Brenda

Thanks for reaching out to the UVM Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program.

And thank you for posting the photos, they have been extremely helpful. It appears your garlic has been the target of a disease called Anthracnose
(Colletotrichum fioriniae) or Garlic Anthracnose. This disease only affects garlic scapes and bulbils – but not the bulb crop.

Symptoms are sunken lesions that are initially tan, turning orange as the fungal pathogen produces spores when it is humid or rainy. Your description helped tremendously in finding the right disease.

Lesions can be up to an inch long and cause the affected scape(s) to twist and become girdled and collapse. Small lesions develop on bulbils. They can be a source of the pathogen when used for propagation.

The fungus can survive on crop debris in soil for a few years, so it’s worthwhile to remove diseased scapes and locate future plantings away from previous plantings of susceptible crops.

Weeds are particularly problematic in the disease cycle because they can be infected without visible symptoms and several are susceptible, including common lambs’ quarters, redroot pigweed, yellow nutsedge, oakleaf goosefoot, common groundsel, and poison ivy. Be sure to keep your garden and surrounding area weed-free.

The fungus can potentially infect several other crops including cherry tomatoes, blueberries, and strawberries.

Because the disease primarily affects scapes, damage to the bulb crop is unlikely. However, the disease can survive on crop debris in the soil for several years, so it is worth removing infected scapes from the field as part of your regular de-scaping.

Why now? High humidity, rainy weather and fungal spores splashing on your plants is likely the cause of this outbreak.  

Resources:

https://blogs.cornell.edu/livegpath/gallery/garlic/anthracnose-of-garlic-scapes/

https://www.mofga.org/resources/fact-sheets/garlic-anthracnose/

https://sites.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=22770

I do hope this information has been helpful!