• Ripe to overripe fruit - can cause serious lossesS
• Fruit infection - during green stages but disease develop. ripening.
• Small lesions are circular & depressed-enlarge to greater than 12 mm in dia with zonate markings.
• Lesion surface may appear salmon-colored due to spore production and be dotted with black specks
• Infected fruit have a short shelf life.

Identification of pathogen:

Fungus:

• Colonies - darkly pigmented with white aerial mycelium, consisting of numerous black sclerotia 
• Sclerotia - setose, spherical 
• Conidia - straight, fusiform, attenuated at the ends
• Appressoria - clavate, brown, variable in shape

Favourable condition:

• Opt temp- 28 to 32°C
• Remain latent in green fruits until fruits approach ripening stage
• RH-85 to100%

Spread and survival:

• Persist on alternate hosts, crop debris & some weeds
• Alternate hosts - solanaceous crops (potato, eggplant),cucurbits & soybean
• Fungus is also seed-borne
• Spores are usually dispersed by splashing rain
• Fruits - near the soil surface are most likely to become infected
• Overhead irrigation - favor development of anthracnose because of RH & increased duration of leaf wetness

Management:

• Crop rotation with non-host crops and avoid potato, soybean, eggplant & cucurbit
• Stake plants to improve air circulation and to reduce leaf and fruit wetness
• Mulch to reduce soil splash onto fruit and lower leaves
• Minimize or avoid overhead irrigation to reduce periods of wetness on fruit
• Hot water treatment - at 50°C for 25 min
• Following treatment, plunge the hot seeds into cold water, dry on paper, and dust with thiram 

Content validator:
Dr. M. Deivamani, Assistant Professor, Horticulture Research Station, Yercaud-636602.

Source of Images:
http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/plant_pathology_and_ecology/anthracnose_of_tomato_04-01-13.pdf
http://203.64.245.61/web_crops/tomato/anthracnose.pdf