Description:

• Warm and humid conditions are favourable for the occurrence of this disease.

Damage Symptoms:

• If seedlings are affected, they dry out and die.
• In older plants, angular to circular yellowish-brown spots with a yellow halo appear on the leaves.
• As the disease progresses, the spots coalesce, and the leaves dry up.
• In severe cases, the diseased and necrotic portions fall off, leading to "shot hole" symptoms.
• Water-soaked, brown-coloured, sunken lesions appear on the stems, which eventually girdle the stem and cause shoot death.
• Young fruits shrivel and turn dark in colour. On mature fruits, circular, black, sunken lesions of varying sizes appear.
• Affected fruits ripen prematurely, turn yellow, and the flesh becomes tough and insipid.

Preventive Measures:

• Practice crop rotation.
• Maintain proper drainage in the field.

Control Measures:

• Spray carbendazim + mancozeb or chlorothalonil.