58 ACROTHECIUM PENNISETI 
conidiophore is simple, erect, and of dark colour, and bears a group of two to 
many-celled, dark-coloured conidia at its tip. 
There are several species of Acrotheciwm recently found at Pusa on various 
hosts, vz., Jowar (Sorghum vulgare), maize (Zea Mays), rice (Oryza sativa), 
and wild grasses such as Andropogon and Panicum, and all these have been 
brought into culture and are under investigation. 
2. THE DISEASE: ITS DESCRIPTION. 
At Pusa, the organism appears on leaves, leaf-sheaths, and on ears. Since 
it is most common on the leaves, the disease may be called “leaf spot or leaf 
blight of bajra.” 
(a) Appearance on the leaves. In the beginning the infected leaves show 
small yellowish-brown spots which gradually spread more in the longitudinal 
direction and becoine oval or oblong. The centre of the spot soon changes to 
a dirty brown colour, around which the margin remains yellow. Sometimes the 
spots coalesce and form irregular patches. They are most frequent towards the 
edge of the leaf, and in cases where they are situated near each other they soon 
run together, unite and form a big spot, killing the tissue along the margin 
of the leaf and gradually extending towards the midrib. Frequently both 
margins are infected and the whole leaf is gradually killed. The spots oceur 
on the midrib also, especially on those of young leaves and, in severe cases, 
even on the leaf-sheaths. Very often the infection begins from the tip of 
drooping leaves and goes on increasing and extending towards the base, either 
along the margin or along the midrib or both together. The infected portion 
of the leaf becomes brittle with age. The disease begins from the lower 
leaves, then gradually spreads and attacks the upper leaves. In the lower 
leaves the infection begins from the tip of the drooping leaves which either 
touch the soil or are very near to it. 
From the observation made at Pusa in 1919, it has been found that the 
disease makes its appearance in June on the lower half-dead leaves of young 
plants, but is associated with many other saprophytic organisms. With the 
increase of rainfall in July, it becomes more and more prominent and is found 
on the lower leaves of a large number of plants. In August and September it is 
also found on the upper leaves. Towards the middle of September (in 1919), 
almost all bajra plants were found to be more or less affected. The spread of 
the disease is facilitated by the moisture which the tip and margin of the leaves 
retain during the monsoon on account of their being a little up-turned (Plate I, 
figs. 1 and 2), 
(b) Appearance on the ears. Not only leaves and leaf-sheaths but the ears 
also are attacked by this fungus (Plate I, fig. 3). The glumes and pale of the 
