Strawberry Anthracnose: Progress toward Control through Science

Abstract

Anthracnose crown rot has been a destructive disease of strawberries in the southeastern U.S. since the 1930s. The causal fungus, C. fragariae, infects all above-ground plant parts; however, disease is most severe when the fungus infects the crown causing crown rot, wilt, and death. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides can also cause crown rot and has been a problem since the late 1970s. The anthracnose fruit rot pathogen, Colletotrichum acutatum, was first reported on strawberry in the U.S. in 1986. Scientific investigations of anthracnose have concentrated on its epidemiology, differences among the three causal Colletotrichum spp., their infection processes, and pathogenicity. Results from these many studies have improved control of this disease.