In garden of Jyothy Institute of Technology, Bangalore, almost all mango trees got infected with a disease called black band disease.

Fig: Mango trees in field affected with black band disease and samples collected to observe under foldscope.

When infected parts  were observed under foldscope we found spherical shaped black lined spores and mycelium aggregations.

Fig: Spores and Mycelia of infected pathogen under foldscope

Fungal pathogen Peziotrichum corticolum causes black band disease of mango and is becoming severe for the last three to four years in all the mango growing regions. The pathogen grows superficially on the bark of trees forming large, dark black, irregular, girdle-like infection patches. Peziotrichum produces septate brown mycelium composed of numerous scattered, erect, vertical aggregations of hyphae closely clustered together and the conidia were single-celled, pale brown, globose, smooth-walled.

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