Kentucky Fruit Colletotrichum. Colletotrichum

Colletotrichum causes anthracnose fruit rots of apple, blueberry, and strawberry that can result in significant yield losses for growers. In Kentucky, mixed-fruit orchards containing all three fruits are common, which raises concerns about Colletotrichum cross-infection. Additionally, accurate Colletotrichum species identification is critical for management because species differ in fungicide sensitivity, aggressiveness, and host range. The goals of this study were to characterize the small fruit Colletotrichum species in Kentucky, evaluate the potential for cross-infection in mixed-fruit orchards, and investigate developing an improved sequence-based protocol for routine disease diagnosis.

炭疽菌属（Colletotrichum）可引发苹果、蓝莓与草莓的炭疽果腐病，给种植者造成显著的产量损失。在肯塔基州，同时种植这三种果树的复合果园十分常见，这引发了人们对炭疽菌属跨宿主侵染的担忧。此外，准确鉴定炭疽菌属物种对病害防控至关重要，因为不同物种在杀菌剂敏感性、致病力及宿主范围上均存在差异。本研究的目标为：明确肯塔基州小果实炭疽菌属物种的分类特征，评估复合果园中跨宿主侵染的潜在可能性，并探索开发一套优化的基于序列的常规病害诊断检测规程。