Effects of Temperature and Moisture on the Survival of Colletotrichum acutatum, the Causal Agent of Pepper Anthracnose in Soil and Pepper Fruit Debris

The survival of Colletotrichum acutatum was investigated in soil, infected fruits, and infected fruit debris incorporated into soil at several temperatures with different soil moisture levels. Samples were examined at 2-week intervals for 18 weeks to determine the survival of the pathogen based on the number of colony forming unit (CFU) of C. acutatum recovered on a semi-selective medium. C. acutatum conidia survived in both sterile and non-sterile soil at 4 and $10^{\circ}C$ for 18 weeks. If infected pepper fruits were completely dried, C. acutatum survived for 18 weeks at temperature from 4 to $20^{\circ}C$. Soil temperature and moisture affected the survival of C. acutatum in infected fruit debris incorporated into soil after air-drying. The effect of soil moisture on survival was weaker at low temperatures than at high temperatures. For up to 16 weeks, conidia were recovered from fruit debris in soil that had been kept at 4 to $20^{\circ}C$ and below 6% soil moisture. Conidia were recovered from fields until approximately 6 months after pepper fruits were harvested. Using PCR with species-specific primers and a pathogenicity test, we identified conidia recovered from soil and infected fruit from both the laboratory and field as C. acutatum and as the primary inoculum causing pepper anthracnose.