The document describes two diseases that affect finger millet: blast and leaf spot. Blast is caused by Pyricularia oryzae and symptoms include brown spots on leaves that enlarge and cause foliage drying. It also causes neck blast where the neck turns black. Leaf spot is caused by Helminthosporium nodulosum and symptoms include small brown oval lesions on young leaves that coalesce into large patches and cause blighting. Both diseases can infect plants at any growth stage and cause yield losses. Management includes seed treatment and foliar fungicide applications.

1. Dinesh K. Pancheshwar
Assistant Professor
Department of Plant Pathology
College of Agriculture, JNKVV, Balaghat

2. Blast of Finger millet
(Ragi)
Caused by: Pyricularia oryzae

3. Symptom
Infects at any stage of the growth from the
seedling to the grain formation stage.
The infection appears in the nursery from second
week of germination and spread quickly to entire
nursery as well as to main field.
Small brown circular to elongated spots appear on
leaves which eventually develop into large
elongated spindle shaped areas in the seedling
stage.
The spindle shaped spots appear on leaves in the
main field. Several spots coalesce and cause drying
of foliage

4. Maximum damage is caused by the neck blast.
The neck region turns black and shrinks.
Infection occurs at the basal portions of the
panicle branches including the fingers and the
ear head breaks away from the stalk.
The affected portions turn brown and ears
become chaffy and only few shriveled grains are
formed.
Some of the fingers are also affected causing
finger blast. The fingers become chaffy and only
few shriveled grains are formed.

5. INFECTED PLANT BLAST ON LEAF
FINGER BLAST

6. Mycelium is intra and inter-cellular.
Numerous conidiophores and conidia are
produced in the central portion of the
spindle shaped spots under humid
conditions. As a result, the spot assumes a
smoky appearance.
Conidiophores emerge through the
stomata or through the epidermal cells are
simple septate and dark coloured.
Etiology of the Pathogen

7. Conidia are borne at the tip of the
conidiophores.
Conidia are pyriform, three celled, hyaline,
two septate.
Conidia germinate with germ tubes which
infect the leaf wither through epidermal
cells or stomata.

8. Management
 Treat the seed with Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 6g/Kg
seed and spray the extracts of Prosopis juliflora leaf
extract (10%), Ipomoea carnea leaf extract (10%) or
Seed treatment with carbendazim @ 1 gm/Kg of seed.
 Foliar spray with premixture fungicide
(Carbendazim+Mancozeb) @ 0.2% concentration at
50% earhead emergence followed by a second spray
with Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf1) at 2g/lit of water
10 days later.

9. leaf spot of Finger millet
Caused by: Helminthosporium nodulosum

10. Symptom
The pathogen affects both seedling and the adult
plants.
Minute, oval, light brown lesions on the young
leaves and become dark brown.
Several such lesions coalesce to form large
patches of infection on the leaf blade.
The affected blades wither prematurely and the
seedlings may be killed.
Linear oblong and dark brown spots appear on
the leaves of grown up plants. The leaves give
blightening appearance.

11. Prominent brown to dark brown discoloration in
the neck region and followed by weakening of
neck tissue that causes it to break and the ears
hanging down from the plant.
While nursery infection causes heavy damage
due to the seedling blight, neck infection causes
heavy chaffiness and severe loss in grain yield.
It is seed-borne and primary infection is through
seed.
Secondary infection through air borne conidia
and stubbles.

12. INFECTED PLANT LEAF SPOT
BLIGHTED SYMPTOMS

13. Etiology of the Pathogen
The mycelium is intra and inter-cellular,
septate and light brown in colour.
Conidia are erect or curved septate and dark
brown. They are borne at the tip of conidiophores.
Conidiophores are thick walled cylindrical or
obcavate straight or curved and light green in color
and 3-10 septate.
The spores germinate either through the stomata
or epidermal cells.
11 spores may be formed in one conidiophore.

14. Management
Treat the seeds with Captan or Thiram @ 4g/Kg
seed.
Spray Mancozeb @ 1.25Kg/ha or spray 1%
Bordeaux mixture or Copper oxychloride or
Dithane Z-78 (2g/lit. water).