Abstract: To identify the pathogenic species responsible for anthracnose on Curcuma longa in Guangxi and characterize its biological properties, the tissue isolation method was adopted for pathogen isolation. Pathogens were identified through pathogenicity verification, morphological characterization, and multigene phylogenetic analysis incorporating ITS, ACT, and GAPDH sequences, while their biological characteristics were simultaneously determined. The results showed that 47 fungal isolates were purified from diseased Curcuma longa plants. According to colony morphology and microscopic morphology, 36 isolates with the highest isolation frequency and consistent morphology were classified into the same group, and the representative strain JH44-8 was selected for subsequent studies. Integrated morphological assessment and multigene phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the pathogen was Colletotrichum curcumae. Studies on biological characteristics showed that the mycelia of this strain grew best under the following conditions: temperature of 25-28 ℃, pH of 7-9, dark environment, and on PSA, SDA, and PDA media; the optimal carbon source was maltose and the optimal nitrogen source was peptone; the lethal condition for its mycelia was treatment at 55 ℃ for 20 minutes.

Key words: Curcuma longa L., anthracnose, pathogen identification, Colletotrichum curcumae, biological characteristics