Coral Spot
Nectria cinnabarina
Overview
A common fungal disease of woody plants that typically enters through dead wood or wounds, producing distinctive salmon-pink to coral-red cushion-like fruiting bodies on dead branches. Coral Spot spreads mainly by spores on wind, splash, tools, and crop debris. Humid, crowded plantings and overhead watering favor outbreaks in home gardens and food forests. Causal agent: Nectria cinnabarina. In regenerative gardens, prioritize sanitation, airflow, and unbroken soil cover over calendar spraying, and intervene early when symptoms appear.
Symptoms
Salmon-pink to coral-red, cushion-like fruiting bodies (1-2mm) on dead bark and branch stubs. Branch dieback. Cankers on living wood in stressed plants. May cause death of small branches. Compare several plants and note whether symptoms spread after rain, insect feeding, or wet foliage. Photograph undersides of leaves and cut stems when wilt is present to refine the diagnosis. Rule out simple drought, fertilizer burn, and herbicide drift before assuming a pathogen - abiotic injury often mimics disease.
Environmental Conditions
Humid
Prevention
Remove dead wood promptly. Make clean pruning cuts. Avoid leaving branch stubs. Maintain plant vigor. Avoid wounding bark. Mulch to reduce splash, clear season-end debris, and avoid working plants when wet. Design beds for airflow and diverse plantings that support beneficial insects without creating permanent humid pockets around susceptible crops.
Management
Prune out dead and infected branches well below visible symptoms. Remove dead wood from the ground. Improve plant vigor. No chemical treatment usually necessary. Prefer drip irrigation, morning watering, and open spacing so leaves dry quickly. Disinfect pruners between cuts on woody plants. Use copper, sulfur, or biological products only as labeled protectants when pressure is high - they rarely reverse advanced infections alone. Destroy (do not casually compost) highly infectious debris.