page_title: Corynespora cassiicola
section_title: Environment
hierarchical_section_title: Corynespora cassiicola / Environment
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph by Gary Vallad, Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology at University of Florida, Gulf Coast REC.
context_page_description: Corynespora cassiicola is a species of fungus well known as a plant pathogen. It is a sac fungus in the family Corynesporascaceae. It is the type species of the genus Corynespora.
context_section_description: Although Corynespora cassiicola has been reportedly located in a wide distribution throughout the world, the conditions in which this pathogen best spreads and develops are found in the tropics and subtropics. The locations of these reports include plant species in American Samoa, Brazil, Malaysia, and Micronesia. Furthermore, the pathogen was reported in Mexico in 2013 and China in 2014.
  Corynespora cassiicola requires high humidity for infection and is additionally favored in locations with substantial periods of high moisture (16–44 hours). In other words, the leaf wetness is likely a major environmental factor driving the disease for this fungal pathogen. The humidity may be used as a surrogate for leaf wetness, as it is an essential component of an environment and has data that can be easily measured. This pathogen is an especially prominent foliar disease of tomato in Florida, which provides the optimal high humidity environment for the disease growth and development. Images of the symptoms in this opportune environment have been provided by professors of plant pathology from Florida, Dr. Ken Pernezny and Dr. Gary Vallad. In regards to the symptoms on the leaves of tomato plants, there is evidence of chlorosis as well as small, brown circular spots covering the leaves. The symptoms of the tomato fruit exterior include larger, brown circular deformations on the plant's exterior skin. These illustrations are important to note because they depict the symptoms of Corynespora cassiicola on a tomato plant that is developing in its favorable environment.
  Additionally, this pathogen may be easily dispersed throughout the environment by wind. Thus, it has been found on diverse substrates of its hosts including the roots, stems, and leaves. The pathogen has even been reported on human skin, seen as causing severe damage and blisters.
caption: Photograph by Gary Vallad, Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology at University of Florida, Gulf Coast REC.
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