Bean Plant affected with Anthraconse Fungi

Fungi cause various anthracnose diseases. They affect many different plants and cause a variety of symptoms.

This disease requires cool, wet conditions for infection and symptom development. Anthracnose is always associated with rainy springs

Susceptible Plants- Beans, cucumber, melon, peppers, and tomato. Anthracnose  prone  trees include Dogwood,Maple, and sycamores, many kinds of woody and herbaceous plants.

Symptoms of anthracnose diseases include small irregular yellow or brown spots that appear on leaves and darken with age. On vegetables anthracnose diseases produce small, dark, sunken spots in the skin. As the disease progresses the spots spread. Pinkish spore masses appear in the center of the spots in moist weather.

Fruit eventually rots. On trees the infection can begin before leaves appear killing the tips of the young branches. Anthracnose diseases can also produce brown spots on young leaves causing defoliation forcing to produce a new set of leaves in the summer severely weakening the tree.

Prevention and Control- Avoid anthracnose in vegetables by selecting resistant cultivars when available. Buying healthy transplants, planting in a well-drained soil, and not touching the plants when they are wet, Remove or destroy infected plants. On trees prune out the dead branches and remove water sprouts. Avoid drought stress by watering trees during dry spells and keeping the ground around the tree mulched.

Gather up and destroy invested leaves. Environmental factors also play important roles in managing anthracnose. Pay close attention to past and current conditions such as rain and irrigation to determine if anthracnose development is favored. Dry spring weather could mean that disease management is not necessary. A wet spring or an irrigation system that wets the foliage could result in disease outbreak that may warrant control.


Fungicidal Sprays- A fungicidal spray such as Bordeaux Mixture may provide some control. Bonide Liquid Copper Fungicide and  Sulpur Dust Fungicide products are also available to manage anthracnose.

For commercial growers Fungicide Organic OxiDate is one of the best products for anthracnose and other fungal diseases. OxiDate uses peroxygen chemistry – rapid oxidation that kills a wide range of bacteria and fungi on contact. With this OMRI-listed weapon, organic farmers can fight Alternaria, Anthracnose, Bacterial Spot and Speck, Botrytis, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Powdery and Downey Mildew and other such disease causing pathogens. A wide variety of crops that suffer from these – melons, tomatoes, peppers, snap and dry beans, strawberries, cole crops, and mushrooms – can now be treated safely and repeatedly to prevent continuing outbreaks. Because of its mode of action, there can be no resistance developed to OxiDate’s continued use. It is exempt from pesticide residue considerations and is EPA registered.

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