Plant guide:ðą Papaya
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Fungal
Anthracnose Fruit Rot on Papaya
Commonly affects: Carica papaya (Papaya)
Small, water-soaked spots appear on ripening fruit, expanding into sunken, dark lesions, often with a pink-orange spore mass visible in humid conditions.
Potential Causes
- 1Colletotrichum gloeosporioides fungus, one of the most common papaya fruit diseases
- 2Warm, humid weather favouring infection, especially as fruit ripens
- 3Wounds from insects or handling giving the fungus entry
Solution Steps
- 1Harvest fruit carefully to avoid bruising or wounds that give the fungus entry
- 2Remove and destroy visibly affected fruit promptly
- 3Apply a copper-based fungicide preventively during the fruiting season in humid climates
- 4Improve airflow around the tree through appropriate spacing
Prevention Tip
Careful, wound-free harvesting is the single biggest factor in reducing anthracnose losses, since the fungus needs a wound or natural opening to establish.
