First report of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum siamense on avocado fruits in China

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is an economically important fruit in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Anthracnose is the most common and serious postharvest disease of avocado fruits. The disease is caused by different species of Colletotrichum in different countries. In July to October 2021, the avocado fruits harvested from Danzhou city of China showed typical anthracnose symptoms during storage. The disease incidence reached 25.8%. The similar fungal colonies were isolated from the edges of lesions. The pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum siamense by morphological characters and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses with ITS region, CHS-1, ACT, TUB2 and ApMat gene sequences. This is the first report of C. siamense causing anthracnose on avocado fruits during storage in China.

Automated summary

Avocado is an economically important fruit in tropical and subtropical regions. Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum siamense, was found in avocado fruits during storage in China's Danzhou city, marking the first report of its occurrence in the country.