Recent advances on Colletotrichum capsici causing anthracnose of chilli: A review

Abstract

Chilli is one of the most significant spice crops cultivated with numerous culinary, medicinal, and industrial applications. Colletotrichum has a wide host range, causing anthracnose disease in various crops, whereas in chilli, anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum capsici is the major constraint in chilli production. Under severe environmental conditions, the symptoms appear all over the plant, including the fruit, which leads to complete crop damage. The particular disease has a huge economic impact on yield reduction and also debars the export criteria due to the lower quality of the chilli crop. Management of the disease is difficult under field conditions, and the majority of the management strategies are highly dependent on the use of chemicals. Solely relying on chemicals is harmful to the environment and human health, so an integrated disease management approach can help in managing the disease at the initial stage. Detection and identification of pathogens play a major role in pathogen management. Early identification and detection of the pathogen based on conventional and molecular methods are very important to reduce yield loss under field conditions. The current review consists of a detailed understanding of the pathogen, its identification, detection and diagnosis, as well as the most recent research updates.