Gnomonia comari. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].
Abstract A description is provided for Gnomonia comari. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Fragaria vesca, F. chilonensis var. ananassa and Fragaria cvs. Also on Agrimonia, Alchemilla, Comarum, Epilobium, Geum, Potentilla and Sanguisorba. DISEASE: Leaf blotch, dry necrosis of sepal tips, fruit rot and dying of strawberry plants. Also rotting of strawberry runners in cold storage (50, 189). Although the disease is economically unimportant in Switzerland, Bolay (1972) claims in Germany, UK and North America yield losses can reach 70%. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Africa (Zimbabwe); Asia (Israel); Australasia & Oceania (New Zealand); Europe (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Rumania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Yugoslavia); North America (Canada, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec; USA, California, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire). TRANSMISSION: By conidia and ascospores disseminated by water splash during humid conditions (Bolton, 1954). The fungus overwinters on leaves left in the field and in nature perithecia occur on overwintered leaves in early spring. Infection starts early in the season (Bolton, 1954; 51, 2693) by the entry of the fungus through stomata and wounds (33, 737; Bolay, 1972). Once the fungus has entered the leaf it penetrates the parenchyma cells and progessses towards the vascular bundles and enters the vessels producing profuse mycelium and subsequently numerous pycnidia (Bolton, 1954). In Western Spain under laboratory conditions pycnidia have been produced on infected plants in 4-5 days and perithecia in 8-10 days (52, 3776). In Canada pycnidia were observed in the cortex of petioles 4 weeks after inoculation and leaves with pycnidia kept in a moist chamber were found to develop perithecia in 4-6 days (Bolton, 1954). Perithecia developed in this way took 10-12 days to mature.