Causal Agent:
Colletotricbum orbiculare; a number of races are known to occur.

Distribution:
Worldwide, especially in humid areas

Symptoms:
The disease is most commonly found on cantaloupe, cucumber and watermelon. On cucumber, symptoms on leaves begin as watersoaked spots. These spots become circular, tan areas which expand into characteristic brown spots with light centers. Spots are not restricted by the leaf veins. Infected petioles and stems develop shallow, elongated, tan spots, which result in girdled areas. Infected fruit develop circular, sunken, watersoaked areas. These areas expand and develop tiny black specks in the center. Under humid conditions pink or orange sticky spores ooze from the black specks. In watermelon, leaf spots are black and the affected tissue quickly dries up giving a scorched appearance to the plants. When pedicels of young fruit are attacked the fruit shrivel and die. Young fruit may develop black, sunken spots which result in fruit malformation. 

Conditions for Disease Development:
The organism survives from one season to the next on infected plant tissue and may survive up to two years in the absence of a host.  Spread of the disease can occur by splashing rain, irrigation water, insects, workers or equipment. Disease development is favored by warm, humid weather. A late infection may result in fruit becoming unmarketable during storage, shipment or display.

Control: A fungicide spray program and the use of resistant varieties are the best control measures.

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