• The first symptoms of the disease become apparent only when the plant has grown for about 4-5 months.
• Then gradual yellowing and drying of foliage, shrinkage/withering of canes.
• If the affected canes are cut and examined, the pith will be Light to dark purplish or brown discolouration of ground tissue, pithiness and boat shaped cavities in the middle of the internodes.
• A characteristic disagreeable odour is also associated with this disease.
• Often a cottony white mycelium is seen in the pith region.

• The fungal mycelium is hyaline, septate and thin walled. The conidiophores are simple or branched and produce single celled, hyaline, oval to elliptical microconidia. Macroconidia are straight with 3-5 septae measuring 27-73 × 3.4-5.2 mm. Blastoconidia are either straight, sickle shaper or pike shaped with 2-3 septae. Moreover will be found as elliptical cell shaper structure with 1.-43x3.0-4.5 mm in size.

Management strategies:

Cultural method:

• Selection of healthy seed setts from disease-free area for planting
• Grow resistant varieties like Co 617 and B.P.17 are more resistant than other varieties
• Crop rotation, managing root borer, avoiding prolonged drought and water logging and hygienic practices.

• Dipping the setts in 40 ppm of boron or manganese, or spraying the plants with either of these minor elements reduces the disease intensity.
• sett treatment with fungicide like Bavistin, 0.1 per cent before planting
• Apply carbendazim @ 2gm/lit of water at the root zone area and same as follow at 15 days interval