REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION 111 



GRAPE ANTHRACNOSE IN AMERICA. 



By C. L. SHEAR, 



Pathologist, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Grape anthracnose is a fungous disease caused by Sphaceloma ampelinum 

 De Bary.i It is called "Charbon" by the French, and "Schwarzer Brenner" 

 by the Germans. The name anthracnose was first applied to it by Fabre and 

 Dunais in 1853. 



This disease was first reported with certainty in this country, so far as 

 known to the writer, by Professor Burrill" of Illinois. He says he found it 

 in Central Illinois in 1881 and had also seen it in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. 

 The native home of the fungus is apparently in Europe. It was probably intro- 

 duced into this country some time before this. As it is such a conspicuous 

 and destructive disease it does not seem that it could have escaped observa- 

 tion long if it had been present in our commercial vineyards. It was first 

 accurately described in Europe by Fintelmann^ in 1839 and Vialao says speci- 

 mens are preserved in the herbarium of Dunal at Montpellier collected in 

 October, 1839. It is quite probable, however, that earlier European descrip- 

 tions of grape diseases than those mentioned above refer to this. H. Mares, 

 according to Viala, cites a passage in Theophrastus which he believes refers 

 to this disease and L. Portes, according to the same author, cites a passage 

 in Pliny's Natural History, Books XVII and XVIII, which agrees with the 

 appearance of this disease. According to certain French traditions reported 

 by PrillieuxS the disease was prevalent in certain parts of France before 

 the French Revolution and before any American vines had been introduced 

 into that country. All the evidence thus far discovered, therefore, seems to 

 indicate that the disease is native in Europe and has probably been intro- 

 duced into America. It has never been found, so far as the writer knows, on 

 the wild grape vines in this country. It, however, attacks American varieties 

 derived from our native species. 



Meyen,7 1841, also described the disease but did not determine the organ- 

 ism causing it. In 1873 De Baryi investigated the disease, determined and 

 named the fungus producing it, and gave an accurate description of the 

 organism. 



The effects of the disease are so characteristic and noticeable that when 

 once seen it is easily recognized. The fungus attacks practically all of the 

 green parts of the grape. It is first noticed on the young leaves and shoots. 

 In the case of vinifera varieties the leaves are seriously affected, becoming 



iDe Bary, A. Annalen der Oenologie 4.165.2 1873. 



2Fabre, Esprit. Observations sur les Maladies regnantes de la Vigne, 

 mises au jour par Felix Dunal, Montpellier 4', 48 pp. 6 tab. 1853. 



"Burrill, T. J. Grape Rots. Proc. 20th Session Amer. Pomol. Soc. 1885: 

 48. 1886. 



4Fintelmann, G. A. Allegemeine Gartenzeitung, 7:273-276. 1839. 



5 Viala, P. Les Maladies de la Vigne. Ed. 3, 206. 1893. 



6 Prillieux, E. E. L'Anthracnose de la Vigne observee dans le centre de 

 la France. Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 26:187, 1879. 



"Meyen, F. J. F. Pflanzenpathologie, Berlin. 1841. 

 iDe bary, A. Loc. cit. 



