Abstract

A seedling disease of Anacardium occidentale L. caused by Cylindrocladium camelliae. Venkataramani & Venkata Ram and its teleomorph Calonectria camelliae Shipton, is reported for the first time in India. The disease is characterized by leaf blight, stem and root-rot in young seedlings in the nursery as well as in the plantation. High mortality (c. 70) of 4-month-old seedlings due to multiple infection of leaf, stem and root was recorded in a nursery at Kunnathur, Thaliparamba Forest Range. Widespread infection of the leaf and shoots resulting in severe dieback was also observed in a nearby 6-month-old cashew plantation. The disease initially affected the leaves of seedlings causing severe leaf blight. Later, the infection spread to stem causing stem rot which usually resulted in dieback of apical shoots. In severe cases, the pathogen caused root-rot thus killing the seedlings outright. C. camelliae was consistently isolated from the affected parts of the seedlings