This blog carries in-depth information on the most destructive disease – Anthracnose. You will learn all the ways to identify and prevent anthracnose through this blog.

In a wide range of economically significant plants, anthracnose is the leading cause of damage. Anthracnose differs from other diseases in that it can develop even after the harvest of ripe fruits. As a result, post-harvest conditions also experience significant yield loss. Due to this loss of yield, these fruits sell for a high market price, even though sometimes this price is insufficient to cover the production cost incurred by farmers or orchard owners. 

Table of contents

• Identification symptoms
• Major crops affected by anthracnose
• Mode of spread
• Management
• Conclusion
• How can Fasal assist?

Identification symptoms:

The symptoms of anthracnose vary depending on the plant host and the weather.

• Anthracnose typically starts out as small, irregular yellow or brown dots on leaves. These patches become larger and darker with time, eventually covering the leaves.
• On vegetables, the disease affects any portion of the plant.
• It causes tiny, dark, sunken patches on fruits that might spread. The centres of these dots become pinkish spore masses during humid conditions. The fruits will eventually decay.
• When infected, extremely young leaves may become twisted and curled, with only a portion of each leaf dying. Trees are frequently stripped of their leaves by anthracnose diseases, leaving a rim of unharmed foliage at the top of the tree.
• It can harm the tips of young branches on trees. Young leaves are also affected, resulting in brown stains and patches. The tree may also lose its leaves as a result.

Are you aware? Fasal can help you detect these symptoms on time and help you prevent anthracnose on your farm. Try it yourself. Fill out this form for a demo.

Major crops affected by anthracnose

The major crops affected by anthracnose are listed below:
Beans, Banana, Pepper, Passion Fruit, Honeydew, Citrus, Guava, Cashew Avocado, Melons, Pomegranate, Tomato, Mango, Onion, Chilli and Cereals such as Rice and Wheat.

Mode of spread

• It is mainly spread by water droplets.
• Warm, humid weather conditions are ideal for disease spread.
• If it is not properly disposed of before the following plantation cycle, the disease can potentially spread through the waste from prior crops.

Management

Monitoring:

In managing anthracnose, environmental conditions are also crucial. Monitor current conditions like irrigation and rain to see if either encourages anthracnose growth. Weather in the dry spring may negate the need for disease management. A wet spring or an irrigation system that wets the leaves could cause a disease epidemic, necessitating the use of control measures.

Sanitation:

Anthracnose disease can be effectively controlled by eliminating plant material and waste in which these fungi multiply. It is possible to lessen the severity of the disease by collecting and removing leaves, composting them under several inches of soil, and cutting out affected twigs.

Pruning:

Infected leaves, twigs, and branches should be pruned, destroyed, or buried in the fall or winter. For most trees, severe pruning of bigger diameter branches is not a good idea since it results in bushy water sprouts that are weakly linked to the trunk and vulnerable to diseases like powdery mildew.

Resistant varieties:

The use of resistant cultivars is advised when planting trees and shrubs that are often vulnerable to anthracnose infections.

Cultural practices:

• After the leaves have opened and the spring rains have ended, fertilise trees that are seriously afflicted to encourage rapid development. Prevent irrigation systems from wetting the foliage.
• Keep weeds out of the fields as they serve as a carrier of the disease.
• Anthracnose losses can be decreased with staking and mulching. (Staking is the practice of placing a wooden stake next to a plant to give it support as it grows.)
• Make sure to put your plants far enough apart to promote airflow and sunlight, which will help the leaf surfaces dry off more quickly once the trees are fully developed.

Chemical control:

• Numerous fungicides offer various levels of anthracnose protection. Only healthy tissue is protected by fungicides, which leave behind persistent infections.
• Timing and full spray coverage are essential for disease prevention.
• Protective fungicides, copper sprays, and systemic fungicides are the most effective fungicides for control.

Biological control:

Using biocontrol-based methods can be an excellent way to increase agricultural sustainability.

These methods rely on the antagonistic action of bacterial, fungal, or yeast species and can be utilised to create commercial formulations that aren’t polluting.

Studies have shown that some strains of Bacillus subtilis and Paenibacillus polymyxa and their derivatives have a significant impact on reducing the prevalence of anthracnose.

Conclusion

To protect the health of their crops, farmers must control and eradicate anthracnose from their farms. They should use extreme caution and the right timing when implementing various control systems. However, the IoT for the agriculture sector has made it possible for farmers to monitor and manage disease prevalence remotely.

How can Fasal assist?

• Fasal technology, which is based on the concept of precision farming, monitors the crop, the environment, and soil variables like soil moisture and leaf wetness to assess how well a plant is doing.
• It constantly keeps an eye on these variables, spotting any disparities and calibrating a solution in accordance with its comprehensive knowledge of the ideal circumstances for a crop. Fasal system sensors can determine whether the temperature is favourable for a disease infestation, whether the soil at a location is overly damp, and whether rain is forecast.
• Using our farm-level data, Fasal’s machine-learning technology interacts with the crop to warn farmers when their plants are at risk of disease prevalence.
• Our tailored guidance reduces the demand for fungicides while maintaining crop quality, minimising unintended environmental harm, and reducing total crop management costs.
• Additionally, farmers can monitor their crops at different stages around-the-clock using the Fasal system. We want to revolutionise the agricultural industry and offer farmers solutions to every issue they face.