Acanthospermum australe is an alternate host of Thanatephorus cucumeris, the causal agent of web blight on dry beans

Acanthospermum australe, a frequently weed infesting bean crops in the State of Goias, Brazil, was found infected by T. cucumeris under natural field conditions. Plants were severely affected and may be an important reservoir of inoculum for infection of cultivated crops. Pathogenicity of T. cucumeris in both A. australe and Phaseolus vulgaris was confirmed by Koch´s postulates