The genus Cinnamomum

Pests and Diseases of Cinnamon and Cassia 251
form necrotic blotches (Fig. 10.5). These later become papery with dark brown margins.
In other cases the central papery portion is shed forming shot hole symptoms.
In some seedlings, the infection spreads to the stem causing dieback (Karunakaran
and Nair, 1980). A variant of this disease is reported from the lower Pulney Hills of
Tamil Nadu, India, which produces reddish elongated spots arising from the margin
and resulting in defoliation. This also causes shot hole symptoms in later stages.
The fungus causing this disease has been identified as Phytophthora capsici (Prakasam,
1992). C. gloeosporioides has also been recorded on Anacardium sp., Dalbergia sp.,
Polyalthia sp. and Strychnos nux-vomica in Karnataka (Bhat et al., 1998). The perfect
stage of Colletotrichum and Glomerella cingulata has been recorded from Karnataka
(Kumar, 1983). In Taiwan, anthracnose caused by C. gloeosporioides (Glomerella cingulata)
was recorded on C. verum by Fu and Chang (1998). The symptom starts on leaves
as brown to black spots which later coalesce and the infected leaves are then shed.
The fungus has also been recorded on C. kanehirae causing anthracnose and dieback
(Chang et al., 1997; Cen et al., 1994).
Figure 10.5 Leaf spot in cinnamon caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.