rosette, spraying with a spore suspension, and infecting the soil. The study showed that the plants of this variety are susceptible to the C. nymphaeae species. The most susceptible parts of plants were identified: leaf blades, petioles and strawberry rosettes. The most obvious symptoms of infection, caused by C. nymphaeae, were found in case of injecting into the rosette. In this work, the most sensitive and valid laboratory methods for isolating and identifying the causative agent of strawberries anthracnose on the planting material were determined: isolation of the pathogen using the deposit method on the 2 % PGA nutrient medium with the addition of 4 % citric acid and identification by the real-time PCR method using the “Fitoscreen set. C. acutatum complex-PB” (CJSC Syntol, Moscow). The C. nymphaeae species from the C. acutatum complex is a pathogen harmful to strawberry plants, causing rapid damage to leaf blades, petioles and rosettes. In the conducted experiment, the root system of strawberry plants was not affected, and there was no infection in the soil.