Sacc., (1878) Ramularia ampelophaga Pass., (1876) Sphaceloma ampelinum de Bary, (1874) Elsinoë ampelina is a plant pathogen, which is the causal agent of anthracnose on grape.

This disease can be lethal to the plant, either through defoliation and removal of photosynthetic capacity, or through injury to the active regions of the vine.

Grape anthracnose is particularly important to the wine industry, as it can decrease quality and quantity of berries produced as well as kill the vine outright, leading to large economic losses, in particular during the middle summer months.

[citation needed] Grape vines are susceptible to anthracnose before flowering all the way through fruit soften and coloration.

Anthracnose presents itself on the berries as small reddish circles, around a quarter inch in diameter, that will become sunken with a narrow dark brown to black border.

Late in the season, the Grape Anthracnose fungus produces sclerotia, which are located primarily at the edge of the infected lesions on shoots.

[5] Large numbers of conidia are disseminated from sclerotia in the spring when there are wet periods of 24 hours and temperature is above 36 °F (2 °C).

Conidia will germinate, causing primary inoculum under the following circumstances: presence of free water in 12 hours and adequate temperature (36-90 °F (2-32 °C)).

[6] These ascospores are formed in asci, which are in cavities within a stroma—the dense structural tissue that produces fruiting bodies in fungi—of pseudothecium.

The study done by Mirica (1998) validated that the ascospores do germinate and infect the tissue and produce the Sphaceloma phase which shows the existence of the perfect stage of Elsinoe ampelina.

[6] In summary, the disease cycle of Elsinoe Ampelina is as follows: 1) the fungus overwinters by forming both pseudothecium and sclerotia, 2) the spores from both structures cause primary inoculum and form mycelium on the infected lesions, 3) acervuli disseminate conidia which becomes the source of secondary inoculum.

Overgrown vines also promote infection as they take longer to dry out after dew or rain, often due to decreased air flow in the canopy.

The disease can become even more severe in areas of poorly drained soil or during years of heavy rainfall or rain coupled with high temperatures.

Proper pruning and training will increase air flow around the plant and thus reduce the drying time of external tissue surfaces.

[9] Other commercial products often used include Mancozeb, Captan, Ziram, Sovran, Rally, Elite, Inspire Super, Adamant, Mettle, Revus Top, Vintage, and Pristine.

Lesions can kill leaves, shoots, the actively growing parts of vines, and cause the berries to be undesirable and unusable.

[2][14] In climates with strong winters, even if the disease does not outright kill the vine, it will reduce its photosynthetic capacity, leading to decreased amounts of carbohydrate reserves in the vine and eventual death in winter as those reserves dry up and the plant is unable to sustain itself.