CSIRO PUBLISHING www.publish.csiro.au/journals/apdn Australasian Plant Disease Notes, 2009, 4,70–71
First report of anthracnose of Acacia in Australia
H. Golzar
Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Abstract. In May 2009, anthracnose symptoms were observed on Acacia seedlings, in the south-west of Western Australia. Based on morphological characteristics of the isolated fungus, disease symptoms and pathogenicity tests, Colletotrichum acutatum J.H. Simmonds was identified as the causal agent of anthracnose of Acacia. This is the first report of Anthracnose (C. acutatum)onAcacia both in Australia and worldwide.
The genus Colletotrichum contains a large number of plant Colletotrichum acutatum causes the disease commonly pathogenic species which cause significant economic damage. known as anthracnose on a wide range of plants, including It has a wide range of hosts in tropical, subtropical, and temperate legumes, vegetables, small fruits and perennial tree crops. The regions (Bailey and Jeger 1992). Colletotrichum gloeosporioides disease can occur on leaves, stems and fruits of host plants. (teleomorph Glomerella cingulata) and C. acutatum are the most (Dyko and Mordue 1979; Peres et al. 2005; Sergeeva et al. 2008). common species causing anthracnose on a wide range of plant Acacia species are woody perennial trees belong to the family species (Mordue 1971; Dyko and Mordue 1979). In Florida, Mimosaceae commonly known as wattle in Australia. Acacia C. gloeosporioides has caused anthracnose of Acacia (Barnard microbotrya, A. acuminata and A. saligna species are of interest and Schroeder 1984); however, there is no record of C. acutatum for commercial utilisation in agroforestry plantings in Western on Acacia internationally. Australia (Byrne and Broadhurst 2003). The anthracnose symptoms were observed on the Acacia seedlings in the south-west of Western Australia which experiences a Mediterranean climate. Typical symptoms
Fig. 1. Anthracnose symptoms on severely infected leaves and young stem Fig. 2. Orange conidial masses of C. acutatum produced on infected leaf of Acacia acuminata caused by C. acutatum. Bar = 1 cm. tissues of Acacia acuminata. Bar = 1 cm.