A strawberry disease caused by Acremonium strictum

Abstract

We report Acremonium strictum as the causal agent of a new disease in strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) in the Northwest of Argentina. Both the structure of conidiophores and the sequence spanning the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) allowed confirming the affiliation of the isolate, corresponding to A. strictum. An analysis of symptoms and lesions caused by the strain of A. strictum in susceptible cultivars showed that the typical symptoms are as follows: in an early stage, small necrotic light-brown spots in leaves and petioles increase in number and size as the disease progresses; in a more advanced stage, dark necrotic areas expand over petioles and leaves causing strangulation of petioles and the plant wilt. Crown rot was not observed even at a very advanced stage of the disease.