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Symptom identification guide for scabby fruit canker

or nail-head rust of guava caused by pestalotiopsis
fungi:
1. Leaf Symptoms: The first visible symptoms usually appear on the leaf apices.
The symptoms include small necrotic spots that are blackish gray and brittle.
Sometimes, small, rusty brown, angular spots can appear on the leaves. These
lesions can expand and become brittle and gray with mycelium growth.

1. Fruit Symptoms: The disease generally occurs on green fruits, rarely on leaves.
The first evidence of infection on fruit is the appearance of minute, brown, or
rust-colored, unbroken, circular, necrotic areas. These can turn into round to oval
brown, corky lesions located on the fruit epidermis. As the disease progresses,
these areas may tear open the epidermis in a circinate (ring-like) manner,
creating a crater-like appearance. The margin of these lesions is elevated, and a
depressed area is noticeable inside. The canker is confined to a very shallow
area and does not penetrate deep into the flesh of the fruit. In older cankers,
white mycelium consisting of numerous spores is noticeable. The scabs on the
fruit surface can develop "heads" that resemble oxidized nails and may

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 eventually coalesce to form larger lesions that sink into the fruit flesh, deforming
the fruit.

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 1. Variety-Specific Symptoms: The symptomatic guava varieties include Palmira
ICA-1, Pera, Coronilla, Regional Roja, and Manzana. The appearance of
cankers on the green fruits of different varieties can vary considerably. For
instance, in the Sardar (Lucknow-49) cultivar, the development of canker
pustules is large, more elevated, and numerous. Cultivars Allahabad Safeda and
Apple colored are highly resistant to canker.

2. Seasonal Variation: The symptoms may also vary with seasons. In winter,
cankerous spots are common, but in the rainy season, minute red specks are
formed.

3. Severe Cases: In severe cases, raised, cankerous spots can develop in large
numbers, and the fruits can break open to expose seeds. The infected fruits may
remain underdeveloped, become hard, malformed, and mummified, and drop in
large numbers.

4. Other Symptoms: Small circular spots can also appear on buds and calyx,
which enlarge, turn black or brown, and unite with one another.

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the symptoms of scabby fruit

canker or nail-head rust of guava caused by pestalotiopsis fungi. However, accurate
identification and diagnosis should be carried out by a qualified plant pathologist or
an experienced agricultural extension officer.

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