Plant guide:🍓 Strawberries
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⚠ Critical🩺
Fungal
Anthracnose Crown Rot on Strawberries
Commonly affects: Fragaria × ananassa (Strawberry)
The crown (growing point) turns reddish-brown internally when cut, and the plant wilts suddenly and collapses, often during warm, humid weather.
Potential Causes
- 1Colletotrichum fungus infecting the crown, favoured by warm, wet conditions
- 2Infected transplants introducing the pathogen to new plantings
- 3Overhead irrigation spreading spores between plants
Solution Steps
- 1Remove and destroy affected plants immediately, including the crown and root system
- 2Source certified disease-free transplants
- 3Switch to drip irrigation rather than overhead watering
- 4Avoid working around wet plants, which can spread spores
Prevention Tip
Starting with certified disease-free transplants is the most effective single step, since anthracnose is frequently introduced through infected planting stock.
