''Colletotrichum fragariae'' is a fungal plant pathogen infecting strawberries. It is not a well known fungus, and there are many similar fungi that are related to it. It is part of the
Colletotrichum
''Colletotrichum'' (sexual stage: ''Glomerella'') is a genus of fungi that are symbionts to plants as endophytes (living within the plant) or phytopathogens. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens, but some species may have a mu ...
genus. It is a pathogen that occurs in strawberries. It leads to the disease known as
anthracnose
A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...
. This is typically at the crown of the strawberry, which is why it is often called crown rot. It is also known as the Anthracnose Crown rot. The fungus also infects leaves and is known as
leaf spot
A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesion ...
, which is common among all Colletotrichum. This is not as common in the fragariae, as it is more common in the crown. This fungus is also better at infecting younger strawberries/seedlings. The most common way to control this disease is fungicides that are harmful to the environment. There have been studies done to see if the fungus infects other hosts but other than some weeds, it is very specific to
Strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The f ...
.
The occurrence of this fungus in strawberries fluctuates, and data can be found here. It is one of the more deadly pathogens to the strawberry, as once it is inside and affects the crown, the strawberry is no longer able to reproduce or be consumed. For some pictures, this website has some to show what the disease does.
Morphology
The ''Colletotrichum fragariae'' is a very small, microscopic pathogen. It can be seen under microscopes. In a study by A.N. Brooks, the pathogen had tapering to the base, was about 24 x 4.5 µm, had 3-5 septate, but up to 9. It did occur in
fascicles, sometimes sinuous, brown, apical cell hyaline or light brown. The apical cell tapers to an open, truncate apex, apical cells of mature setae functioning as phialides and producing conidia (Brooks, 1931). It also produces cylindrical
conidia
A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to th ...
. There is no above ground body or fruiting body that this fungi makes.
Ecology
The ''Colletotrichum fragariae'' is found in Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest and Montane Forests. It had been found in both North and South America and even Asia. There are 66 records of this species in 5 countries. 85% of those were found in the US. It has been researched and found that high soil fertility increases the ability for this fungus to grow. There has been many research papers done to see what the fungus prefers and how it does in certain environments.
Reproduction
The ''Colletotrichum fragariae'' is a smaller fungus. It reproduces through asexual spores. This is true among all Colletotrichum genus fungi. There are a couple different growth stages including: Flowering stage, Fruiting stage, Post-harvest, Seedling stage, and Vegetative growing stage
See also
*
List of strawberry diseases
References
External links
* https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/14907
* http://iucn.ekoo.se/iucn/species_view/265244/
* https://www.cabi.org/isc/abstract/19901144197
* https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249305342_Colletotrichum_fragariae_Is_a_Pathogen_on_Hosts_Other_Than_Strawberry
* https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5107&context=gradschool_disstheses
* https://www.plantwise.org/knowledgebank/datasheet/14907
* https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.735732/full
* https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/43/1/article-p69.xml
* http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=265244
* https://agrobaseapp.com/canada/disease/anthracnose-of-strawberries
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5147078
fragariae
Fungal strawberry diseases
Fungi described in 1931