First Report of Colletotrichum fioriniae Causing Anthracnose on Fruit of Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) in Korea

Abstract

In 2014, Anthracnose symptoms were observed on fruit of pumpkin in Gangneung, Gangwon in Korea. The typical symptoms on fruit surfaces were circular lesions, brown, shriveled with salmon-colored spore masses on the spots. A fungal isolate was obtained from symptomatic on fruit and cultured on potato dextrose agar at 25°C. The color of the upper surface of the colony varied from white to gray with occurrence of salmoncolored conidial masses and was red to violet on the underside. The causal fungus of anthracnose isolated from the diseased fruits was identified as Colletotrichum fioriniae based on mycological characteristics and sequences of the internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, chitin synthase-1 gene, histone H3, actin gene, beta-tubulin gene region. Pathogenicity tests of the isolate were performed on pumpkin fruit by both wound and non-wound inoculation with conidial suspension (1×106 conidia/ml) and incubated at 25°C. Lesions were observed on both wounded and non-wounded fruit of pumpkin after 7 days inoculation in only C. fioriniae. The pathogen was re-isolated from the lesions of inoculated fruits. To our knowledge, this is the first report of anthracnose on fruit of pumpkin caused by C. fioriniae in Korea

Keywords

• anthracnose
• colletotrichum fioriniae
• cucurbita moschata
• pumpkin