''Colletotrichum orbiculare'' is a plant pathogen of melons and

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

that can effect curcubits causing lesions on various parts of the plant. It can effect cucumbers, melon, squash, watermelon and

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

, especially when the weather is rainy,

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depen ...

and warm. It can be transmitted by seed as well as soil and survive between crops. It is also spread by feeding

cucumber beetles Cucumber beetle is a common name given to members of two genera of beetles, ''Diabrotica'' and ''Acalymma'', both in the family Chrysomelidae. The adults can be found on cucurbits such as cucumbers and a variety of other plants. Many are notori ...

, splashing water, tools and workers. Efforts to control the fungus include the practice of rotating cucurbits out for a 2-year period, planting

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

with resistance, burning infected crops and careful control of weeds. Chemical control measures are also available.

Management

Partners of the CABI-led programme,

Plantwise CABI (legally CAB International, formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux) is a nonprofit intergovernmental development and information organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in the developing world, and the c ...

from the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia have several recommendations for managing ''C. orbiculare'', these include; using certified, disease-free seed and disease tolerant varieties where possible. They also recommend rotating melons with breaks of at least 2–3 seasons with cereals, legumes or brassicas, because the disease stays in the soil for a long time. They suggest destroying any volunteer crops by burying outside of fields and pruning plants to reduce humidity and increase airflow.

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External links

orbiculare Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Fruit and vegetable pathogens and diseases Fungi described in 1838 {{plant-disease-stub