Occurrence of Strawberry Anthracnose Caused by Glomerella cingulata (Stoneman) Spaulding et Schrenk and Pathogenicity of the Fungus.

A new strawberry anthracnose caused by Glomerella cingulata was found in September, 1987. Small dark lesions appeared on leaflets, runners and petioles of the plants in the nursery, and infected plants often wilted suddenly and died. A reddish-brown streaking occurred in interior portions of crowns of wilted plants, and the fungus was isolated from these lesions. Although the pathogen of strawberry anthracnose was reported as Colletotrichum fragariae in Japan in 1969, C. fragariae had been considered to be the synonym of C. gloeosporioides by von Arx. Symptoms and morphological characteristics of conidia isolated in this study were similar to those of C. fragariae. Perithecia were formed on the surface of crowns and runners as well as on the culture medium. Ascomata were dark brown, spherical, and discrete or aggregated. Asci contained 8 aseptate, hyaline and curved ascospores. On the basis of these morphological characteristics, the causal fungus was identified as Glomerella cingulata (Stoneman) Spaulding et Schrenk (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penzig). The fungus also was pathogenic on foliage of broad bean, pea and cyclamen, and on fruits of apple and avocado, but nonpathogenic to Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae and some woody plants.