Plant parts affected

Leaf

Initial diagnosis:

Presence of a black sooty mold on the leaf surface adversely affects the photosynthetic activity of the leaf and thereby fruit set is reduced.

Symptoms:

The disease is common in the orchards where mealy bug, scale insects and hoppers are not controlled efficiently. Honey dew secretion by insects make the fungi produce mycelium which is superficial and dark and forms black encrustation on leaves.

Damage type:

In severe cases, the trees turn completely black due to the presence of mold over the entire surface of twigs and leaves. The severity of infection depends on the honey dew secretion of the above insects.