The genus Cinnamomum

252 M. Anandaraj and S. Devasahayam
Figure 10.6 Die back in Cinnamomum cassia caused by Diplodia spp.
A new dieback disease was noticed on C. cassia at Peruvannamuzhi, Kerala, India. This
disease occurs on the lower branches of C. cassia and is caused by Diplodia sp (Fig. 10.6).
Drying of branches leads to defoliation and the infection usually stops at the junction of
the main stem (Anandaraj, unpublished).
Brown root rot
This disease has been recorded on C. camphora and is caused by the fungus Phellinus
noxius. The affected roots turn brown and the disease results in wilting and death of
aerial portions (Chang, 1992b). This fungus is also reported to affect adjacent shade and
ornamental trees such as Delonix regia and other plants such as Annona sp. and Prunus
sp. (Da Graca et al., 1980).
Grey blight
The disease is caused by the fungus Pestalotiopsis palmarum. Small yellow brown spots which
turn grey with a brown border are seen, which later spread to the lamina. In older lesions,
dark acervuli are produced. Foliar damage up to 90% has been reported (Karunakaran et al.,
1993). A similar leaf spot caused by P. furierea was reported from the Dominican Republic
(Ciferri, 1926; Ciferri and Fragosa, 1927) and later from Pakistan (Rahman, 1962).
Minor diseases
Many other fungal diseases have been recorded on cultivated cinnamon and their wild
relatives (Table 10.3). These fungi occur both on the leaves and bark. Eight species of