Fruit rot of Capsicum spp.: implications and management strategies

ABSTRACT Fruit rot is among the serious diseases of Capsicum spp. caused by Colletotrichum Species Complex (CSC), which includes mainly Colletotrichum truncatum followed by Colletotrichum siamense, Colletotrichum scovillei, and Colletotrichum coccodes. Worldwide, in subtropical and tropical regions, fungus is reported to cause approximately 50%–100% yield losses. Management of fruit rot is very difficult on account of its complex nature and the involvement of various Colletotrichum spp. Traditionally, cultural, biological, and chemical methods have been applied to control the disease but limited success is achieved when these are used alone; however, in combination, these methods have given success to some extent. Resistant cultivars have also been identified in peppers but are not commercialised yet due to the breakdown of resistance at the field level. Along with conventional breeding, the use of biotechnological techniques such as molecular markers, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, gene silencing, and genome editing may prove useful in solving the problem associated with phenotypic selection for disease resistance. Hence, there is a dire need to develop cultivars with durable resistance. Therefore, in this review, efforts have been made to gather information about the pathogen’s lifestyle, distribution, detection, conventional disease management methods, and advanced strategies for effective control in the future.