First Report of Colletotrichum truncatum Causing Anthracnose on Lentil and Pathogenicity Confirmation

Abstract

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is an important pulse crop cultivated widely for its high nutritional value and role in sustainable agriculture. During recent field surveys, severe anthracnose symptoms were observed on lentil plants, characterized by dark brown to black necrotic lesions on leaves, stems, and pods, leading to premature defoliation and reduced pod development. Diseased samples were collected and subjected to isolation and morphological characterization. The associated fungal pathogen produced grayish to dark colonies with abundant acervuli and falcate, hyaline conidia, aseptate, curved conidia, consistent with characteristics of Colletotrichum truncatum. Molecular identification was performed using ITS region sequencing, and the obtained sequences showed high similarity with authenticated C. truncatum isolates available in GenBank. Pathogenicity tests were conducted under controlled conditions by inoculating healthy lentil plants with a conidial suspension of the isolate. Inoculated plants developed typical anthracnose symptoms within 7–10 days, whereas control plants remained symptomless. The pathogen was successfully re-isolated from infected tissues, thereby fulfilling Koch’s postulates and confirming C. truncatum as the causal agent of anthracone on lentil. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Colletotrichum truncatum causing anthracone on lentil in lentil. The occurrence of this pathogen poses a potential threat to lentil production and highlights the need for timely disease monitoring and integrated disease management strategies to minimize economic losses and ensure sustainable cultivation.