• Small, oval, pale yellow-green spots first appear on young leaves.
• Often the spots are surrounded  by a narrow, yellow zone.
• As the spots grow and turn brown or gray, concentric rings with scattered, tiny black dots become visible and eventually the dried tissue falls, leading to defoliation.
• Leaves of any age can be affected.

Brown blight	Grey blight	Concentric rings	Infected leaves

Life Cycle

• The tiny, black spots on the lesions contain the fungal spores.
• Rain splash transports the spores from one plant or site of infection to another.
• If the spores land on a leaf, they germinate to start a new leaf spot or a latent infection.

Management

• Avoid plant stress.
• Grow tea bushes with adequate spacing to permit air to circulate and reduce humidity and the duration of leaf wetness.
• Spray Copper Oxy Chloride or Bordeaux mixture 0.1% during winter season and Summer season

Content validator:
Dr. M. Deivamani, Assistant Professor, Horticulture Research Station, Yercaud-636602.