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Purdue UniversityCooperative Extension Service
BP-53
Fruit Diseases
Raspberry Anthracnose
fungus
Elsinoe veneta
, whichoverwinters in lesions on old fruitingcanes. Just as the raspberry buds startto open in the spring, the fungusproduces spores that are carried bywind and splashing rain to healthy,young canes. The lesions thatdevelop on these “spring” canes thenproduce summer spores that, in turn,spread the disease to leaves, fruit,fruit stems, and fruiting canes.Young, tender canes are highlysusceptible to anthracnose infectionduring wet, rainy periods. Duringdry weather, these canes harden-off and resist the disease.
Figure 1. Circular spots with graycenters and purple margins are typicalof early symptoms.Paul C. Pecknold, Extension Plant Pathologist 
Anthracnose is the most commonand widespread disease of raspber-ries, especially black and purpleraspberries; it is also often aproblem on some blackberryvarieties. Red raspberries are lesslikely to be seriously damaged,however to help ensure a disease-free planting, all managementpractices outlined below should befollowed for all raspberry plantings.
Symptoms
Anthracnose first appears in thespring when the young raspberrycanes are about 6 inches high.Small, purple, circular spots arefound scattered over the length of the canes. These lesions soonenlarge, become sunken in thecenter and turn gray with purpleborders (Figure 1). They eventuallygrow to about 1/8 inch in diameterand run together to form exten-sively diseased areas on maturecanes (Figure 2). Anthracnose willfrequently girdle the stem beforethe crop matures, causing theberries to dry up.A severe outbreak of anthracnosewill stunt or destroy new canes.Infected canes tend to crack duringwinter, causing them to dry out andbreak in the fruiting season. Thesecanes are also more susceptible towinter injury.
Cause
Anthracnose is caused by the
 
Management
(1) Growing Site.
Raspberriesshould be planted in sunny, openareas that have good air drainage.Moist conditions favor anthracnoseinfections.
(2) Start With Clean Plants.
Plant only disease-free canes whenestablishing a new patch. Beforetaking new black or purple plants tothe field for setting, cut off the stubsof the old canes attached to theyoung plants below the ground leveland destroy them.
(3) Destroy Wild Hosts.
Wildbrambles serve as a breeding groundfor anthracnose and many otherdiseases. The area surrounding theplanting should be kept free of wildblackberries and raspberries.
(4) Maintain Good WeedControl.
Keep weeds cultivatedfrom between the rows; they preventgood air circulation and thus hamperrapid drying of foliage.
(5) Sanitation
. After harvest,remove and destroy badly-infectedcanes. Because the fungus surviveson both living and dead plant tissue,old fruiting canes as well as severelyaffected new canes should beremoved from your planting afterharvest.
(6) Fungicide Sprays.
If anthra-cnose becomes a persistent, chronicproblem, fungicide sprays may berequired for satisfactory control.Spray with liquid lime-sulfur (soldas Dormant Disease Control Lime-Sulfur Spray, etc.) when leaf budsare just showing green, or when theyare about 1/8 inch long. This earlyspring application is often referredto as a “delayed dormant” spray.The timing of the delayed dormantapplication is critical in that spraysapplied too early (before green tip)are not effective, while spraysapplied after the new shoots are 1/2inch long may burn the foliage.
 References to products in this publication is not intended tobe an endorsement to theexclusion of others which maybe similar. Persons using such products assume responsibility for their use in accordancewith current label directions of the manufacturer.Figure 2. Anthracnose infection often results in extensive pitted areas on older canes.
This material may be available in alternative formats.
Cooperative Extension work in Agriculture and Home Economics, state of Indiana, Purdue University, and U.S. Department of Agriculturecooperating; H. A. Wadsworth, Director, West Lafayette, IN. Issued in furtherance of the acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. The PurdueUniversity Cooperative Extension Service is an equal opportunity/equal access institution.
 
REV 6/96 (2M)
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