What is Anthracnose?
Anthracnose is also known as Bird’s Eye Spot. The disease is caused by fungi that produce conidia in structures called acervuli (Deuteromycotina, Coleomycetes). These fungi infects leaves, flowers, fruits, and stem. It generally causes wilting, withering, and dying of tissues.
Causal Organism – Colletotrichum gleosporioides
Symptoms –
Leaf – Appearance of irregular, rough or corky reddish brown spots with yellowish margin, having the size of 2 – 3 mm in diameter. The spots generally appear on the upper surface of leaves and are not restricted by veins.
Fruit – The symptoms appear as small, circular to roughly circular, brown to black coloured spots with sporulating zone at the centre. The size of spots quickly enlarges during colour change of fruit from green to yellow.
Mode of spread –
Fungal spores can be spread by wind-driven rain, irrigation water and insects.
Management:
| Cultural Practices | Chemical Control |
| Using disease-free transplants is the most effective method for controlling. Follow drip irrigation because it confines the dispersal of the pathogen. Remove and destroy infected leaves, weeds, and twigs from the orchard. | Foliar Spray of -Copper Oxychloride 50% WP @2 gm/litre. Thiophanate Methyl 70% WP @2 gm/litre. Tebuconazole 25.9% EC @1.2 ml/litre. |
References:
- https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/crop_prot_crop%20diseases_fruits_ber.html
- https://portal.ct.gov/caes/fact-sheets/plant-pathology/anthracnose-diseases-of-trees#:~:text=The%20term%20%22anthracnose%22%20refers%20to,%2C%20fruit%2C%20and%20stem%20tissues
- https://researcherslinks.com/base/downloads.php?jid=23&aid=604&acid=5&path=pdf&file=150067032311%20AAPP%20V5%20N1%20SC04.pdf
- https://ppqs.gov.in/sites/default/files/ber.pdf
