Identification Symptoms

  • The fungus is an obligate pathogen which can attack all green parts of the vine.
  • Symptoms of this disease are frequently confused with those of powdery mildew. Infected leaves develop pale yellow-green lesions which gradually turn brown. Severely infected leaves often drop prematurely.
  • Infected petioles, tendrils, and shoots often curl, develop a shepherd's crook, and eventually turn brown and die.
  • Young berries are highly susceptible to infection and are often covered with white fruiting structures of the fungus. Infected older berries of white cultivars may turn dull gray-green, whereas those of black cultivars turn pinkish red.