Symptoms

• Serious disease after monsoon and during summer
• Sunken black or dark brown lesions on rachis
• Lesions coalesce resulting in drying of rachis from tip downward
• Inflorescence drys extensively resulting in severe button shedding and immature nut fall .
• Sunken dark grey, brown or black lesions with black to dark brown margins develop anywhere on the soft portion of immature nuts.
• Lesions enlarge to irregular form and coalesce to cover larger parts of the nuts
• Dark brown or salmon coloured fruiting bodies of the fungus appear on affected parts
• Longitudinal ruptures develop on the affected fruits, allowing the fungus and other organisms to enter and causing rotting of mesocarp, shell and endosperm

Control Measures

• Remove and destroy dried inflorescence and fallen buttons and nuts.
• Spray 1% Bordeaux mixture or Mancozeb 0.4% (4g/L) on inflorescence and also on developing buttons and nuts as prophylactic measure at 45 days interval.